October 26, 2026 — 5:30am

Cape Town: Something enduring about the cricket grounds in South Africa is they tend to be little changed from previous visits.

So there is a distinctly eerie feeling about returning to Newlands for the first time since the infamous 2018 “sandpaper-gate” Test match. Some typical early cloud obscures Table Mountain on the morning I arrive, but the cricket ground itself is much more open a few days out from the third Test, before either team has arrived to practice.

That means when I walk in at the Kelvin Grove End, most doors are open. I wander through the Western Province Cricket Club stand and out onto the field.…