Yesterday saw the first fixtures of our tour to South Africa. We woke up to high winds and persistant drizzle. In short not the ideal cricketing weather!

After an hour's drive, we arrived at Uitenhage, the former club of Scottish cricketing legend, parky and coach Willie Morton. Our opposition were the boys of Brandwag and, after an hour's rain delay, captain Scott Dalgleish lost the toss and Scotland U20 were inserted. Unfortunately the U15 game scheduled for the other pitch at the same venue was called off due to the wicket being too wet after the heavy rain. They made the most of the day, though, with a solid training session.

Our match got under way on a slow pitch, but the Brandwag openers showed some good pace. However, Ryan Flannigan, fresh from a winter in Sydney, found his touch early and we raced away in the first 15 overs. An opening stand of 93 set us on the way to a total of 217 from our 35 overs, with the key contributions coming from Ryan Flannigan, 61 retired, and Scott Dalgleish, 50 retired - the only disappointment being that we were bowled out.

After an excellent lunch, typical of the hospitality shown to us by Brandwag, we took the field looking to be clinical and professional.

Scott Redhead bowled an excellent opening spell, conceding only seven runs from his opening five overs. The Brandwag openers were solid if a little slow, but eventually Matthew Bremner got the breakthrough with a back of the length delivery that climbed and took the edge, carrying through to Bilal Azhar behind the stumps. Some tight bowling and fielding took the game away from Brandwag. Zeeshan Bashir was the pick of the bowlers with 3-13 from his seven overs, fighting back strongly after a shaky start.

In the evening we were treated to a few free bottles of Castle lager with the Brandwag management. Finally, we finished the day by giving the U15s a good dressing down on the rugby pitch - experience [and size? - Ed] triumphant over youth.

This is Ross Paxton fron Port Elizabeth, signing off.