CRICKET
A great rescue-act by Simon Katich and a superb
rearguard-action by Andrew Symonds powered Australia
to 341/9 at stumps against South Africa
in the first test at the WACA in Perth
on Wednesday. South Africa
struck three early blows in the first half an hour when Makhaya Ntini’s
double-strike and Dale Steyn’s dismissal of Michael Hussey had Australia
reeling on 15/3. Australia
fought back on an increasingly docile pitch to move to 341/9 at stumps. Jason
Krejza (19*) and Peter Siddle (nought) will resume on the second day.
CRICKET
The Chevrolet Warriors have named an unchanged squad of 12
for their MTN Domestic Championship cricket fixture against the Dolphins in Durban on Friday. The
selectors have kept faith in the squad that edged the Eagles by four runs in Kimberley last Friday for
only their second victory in the campaign.
CRICKET
American billionaire Allen Stanford is reportedly planning
to pull out of cricket after apparently losing $20 million in sponsorship deals
from his Twenty20 Super Series competition in the West
Indies. The Texan funded a winner-take-all $20 million Twenty20
match between England and a
West Indies all-star team in Antigua in
October, the first of five annual games worth a total $100 million. The
all-stars won.
GOLF
Just hours ahead of the South African Open, Ernie Els has
made it clear he wants a South African to win the second oldest national open
championship in the world. Only The Open Championship is older than the South
African Open, and the 2008 edition will hold more appeal than any other staged
in its 98-year history. A field of 156 will be eyeing the €1 000 000 (R13 550
000) purse with the winner taking the €158 500 (R2 147 675) cheque and with
players like Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and England’s Lee Westwood in the field,
Els has reason to feel fiercely protective about the destination of the old
trophy.
FOOTBALL
Former Bolton and Newcastle
boss Sam Allardyce was appointed the manager of Blackburn Rovers on a
three-year contract, the English Premier League strugglers announced on
Wednesday, a day after they had sacked Paul Ince.
