Another good win.

Monday dawned - another sunny day but there was the benefit today of the Cape Town Doctor ( not Sabu Jacob, but the local name for the wind!!) so whilst hot the wind had a cooling effect and meant that we did not suffer the exhausting oppressive heat and humidity of the day before. We played against Avendale, old friends. Avenale is an excellent club with a number of sides doing a tremendous job in a very deprived area - its main problem is simply a lack of cash and the fact that its facilities are in a public park and they suffer from the locals using their field as a footpath, a dog walking area etc etc. Their enthusiasm for the game is infectious and the importance that they attached to the game was shown by the fact that the entire club hierarchy tuned out to watch.

Avendale u 19s are a strong side and they had only lost twice so far this season. They got off to a promising start but the best disciplined bowling by the Bancroft's attack on the tour so far bowled them out for 153, a slightly below par score on a difficult pitch with some uneven bounce. This was particularly encouraging because the team selected was probably the youngest combination we could field. Yusuf bowled very well with little luck taking 1 for 26 from 9 overs, Neville Jacob also unlucky with 0 for 28 off 9. Matt Tann, 2 for 28 off 8 and Samraj Sadra, 2 for 11 off 7.1 were very effective and Matt Reid Evans bowled well to mop up the tail with 4 for 36 off 8. Bancroft's reply started poorly loosing Matt Reid Evans and Nigel Jacob cheaply but a good stand between Neville Jacob and Tom Hartington (21) saw the score progress well. Neville was then well supported by Matt Tann ( 16) and Dan Willoughby ( 12) and he saw the side home to victory off 38 overs by 5 wickets, Neville scoring 61 not out. This was also after the early loss a very determined and disciplined display of batting on what was never an easy pitch and gave the management considerably more confidence in the future! After the game Avendale looked after us well and a number of presentations were made including one to Roly Abrahams, JGB's good friend) who has organised all our games in Cape Town.

Tuesday proved another hot day as we set off early to catch the boat to Robben Island. Some of the team needing considerable encouragement to get up a bit earlier!! We were lucky because for the trip over the wind had abated a bit and the crossing was smooth. A guided tour of the island started the visit, our guide being excellent pointing out the importance of the history of the island for South Africans. We then had a tour of the prison in which so many including Nelson Mandela were imprisoned for offences against the Apartheid Regime. Our guide was a former political prisoner who certainly made the team think and all seem moved by the experience. Our trip back was more bumpy as the wind speed had increased a bit but most of the team enjoyed the catamaran ride on the top deck in the wind. We then went along the coast through the wealthy resorts of Clifton, Camps Bay and Llandudno to Hout Bay where some time was taken to unwind - the team enjoying an outing on the beach!!

We are keeping an eye on the weather back home and flights...hence this unscheduled visit to an internet cafe. As this is typed we seem to be OK - the SAA flights to and from Cape Town to Heathrow are flying today and are scheduled tomorrow. As long as tomorrow night's flight sets off it will be here to fly us home on Wednesday.