Much as some South Africans try to adopt a take-it-or-leave-it approach to the Ashes it’s hard not to take an interest given the intensity with which the contest is always contested and the saturation media coverage. It’s hard to get away from. We don’t need to apologise for being interested. Part of the problem, secretly, is the fear for some Proteas supporters that their desire to see Australia beaten may be interpreted as support for England which, of course, is a no-no.

But any contest which started over 130 years ago is bound to be of interest to sports fans. If you stumbled across a documentary on a flick through the channels about two Nepalese villages which had been staging an annual yak race for two centuries the chances are you might stick around to learn more. So there’ll definitely be an element of ‘Ashes Watch’ here for the next few weeks.