It's been 14 years since I've visited South Africa and after a small technical snaffu with our plane in Sydney it's a late arrival into Potchefstroom where the lights of JB Marks Oval are visible amid the drizzle as the final ODI is truncated by the weather.
Australia haven't been back for Test matches since 2018 and we all know what happened on that trip, although they've visited twice for white-ball matches since that infamous tour. While it feels unlikely that this series will reach the levels of animosity shown eight years ago it will be fascinating to see how the home crowds greet the visitors. There were some interesting comments from South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad a few days ago.
"Respect sits at the heart of everything we do," he said. "As cricketers, respect for the opposition, respect for the game, respect for each other in the change room. I'd like our fans to get firmly behind us. I'd also like our fans to give them some stick, but respectfully so. I don't think there's a place for taunting of wives or girlfriends or boyfriends or any of that. We want to play it hard.
"There's always going to be some spice in the series, and you'd expect nothing less from an Australia, South African series, you know. People have got memories that span back to eight years ago, and there were hardware stores at the gate welcoming the Aussies, and I don't think that's disrespectful. I think that's quite smart, and they needed to be reminded of some of their misdemeanours. But again, just respectful.
"They did what they did, and they've got to own it, and then they've got to deal with it. From a team perspective, we certainly don't give it any attention, but from the fans, I'd love nothing more than for our fans to get firmly behind us and do it respectfully when they do give the opposition a bit of grief."
With Australia's white-ball only players beginning their journey home, all the focus switches to the Test group amid troublesome list of injuries. What felt like a relatively low-key training session, where the outdoor nets are deemed unsafe to have batters facing the quicks, soon becomes a dramatic afternoon of selection news.
Perhaps, in hindsight, there were clues that something was afoot. Head coach Andrew McDonald had not been down in the nets throughout the session while the media manager was notably absent, even when Beau Webster spoke to traveling reporters at the end of the session.
When the statement dropped about the call-ups of Sam Harper but, especially, Nic Maddinson it was clear there had been a bit happening, as they say. Harper's was not a huge shock given Australia needed wicketkeeping cover and he'd just made a century for Australia A. Maddinson, though, ripped up all convention. This tour was always likely to throw up something unexpected, but no one saw this coming.