While the carbon monoxide pollution levels are still lower than Calcutta, New Delhi, Madras, Colombo or Buenos Aries they are still potent enough.
Just as England are likely to also discover this summer after the fielding performances in the Standard Bank Triangular series which ended here at Newlands yesterday with South Africa recording an emphatic nine wicket victory over Pakistan in a final.
It was as embarrassingly one-sided as the previous three games between Hansie Cronje's team, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Even the 24 hour delay, which can sometimes cause a side to become fractious and lose the plot, along with the match, did not cause a hiccup in the South African camp. Had Rashid Latif won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat first it may have been much closer game.
Perhaps a little more care and attention to detail might have also helped Pakistan's cause. From the moment Rhodes swooped on the ball at backward point and ran our Mohammad Wasim with a direct throw problems popped up at all too regular intervals.
Having negotiated eight careful runs with the Pakistan total reaching 29 at the start of the 10th over, Wasim became careless. Pakistan had not been able to find an adequate replacement for Aamir Sohail, but Wasim had batted with a new commitment. He called for a short single when prudence would have suggested he keep an eye on the inner ring.
In swooped Rhodes and down went the middle peg: just what Pakistan did not need as the development of the first wicket partnership had become crucial to their cause to build a challenging total; not easy on a pitch which still contained enough juice to fill a bucket.
Yet, when he stepped up to receive his man of the series award, it was Rhodes' batting which counted far more than his fielding exploits and he cunningly worked over the run-rate in the lower order to help build South Africa's totals. His fielding, however did reach new levels to whet the appetite of eager youngsters throughout the country.
Only four balls and a single to Saeed later, saw Ijaz Ahmed depart withot a run on the board after edging an outswinger from Roger Telemachus to Gary Kirsten. From that point is was always going to be a matter of survival for Pakistan.
What didn't help was Inzamam-ul-Haq's dismissal. Saeed had gone in the 16th over for 30: the first of Lance Klusener's five victims when Cronje went up for the catch from a wafted drive, which may or may not have scratched out outside edge of the bat. Up went wicketkeeper Mark Boucher along with Cronje and umpire Cyril Mitchley supported the South African duo.
Inzamam earned a rebuke from New Zealander John Reid, the ICC match referee for the series, and had his one match suspension and half match fee fine suspended until the end of the year. It was argued there were mitigating circumstance involved; which was a fair reflection of what took place. Only whatever small amount of luck Pakistan had eventually disintergrated when Shaun Pollock and Boucher combined to run out Wasim Akram.
In terms of fielding performances it deserved a 10 star rating and what was left of the innings crumbled under Klusener's quality bowling efforts; seam, swing and supported by immaculate fielding, an area where Pakistan and Sri Lanka failed miserably thoughout the series.
Klusener ended with his fourth fifth ODI wicket haul and man of the match award: five for 25 in 7.1 overs was as good as any we are going to see this year.
South Africa rattled off the 115 need in 27.4 overs losing Mike Rindel for 20 with the score on 54. After that it was a matter of Kirsten and Jacques Kallis batting through the overs; taking their time and rotating the scoring rate. Kirsten square dove and nudged his way to 50 and Kallis made the art of batting seem an even more simple exercise.
As for Rhodes, he didn't get to bat but he didn't need to. His fielding efforts were more than enough of the final day of the season, which for some of us began in August.
All we have to do now is wait for the announcement of the sides for England and Sri Lanka and then some can take a break while others have the serious work of wrapping up a biography in time for the shelves next suumer.