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"Pulling out of the tour is a disaster," said Mickey Arthur, the South African coach. He feels now, after the tour has been called off good and proper and after everyone of them, barring a few strays, are back home, that his side would have gained a lot had they squared the series. It never occurred to him that they would also have lost their pants in the tri-series because the third party was not Kenya but India, and Tendulkar was playing. He thinks they would have squared the series. What series?
They lost both Tests, one by a large margin the other by the skin of their teeth. They think the tri-series was good match practice. They may have lost all the games in the shorter version but what the hell? They would have got their precious match practice wouldn't they? They would have been practicing for the Champions Trophy to be held in India in October and for the World Cup next year. In fact the coach also hinted that the Champions Trophy could also be treated as a top-level match practice for the World Cup.
These boys work with levels. An independent security consultant found the security given them at an "unacceptable level" and screamed in their ears: "Pull out!" They obliged.
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