England cricketer Danny Wyatt on Thursday revealed the “terrifying” moment when Cape Town’s famous Table Mountain cable car lost power and left him hovering helplessly above the ground.
Wyatt and his companions took tourists on a ride that covered a distance of more than 1,000 meters (3,200 ft) to the plateau above the city.
“There were some technical problems before I got on the cable car, which made me very nervous, and then I decided to go down a little bit and swing,” said the 31-year-old.
“It was a terrible experience. I don’t think I’ll be climbing that mountain again anytime soon.”
Wyatt, who is in the country to take part in the Women’s Twenty20 World Kapp said the system lost power due to load-shedding that could scorch the country for up to 10 hours a day.
“I’m never going on that cable car again. It’s load shedding, once the power goes out, that’s it,” he said.
“Next time, I’ll take the stairs.”
The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, as it is officially known, opened in 1929 and carries about 900,000 people a year.
The company said that the hydraulic system, which was working during load shedding, developed a technical fault on Wednesday.
“What happened was not our intention,” said managing director Wahida Parker.
“We sincerely regret the experience that passengers had who were trapped in our cars. We are pleased to confirm that all passengers have reached the upper and lower stations safely.”
On Friday, Table Mountain will form a stunning backdrop as Wyatt and his England teammates face South Africa in the World Cup semi-final at Newlands.
Wyatt, who made her international debut in 2010, scored 59 as England scored 213 against Pakistan in the group stage of the tournament.
‘lot of love’
Now she is determined to keep that momentum going as England seek a second T20 World title after their 2009 triumph and brace for the personal disappointment of missing out on the inaugural Women’s Indian Premier League.
Wyatt went unsold at the next month’s auction for the money-spinning showpiece.
“I came back to the hotel and just wanted to stay in my room. I was really heartbroken,” recalled Wyatt, when he learned she had missed out.
“The girls really turned around me, which is really cool. Obviously, some people got what they wanted. Some didn’t. I was very proud of the way everyone handled it. I’ve definitely felt a lot of love.”
England are favorites to beat South Africa, having won two of their four group games to enter the semi-finals solely on net run rate.
Wyatt said that England would continue with their policy of all-out attack which propelled them to their World Cup record score against Pakistan.
“We talk about wanting to break records,” she said.
“We’ve been given a license at the top of the order to go from ball one. We’ve got the depth to allow us to do that as well.
“Even if it’s going to be tough conditions, we’re still going to work hard.”
However, South African captain Sune Luus, whose team made it to the semi-finals in 2020, believes England’s aggressive game-planning could also be their sore spot.
“I think once they lose wickets, they don’t stop being aggressive, which I think can definitely be beneficial for us tomorrow,” Luus said.
The winner of Friday’s match will face defending champions Australia in Sunday’s final.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)