The West Indian cricket authorities could learn much about improving the quality of their Test arenas from the team's ongoing tour of South Africa, according to some of their Bermudian travelling supporters.

Former Willow Cuts' player Vivian Simons and his travelling partner Ernest Paynter, who played for Hamilton Parish, returned home on a high despite watching their beloved West Indies lose the first-ever Test between the countries in Johannesburg.

And the one thing that lingered most in their minds about the cricket was the "fantastic'' Wanderers Stadium in Gaugeng, Johannesburg which they rate the best cricket facility they have ever seen -- even better than the renowned Lord's ground in England.

No stadium in the West Indies came remotely close to matching it, according to the pair, who travel frequently to Test matches in the Caribbean.

"The facilities at the ground are one hundred times better than what I have seen in the West Indies, that's for sure. The stadium was all superbly built with plastic bucket seats,'' said Simons.

"Additionally there was a sloped hillside where fans can lie off in comfort, soak in the sun and watch the cricket. It was just a fantastic atmosphere.'' Paynter agreed with every word, adding that another great feature was the electric scoreboard which was visible from all vantage points and which showed instant TV replays.

"It was just an excellent stadium, even the pitch and the overall grounds were excellent. I spoke to the guy who designed the drainage system and one of his comments was that within a reasonably short time they can have it ready for play after a hard rain shower,'' said Paynter.

However, having watched the historic match with close to 80 other locals, the pair conceded there had been down-sides -- one being the noticeable lack of blacks in attendance.

"You didn't see many blacks because blacks were never exposed to cricket.

There are three main sports there, rugby and cricket which are basically white sports and then soccer which is a black sport,'' said Simons.

"But blacks really do support soccer. On a Sunday I watched a cup final on television and the stadium was filled with about 90,000 blacks. But I understand that more and more these days, they are getting exposed to the game of cricket.'' The lack of blacks at the game also concerned Paynter, but he understood why -- because cricket had not been marketed to the underprivileged during apartheid rule.

Aside from the sporting side of the visit, the two Bermudians had the opportunity to tour much of the country -- although they took the advice of many to avoid the city at nights because of Johannesburg's notoriously high crime rate. But some other Bermudians did take in tours there and to the city of Soweto.

While admitting there was no evidence of racial discrimination, Paynter noticed there remained a great degree of reservation among whites about blacks when members from the opposite races met for the first time.

"When you talked to white people initially they looked at you with distrust, but when you speak and they think you are American they accept you. But that initial approach is viewed with quiet suspicion,'' said Paynter.

"But I did notice that there are a lot of places where blacks are still at the bottom of the ladder, the country still has a long way to go to improve on this. It's an extremely civilised, very nice place but that apartheid thing still quietly stares you in the face at times.'' Overall, the pair came home with a wealth of fond memories.

"I am booking, I want to go back. But it doesn't have to be for the cricket, it's simply a lovely place and offers so much culture for the visitor to see,'' said Simons.

But Paynter was not so anxious to return: "It's a nice place to visit, but if I go back to Africa I want to go to another country like Kenya or some place else.'' One of their feature tours was a trip to Robbens Island where they stood in Nelson Mandela's cell -- a memory they said they would both treasure.