The Halcyon Cove Hotel is a 3 star establishment on one of Antigua’s 365 beaches. In fact my room overlooks the pool bar (oh what a wonderful sight!) and is about 80 yards from the beach, my room that is, the bar is about 10 yards. Yes the sand is white as in the postcards and yes, there are palm trees wherever you look.

It was hard work then to ignore the bar completely until the days play was over and even harder work to drag oneself away from the idyllic surrounds and jump in a combi with my co-commentators at midday to make our way to the Sir Vivien Richards Stadium some half an hours drive inland for the first of two T20 matches that are to kick start this tour.

The conversation in the combi was the news that Mark Boucher had been asked to hand the gloves over to AB de Villiers for all the limited overs matches on the tour and would only keep wicket in the Tests. On arrival I had a chance to have a chat with Corrie Van Zyl who was quick to dispel this rumour.

He explained that they had learnt from the T20 World Cup that it was worth looking at all options in the build up to the 2011 World Cup and that they intended to do just that. This did not mean however, that Boucher would not play in any of the ODI’s against the West Indies and that Mark was not to be held as some kind of scapegoat for South Africa’s poor cricket during the recent campaign out here.

The match itself was one of the most bizarre I have ever watched. Put in to bat on a pitch that was difficult to play shots on meant that South Africa had to adjust their par score down to 150 soon after the match started.

An excellent partnership between Smith and Kallis saw to it that they managed 136 as the middle and lower order were unable to hit boundaries and perished in trying to do so. In reply, the West Indies were always in trouble once Chris Gayle got out which is something that ceases to be a surprise these days. However, once Gayle was out, another fine spell from Johan Botha gave South Africa the edge and despite a crazy 19th over from Steyn containing 4 wides, 1 no ball and ten runs the job of winning easily carried out.

In fact there were a few mad incidents amongst which was Bosman walking off after being caught behind whilst the umpire signalled wide, Smith giving himself out stumped when he wasn’t and some of the worst umpiring at international level that I have witnessed. As Graeme said at the post match presentation “It got a bit comical at the end” and how true that was but I guess it is easier to laugh at the comedy if you win, and they did.