Rebellion looms in Sleepy Hollow

PIETERMARITZBURG - In the mists surrounding what is better known as the KwaZulu/Natal midlands a quite revolution is starting to take shape; fermenting, as it were, under the oaks around The Oval, Alexandra Park and maturing with a much firmer conviction than of old.

There is a lot of history in this part of the ``Last Outpost'' and the centrepiece of what is a new form of transformation, The Oval, tree-lined with its stately 100 year-old pavilion and which is now a national monument, has far more character than say Kingsmead.

It is a ground which the late Jackie McGlew once proudly called a ``touch of old England in Africa'' and which in his youth helped mould his game.

Looking ``over the fence'' as it were from the leafy surrounds of Maritzburg College the young Derek John McGlew envied the flannelled giants in their pursuit of what was to many foreign eyes that ``strange quintessentially British ritual''.

Down the years those who have nurtured the game in Pietermaritzburg have wondered about the long-term future. In Durban they have been comfortable with the ``Midlands'' question and when it surfaced there were always promises of a ``big game or two'' to placate the rumblings of rebellion.

Yet even now, with the two identities of the regions as close as they have been in years, the blithe spirit is surface deep and ready to erupt. You can feel it as you tread your way around this picturesque part of the capital of KwaZulu/Natal; the cloak of uncertainty hangs uncomfortably as those such as Mike Hickson, president of the Maritzburg Cricket Association, attempts to find an amicable answer the problem.

A man who has a vision of how the game can benefit, the thought of the formation of the 12th province is far from remote. There are others like him who feel the ``dog of a chain image fed the scraps to keep them happy'' is no longer working for the one-time sleepy hollow of Natal.

After all what is the sense of a city council's R7.4-million refurbishment, including the old Kingsmead lights ``bought and not hand me downs'' if the venue is going to be used to hold better class of game. There are the promise of a day/night thrash between Natal and Yorkshire in March and a Natal XI against some other English county about the same time. A few crumbs.

What of next summer? Natal B matches may offer some compensation along with the staging of a four-day match against North West or Easterns. If the South Africa A-West Indians game could draw around 8 000 over four days, three of which were affected by weather, the SuperSport Series would get a bigger ``welcome from the Midlands public'' than cold Kingsmead could hope to offer.

For those who remember the bad old North-Easterns days where the Pretoria-East Rand row led to bitter feuding between the two areas for years, the UCB would do well to remember that the game is for all, not just for the privileged few.

Perhaps the answer is to recognise Natal Midlands as an important area for future development and growth. Chatsworth have been promised a World Cup game in 2003; which has the MCA asking just where do they fit into the scheme of Natal growth?

The question is, can the UCB afford a 12th province? With an infrastructure possibly better than either North West or Easterns have, why not. With three top schools and a university from which to draw talent the Midlands are far more organised than either Border and Easterns. And they can offer the national game far more than either of those two regions.