Hamilton lays the green carpet for the Cup

The sweet sounds of South Africa, the green, green grass of home. Hamilton has them both.

Tonight, the Soweto Gospel Choir, a Grammy-award winning group that has performed for Nelson Mandela, at the Soccer World Cup and were at South Africa's team send off in Johannesburg last week, will play at the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival. They have to be in Tauranga for another performance on Saturday. If they get to Seddon Park on Sunday, they'd be forgiven for thinking they had traveled to the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands instead.

The outfield grass was so green it reminded of South Africa's lush land. In a place where a drought is dominating headlines, its condition is impressive. "There's a story behind why is it this green," a volunteer said. And just as one would expect a tale about paint, he continued. "And it's all natural."

Waikato is part of a farming community which has a special spray which prompts photosynthesis in plants and by so doing, makes them greener. That's what was used on the outfield and it is significantly more vibrant than the three grass banks, which are expected to be full come Sunday.

A significant contingent is expected from the two competing countries. Both South Africa and Zimbabwe have sizeable expat communities in Auckland, on the east of the city and the North Shore and they have gravitated to each other to form a southern African clique. They may not be quite so chummy on Sunday but their rivalry will add to what South Africans call the "gees," (the spirit) of the World Cup.

One of only two countries in the world to have hosted World Cups in THREE different sports, South Africans know the little secret of what it takes to put on a show. It's not about the marketing campaigns or the money, it's about ordinary people and how good they are at being unofficial ambassadors for their country. People like Shah, a taxi driver in Hamilton who greeted me as everyone in the service industry should when they hear a foreign accent during a World Cup.

"Are you here for the cricket?," Shah asked. He got answer he wanted. "Yes, here for the cricket. From South Africa." On cue, the conversation began but it was not the one expected.

"That's good. It will be a good World Cup. Let me tell you, Scotland beat Ireland by 179 runs. That's massive. They've been doing quite well recently. I think they could be tough to play. But you know, I was pretty surprised to see Netherlands didn't qualify and how badly Kenya are doing," Shah said, while steering.

For a few seconds, there was only silence. Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands and Kenya are rarely discussed in such serious cricketing terms. Before a response could be mustered, Shah continued. "Did you see how well Afghanistan started against India. They had them 16 for 2. They got Dhawan and Kohli out - big wickets. But still India scored 364. Too much for my team. But they also started well there, 93 for 2."

Shah is from Afghanistan and for him, the cricketing world is not centred on big names, the big three or big anything. It's about the little guys and how much bigger they can become with a big performance somewhere along the way. It's about small parts of big matches. It's about small rewards.

He went on to discus Afghanistan's tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year and how well they had done to come from 2-0 down to level the series but he was not all partisan. He gave Zimbabwe a reasonable chance of progressing, especially after their victory over Sri Lanka in the warm-ups and admitted he was "not expecting too much" from Afghanistan.

"They may have a chance in the first match against Bangladesh," he said. "But even against Scotland, I don't know." After Scotland took West Indies to the edge of defeat later in the day, Shah may be even more concerned. But even if he is, there is no doubt he is going to enjoy this World Cup like every home fan should, especially on March 8.

That day, he and a group of friends who are all from Afghanistan, have organised a bus trip from Auckland to Napier to watch their team play New Zealand. They know that by then Afghanistan's fate may have already been decided but that's not the point. Being part of the event far outweighs the results and the home fans are the people who understand that most. In Hamilton, they seem to have understood it perfectly as they gear up for their three big days in this competition.