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Proteas are big news in Perth
8 December 2008, 10:05 GMT + 2
Down the Track’s Aussie spy, Bruce Manly, reports from Perth
THE FINAL FRONTIER - REDEMPTION IS AT HAND
The headline in to-day’s Australian newspapers (reproduced above) does not mean the Second Coming. Nor does it herald a final push for victory in Afghanistan or a possible end to the global financial crisis.
No, it means that the Proteas have landed in Perth.
Let’s put Perth into perspective. It’s the capital of Western Australia (WA) - a state as big as three British Isles, the closest other big city to Perth is Denpasar in Indonesia. There are only 1 million people in the whole of WA - 250,000 are Poms; 100,000+ are Japies (South Africans) about 150,000 are of Asian descent and the rest dinkum Aussies.
Here, they take their sport seriously - two AFL sides, a good cricket state side, a soccer team top of the log and the Western Force in Super 14.
But it’s, in the newspaper headlines that you’ll really feel the passion for next week’s test opener at the WACA.
“Proteas can put demons to rest”
“History calling”
“Roy set to be no1 enemy”
“15 happy landings on planet Perth”
“Bring it on - Proteas here to make history”
“Ready and able”
“Resuming the battle”
and we’ll leave the last word to a full page interview with Gary Kirsten (blamed for the Aussie defeat in India) : “The South African team has exorcised its demons and will not be haunted by its horrible history in Australia”. Kirsten goes on to drive the knife in about how this Protea team in not mentally scarred by past defeats.
Don’t you just love it!