THE plummeting Rand is proving a headache for married members of the South African team - but four of the party's bachelors are cashing in.
Their girlfriends, installed in a west London flat, have been going out to work and are bringing in more money than the players. Two are temping as secretaries, one is a relief teacher and the other - a legal secretary - is earning £20 an hour.
The enterprise will be something of a consolation to the unmarried players, whose girlfriends have not been allowed to stay with them on tour even though married players have been granted permission by captain Hansie Cronje to have their spouses with them in the team hotel. ``It is not morally right for girlfriends to be with the team,'' said Cronje, a committed Christian.
When the tourists arrived here, 7.8 Rand bought £1. Inside two months it has slumped to 10.6, so Sterling is a much-prized commodity.
The players themselves get £22.50 a day spending allowances - money they are busily hoarding away for the time when it has to be exchanged back into Rand. Thus the stream of enquiries ``where's the best place to bank our money in England?''
Similar steps to Lancashire's, which have surely contributed to the poor Old Trafford crowds in this match, are likely to be in operation at Headingley, scene of some of the worst excesses of crowd behaviour over the past few years, most notably on the Western Terrace. Yorkshire secretary David Ryder says that new ground rules will prevent people entering Headingley for the fifth Test in ``garb which might cause a distraction or a nuisance to others''.
The northern attitudes contrast with the Midlands and the south where a more relaxed approach has already been seen at Edgbaston - where there were a number of arrests - and Lord's. Trent Bridge, venue of the fourth Test, and the Oval, which will host the Sri Lankans, will follow the same relaxed suit.
Mark Arthur, the Nottinghamshire chief executive, said: ``We don't want to be Draconian. Dressing up can be part of the party.''
Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, feels that there is no need for any precautions at the Oval. ``There is no need to be drastic with alcohol bans and other things,'' he said. ``As long as people are dressed decently we are happy to be tolerant.''