Flipping a vintage whiskey bottle around his head,he grabs it near his shoulder in one motion,before the concoction is neatly poured into four shot glasses without a spill. The impressed customers leave a happy lot to their seats,before his bartending skills are put on display yet again with bottles of ale,cider,beer and other hard liquors. As his clients soon growl with hungry stomachs,he switches his apron for a chefs toque. A few minutes later,he joins the satisfied bunch at their majestic view to watch a game of cricket at Centurion. Rudi Bryson may not have enjoyed enough attention on the international stage,but he has more than made up for the elusive limelight in his new avatar a suite owner in the Supersport Park. Described as one of the fastest bowlers to have ever graced the game in Herschelle Gibbs autobiography To the Point,Bryson was unfortunate to have played only seven ODIs in South African colours,but the fast hands and faster wit have helped him carve his own niche just across the boundary rope,quite literally. By the time I was in high school,I had terrific pace,and only got faster as the years went by. And following a stint with the army,I became really quick one of the quickest on these shores. But I couldnt make the cut in the international field, Bryson says. The picture adorning the main wall of his No.7 suite tells you why. Crossing shoulders with Allan Donald,Fanie de Villiers,Lance Klusener and Jacques Kallis (the four pacers in that era),Bryson is captured during his finest hour the seven match ODI series against Australia in 1996-97. In that era we had a really good group of fast bowlers. Donald,Pollock,Brett Schultz,Klusener,Kallis,Pollock and myself. And we all had different roles. I wanted to play for a couple of more years and yearned to own a Test cap. But that was the toughest South African team to ever get into. Im glad that I even managed what I did, Bryson says. It may have been short-lived,but Bryson got under the skin of none other than Shane Warne in that limited period. After having bowled him in the Durban ODI,Bryson cracked the legendary leg-spinner for 17 runs in an over at Cape Town,including a six and a four. Newlands treated him well,for after making his highest score,he opened the bowling before Donald and finished with career-best figures of 2 It started a long time back during club cricket in England. Shane and me were playing club cricket together. He didnt know who I was then and I bowled him first ball. The interesting tussles with Shane became a bit of a legend here. I hit him for 17 runs in six minutes in Cape Town,but he obviously won more battles than I did, he says tongue-and-cheek. Going for 63 runs in the must-win Centurion ODI the sixth match Brysons poor performance was amplified with a 4-2 series loss to arch-rivals Australia,and he never played for SA ever again. Having played his last match at Centurion,Bryson decided to step over the hoardings and make a name for himself in the hospitality business. But how did the idea of owning a suite come about? Ive always enjoyed watching sport and a good drink,this was the best way to connect the two. Plus,its a lot easier from up here than it was for me down there. After defying gravity with a few more expensive bottles,Bryson shows just how easy it is.
