I’m a bad watcher at the best of times but my own disappointment at being ruled out of the one-day series was more than compensated for by the way the boys played at Newlands on Friday. It was outstanding – I expected them to bounce back hard and for England to be hit by the backlash but nobody could honestly have foreseen such a result.

    Scoring 300 at Newlands is virtually unprecedented – the only time we managed it before was against Kenya a couple of years ago when, ironically enough, we also scored exactly 354. Doing it against England when we were one-nil down in the series, with respect to Kenya, means a lot more.

    It probably wasn’t an easy decision for the selectors to make to bring both Morne and Wayne back into the starting XI – and no doubt they were feeling a bit of pressure and the weight of expectation. But taking wickets has always been as important as scoring runs when it comes to winning one-day cricket and the eight wickets they shared was an incredible reward for them and the selectors.

    I was able to take my mind off the cricket – and my injury – on Thursday when I returned to my old school, Wynberg Boys High, for a T20 match between the school 1st XI and an ‘Invitation’ XI which I selected including some old stars and mates – Dave Rundle and Paul Adams included. The school won a tense game by five runs (which I thought was a fair result!) and I had three hours of being treated as the guest of honour.

    The occasion was organised by Wynberg to commemorate the renaming of the Wynberg Oval to the ‘Jacques Kallis Oval.’ It is one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had.

    To stand on the side of the ground where I first lived my dreams and think that it was now named after me was too hard to believe at times. I’ve had to pinch myself often through my career to make sure it’s not a dream…centuries at the MCG, Newlands, the SCG, 31 of them so far and (hopefully) still counting. But to think that so many future generations of Wynberg boys will begin their dreams on a field bearing my name is beyond even my dreams! Maybe it will sink in in a few years time.

    But back to the ‘real’ world. It’s a very quick turnaround from a late finish on Friday night to a 10:00am start on Sunday and both squads will have their depth and fitness tested. No doubt Graeme and Mickey will be tempted to keep the XI together but they also know what effect and impact some fresh legs can have. Selection will be a tough job on Saturday night and Sunday morning. I just wish I was available to make the job even harder.