Editors’ Note

Oman. Sharjah. Abu Dhabi, Dubai.

AN intoxicating mix of where the East and the West combine in modern luxury and old-school traditional values. Skyscrapers, luxurious seven-star hotels, desert safaris and turquoise-blue beaches are but some of the attractions that the United Arab Emirates has to offer.

Temba Bavuma’s Proteas have, though, not come to the UAE to sample its opulence. They are on a mission: Operation Desert Storm ICC T20 World Cup.

Bavuma, who will be attending his first major ICC tournament, has the unenviable task of bringing an end to years of misery for South African cricket fans by finally bringing home the elusive trophy.

Considering the trauma the South Africa cricket family has endured during the epidemic listening to the Social Justice and Nation building hearings, Bavuma literally carries the country’s weight of expectation on his slight shoulders.

He is going to need his World No 1 T20 bowler Tabraiz Shamsi – our cover story – to be on top form if the Proteas are even to come close to achieving the near impossible.

We have plenty more stories in this second volume of the IOL Sport Digimag, focusing primarily on sportsmen and women who are fighting against the odds to take their place at their respective tables. Lastly, South Africans could finally celebrate the return of spectators to the stadium for Bafana Bafana’s Fifa World Cup Qualifier against Ethiopia at the FNB Stadium. It brought us all a sense of unbridled joy and happiness that some form of “normality” is returning to this crazy world. Hopefully Temba and his Proteas can maintain those smiles. Enjoy!

Zaahier Adams