You’re on candid camera: Newlands office workers caught watching the Proteas

If your office has a view of Newlands Cricket Ground, getting through a working day during a Test match must require serious self-discipline. Two Cape Town employees, however, appeared to have found a way to enjoy the cricket without even leaving their desks. There was just one small detail they had overlooked: the cameras.

The pair became an unexpected internet sensation on Tuesday, 27 October, when they were spotted watching the third Test between South Africa and Australia from their office overlooking the famous Cape Town cricket ground.

For a while, the arrangement seemed pretty close to perfect. The Proteas were out in the middle, the action was unfolding right outside their windows, and there was no need to squeeze into a crowded stand or queue for a stadium pie.

Then the broadcast cameras found them.

In a moment that will feel painfully familiar to anyone who has ever sneaked a look at their phone when they should have been working, the two men realised they were appearing on the stadium’s giant screen.

Their reaction was almost immediate. Both turned towards their computer monitors and suddenly became very interested in whatever was happening on their screens.

Emails? Spreadsheets? An urgent deadline that simply could not wait? We may never know. But their perfectly timed transformation into employees of the year was comedy gold.

The best part was that their attempt to look busy was happening in front of a stadium full of spectators, and an audience watching the match on television.

Commentator Pommie Mbangwa could not hold back his laughter as the pair scrambled to look occupied. His cheeky response, ‘Sorry boys,’ only made the situation funnier.

The clip quickly spread across social media, with cricket fans enjoying the kind of workplace drama that requires no replay review to understand. After all, there is a difference between sneaking a glance at a match and discovering that your entire office break has become part of the live broadcast.

While the two mystery office workers were producing their own little performance off the field, there was plenty happening in the middle.

The third and final Test at Newlands began with the series locked at 1-1, following a win for Australia in the opening match and a strong South African response in Gqeberha.

The match at Newlands is the series decider, with both teams looking to finish the contest on top.

As for the two men in the office, their brief moment of fame has delivered a useful lesson for anyone working within sight of a live sporting event: if you are going to watch the cricket on company time, at least remember where the cameras might be pointing.

And if you do end up on the big screen, perhaps try not to make the sudden switch to serious office work quite so obvious.

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**Picture: **Grant Pitcher / Gallo Images

The post You’re on candid camera: Newlands office workers caught watching the Proteas appeared first on Cape Town ETC.