By Andy Wilson
Stephen Parry is hoping for his first action of the England Lions tour in tomorrow’s second one-day match against South Africa A on a Kimberley pitch which has generally been perceived to favour spin.
The Diamond Oval ground, a couple of kilometres out of town from the Lions base on the rim of the Big Hole for which the Northern Cape city is famous, has a reputation as a batsmen’s paradise, but spinners have been slightly more economical than seamers in one-day games.
“Historically there might be a bit of spin in the pitch so I’ll be ready to play,” said the Lancashire left-armer, who flew into South Africa from Australia after a short stint alongside Andrew Flintoff with Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League.
“I’ve got my volume of practice in so I’m just looking forward to when I do play and getting into the competition. It was a great start for the lads to win the first game in Bloemfontein so hopefully we can kick on from there.”
The Lions preparations have been affected by rain, which is a real rarity in Kimberley but restricted them to a brief practice session today.
#englions stretching in front of an unusual stand - training session? pic.twitter.com/0GXiBu50hE
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 27, 2015
That means they have not had a proper look at the pitch, and with a couple of the players also feeling unwell, final team selection has been delayed until the morning of the match – a day/nighter which starts at 2.30pm local time (12.30pm GMT).
“It’s the most unlikely place for it to rain,” said Parry.
“We’re pretty much in the middle of the desert and thought we’d get some practice in today. It looks like I brought the weather with me from Manchester.”
The Diamond Oval will be unfamiliar territory to the Lions with a couple of notable exceptions.
Samit Patel, who bowled the only four overs of spin required by the Lions in their opening victory in Bloemfontein, made an appearance in South Africa’s domestic Ram Slam T20 tournament when he played for the Warriors three years ago.
But for Ottis Gibson, who is with the Lions as Bowling Coach, returning to the ground stirred some happy memories.
He spent two seasons playing for Griqualand West under the captaincy of Kepler Wessels, and the success they enjoyed in winning the Standard Bank one-day competition is reflected in a picture on the wall in the dining room in the pavilion.
Training at the Diamond Oval, Kimberley for #englions ahead of second one-dayer v S Af A tomorrow pic.twitter.com/FDqwQlHTw1
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 27, 2015