TourNotes

Bring whatever you want is the rule at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

Barbecue nation

Bring whatever you want is the rule at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Chairs,tents and barbecues a favourite on a cold day like Sunday make their way in with the spectators,with no restriction on the ice boxes carrying the local booze. There are no meshes or dividers in the stands and so a spectator can walk around the peripherals of the advertisement hoardings,inches away from the boundary.

Uniform attendance

Theres no school on Sunday (one can usually hear the final ring of the Pertha High School bell clank from the Airport End of the QSP),but children in their uniforms stream in by the hundreds,equipped with their trumpets and cricket trivia books. In Bulawayo,schools are given entry for free as long as the students are in their school uniforms on all match days. Not on Tuesdays,the teachers are real strict about that, says Muniaratzi,a seventh grader. Unanimously,Rohit Sharma is their favourite Indian cricketer on the tour.

Green zone

The first thing that hits you about QPC is the overwhelming greenery. The lush green outfield extends into the backdrop. Although the ground is engulfed in a sea of dark green trees,nobody really seems to know to species. A senior Zimbabwean press writer says,Somebody asked me that 35 years ago,Im still not sure. A prolific South African commentator believes they are Jacaranda,while a cricketer for the local Matebelele Tuskers feels he is quite confident about Kenya Coffee,when he sees one. Rasheed,the local caterer for the last 20-odd years,believes its a type of Bonzai,but promises to check with the Department of Agriculture.