By Fakir Hassen, IANS
Johannesburg : South African cricketer Andrew Hall cannot contain his excitement as he prepares to join his team-mates in the Chandigarh Lions side of the inaugural Indian Cricket League (ICL) Twenty20 Series starting Nov 30.
Hall recorded his observations in the Afrikaans weekly Rapport here Sunday in a special column titled Report from a Rebel, a reference to his role in defying South African cricket authorities to participate in the ICL tournament.
“Cricket is India’s darling — it’s bigger than any controlling body and the supporters are absolute fanatics,” Hall wrote.
“I can hardly contain my excitement, because after much negative reaction to the ICL the ball is now eventually rolling (with) a new team, new team-mates, and a brand new field.
“So far everything is running smoothly and the field looks unbelievable, thanks to lots of water and fertiliser in the past few weeks,” added Hall, who arrived in Mumbai Nov 16.
“More than 100 people scurry around all the time, and the atmosphere is even more impressive when the flood lights come on during our practice sessions.”
Hall also commented on his team-mates and his new opinions of them.
“Our team fitness coach is Jock Campbell, who was responsible for Australia’s fitness up to and including the 2003 World Cup. I’m exercising harder than ever before and I’m getting more insight on why the Aussies are so unbelievably fit and good.”
Hall has Dinesh Mongia (India), Imran Farhat (Pakistan), Darryl Tuffey, Chris Cairns and Hamish Marshall (New Zealand) as his team-mates, along with other young Indian players.
“I’m still battling a bit with pronouncing their names correctly, much to the amusement of my team-mates.”
Hall said the reaction of the Indian public was one of gratitude because these younger players were being taken under the wing of the international and local seniors.
“But it’s not just them learning from us — I learn something new every day from my Aussie and Kiwi team-mates and it’s a strange feeling to be in the ‘enemy camp’ for once,” Hall remarked.
Hall and his team will head for Chandigarh on Wednesday to make final preparations for the series.