The wicketkeeper’s desire to play for South Africa is in contrast to other players’ apathy Peter Robinson You really have to hand it to Nic Pothas. After waiting for what must have seemed like most of his life to play for South Africa (or most of the 1990s, anyway) he was finally given his chance in Singapore this week. But to get there, he had to fly halfway around the world and back again. Pothas left Johannesburg last Thursday night with the South African A team. He flew to New York and Miami before finally arriving in Barbados, had a quick kip on Friday night and then was back at the airport again after Mark Boucher had contrived to almost definger himself with a biltong knife. Pothas then flew east again to London and on to Singapore, landing on Monday morning. That he managed to drag himself on to the field on Wednesday to keep tidily and bat well is testimony to his hunger for international recognition. >From being the obvious number two to Dave Richardson, he suddenly found himself third in line. Peter Pollock’s selectors preferred the precocious gifts of Boucher (and given the remarkable strides made by the current vice- captain, it is difficult to argue that their vision was mistaken) and Pothas resumed his place in the South African A team. Is must have been disheartening, almost cripplingly so, and it is no surprise to learn that Pothas spent some of this winter trying his hand at baseball in the United States. But when the call came, he answered. Pothas will have another match against New Zealand on Friday and possibly a final on Sunday. Who knows, by then he might even have his own kit? But he knows that his opportunities are limited. You could argue that the only real difference between the two is Boucher’s international experience, but he is 23 while Pothas is 27. But there might just be one further chance for Pothas to parade himself this year. Boucher’s injury is expected to take between six and eight weeks to heal. This would take him perilously close to the International Cricket Council knockout tournament in Nairobi in October, but the upside for South Africa is now having Pothas in harness. And there’s perhaps a little more to this than the simple moral that good things eventually come to those who wait. At a time when South African cricket has set about rebuilding itself, Pothas represents not only depth but also the type of spirit that the game in this country desperately needs. For Pothas, playing for his country still means something. This ought to be self-evident, but enough has happened in recent months to make you question whether this honour is fully understood. Allan Donald, for instance, is playing in the English county championship; Jonty Rhodes would not have gone to Singapore even had he not been injured in Melbourne; Daryll Cullinan had to have his arm twisted before reversing a decision not to play one-day cricket. This is not to point fingers at these three. All have young families and all struggle to find the balance between a normal life and the demands of playing cricket. At the same time, though, there are others for whom playing for South Africa simply represented a means to make money. Hansie Cronje is the most obvious of these. All those who feel that Cronje simply made a mistake and that everything should be forgiven and forgotten might bear in mind that his own testimony revealed a clear and persistent pattern of corruption.
M-Net is screening a three-part interview with Cronje. Russell McMillan, the head of SuperSport, refuses to say whether Cronje was paid for his participation, but if you believe he did it for nothing than you’ll probably also believe that he has no more to say about match-fixing. Cronje, it would appear, has his remorse up for sale. There are also Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams, who will hear their fates on Monday. Whatever punishment they receive, remember that they felt $15 000 was a high enough price for which to sell their country. People like Pothas might well have paid $15 000 to play for South Africa. Peter Robinson is editor of CricInfo South Africa