Sachin Tendulkar gets the ball on the left and runs up the wing. Yuvraj Singh stands offside calling for the ball. Tendulkar crosses the ball in and Singh scores. Half the Indian team celebrates like they have won the World Cup, the other half looks on in awe.

It may seem like an episode of the Twilight Zone, but the Indian national cricket team was at Wits playing soccer.

Commenting on their lack of soccer skills, Witsie Sunir Goven said: “They should stick to cricket.” Prabir Paima got to speak to the coach of the Indian cricket team, former South African opener Gary Kirsten.

“He (Kirsten) didn’t say much. I said something like ‘South African all the way’ and he gave me two thumbs up.” 

Kirsten made his name in the test cricket scene, being one of South Africa’s most patient batsmen. Now he is coach to one of the most prolific teams in the world. Imagine what a coach Neil McKenzie will be.

Raeesa Cassim thought the Indians were snobbish and didn’t appreciate their fans. “We met the Pakistani team as well, compared to them, the Indian cricket team were stuck up.” This didn’t stop Cassim from getting a signature from one of the world’s best batsman, Mr. Six-Plus-Four: Tendulkar.

Senior Administration Manager for Wits Sports Marius Henn was pleased that everything went without incident.

“The international coaches and management staff commented on the facilities at Wits. We are very blessed,” he said. “There is a good chance that we cab expect a few warm-up matches in the future.” 

Unfortunately, for all the die-hard South African fans, the Proteas were knocked out by the English on Sunday night. The hosts of the tournament were scheduled to have a practice session at Wits last Monday, but after their loss, the players literally packed their bags and went back home.

Australia are now ranked number one according to the International Cricket Council. Second is India and third is South Africa. But the team to watch out for is Pakistan. There bowling is suffocating, there batsmen are blitzers. Sri Lanka also has a formidable team, but neither they nor the Australians have shown any consistent form to be able to win the trophy. As for the English, they should stick to soccer.