I was saddened to see the picture of Nelson Mandela released last week when his family said he was too frail to be at the opening of the soccer World Cup. On the same day there were pictures of him receiving the Bafana Bafana at the Nelson Mandela Foundation while seated on a wheelchair. But at least that carried some hope. I am hoping desperately that he would be strong enough to attend the great global event he helped bring to his native land.
One of the highlights of a career in cricket reporting was to meet Nelson Mandela — Madiba to his loving people — in Soweto in June 1991, barely months after he had walked to freedom after being incarcerated for 27 years, mostly in Robben Island. The morning went by in a daze as we were driven to his residence, which was then in the poor black suburb. The grand old man hosted us in his dining room. No aides were present, only the housekeeper serving us a hearty breakfast.
Sunil Gavaskar had insisted that Dr Ali Bacher arrange the meeting for us since he had heard that Sir Garry Sobers and other invitees had already been in to meet the great fighter of South Africa. Dr Bacher obliged his Indian guests with the even longer breakfast meeting at which Mandela regaled us with his stories of cricket and of how he stood by the fence at Kingsmead in the ‘Blacks Only’ enclosure praying fervently that Australia would win.
Speaking in his lilting voice in that instantly recognizable accent, he recounted how much of a hero Neil Harvey was to him. He spoke at length about politics, thanking the Indian National Congress for all the support he had received while he had been jailed in that dark era of apartheid. However, he was so forthcoming about cricket it seemed he had something up his sleeve.
Answering a specific question about whether he expected South Africa to come back into world cricket and out of the wilderness soon, he smiled enigmatically and told me — “No, even sooner than you think,” and I at once asked would the team be playing in the World Cup (1992). He flashed his enigmatic smile again but I could piece two and two together to make five.
Back in the Sandton Holiday Inn the phone rang quite a few times with reporters from international agencies asking what Mr Mandela had said about South Africa’s sporting comeback and for once I could be the news source for others saying how the World Cup was a distinct possibility for the rainbow nation.
On the phone the reporters sounded elated. The people were really optimistic then of South Africa’s reemergence after the release of Mandela.
So immersed was Mandela in sport that he would not, despite much goading, countenance talking of his own political future. Such a gracious host was he that he even wished to come to the door to see us off but his minders said that he could not do that and so we took leave of him in his dining room and drove off from his driveway.
The enormity of his personality keeps coming back time and again as I contemplate the golden opportunity a few of us had of having breakfast with a legend among human beings, a Gandhi.
Only months later, South Africa were fast-tracked into the World Cup from which they exited in the most ridiculous circumstances with the then rain rule calculating that they needed to make to 22 runs off one ball to beat England. Regardless of the stupidity of the game’s rules, it was essential that an awakened South Africa come back to world sport.
Back then, Mandela had refused to take any of the credit for the world accepting so quickly the reentry of his nation to international sport, which happened through cricket. A nobler soul I have not met in my life.