Heading into its 12th year, the trophy tour has reached 31 countries across Africa, Asia, North and South America, and this year’s tour will visit South Africa, providing fans with the opportunity to get up and close to the famous trophy.

As part of its global campaign, the 2019 Uefa Champions League Trophy Tour will stop in Johannesburg on 5  March at Nelson Mandela Square at 12–3pm and then head to The Polo Room at Inanda for the match night.

Then on 6 March fans go to Durban’s Sibaya Lodge to watch Manchester United take on Paris Saint-Germain. For three days, fans will have a rare opportunity to take photos with the Uefa Champions League Trophy, meet Ryan Giggs and experience the thrill of the tour in their home town.

Giggs is considered one of the best players of his generation, having won two Uefa Champions League medals, and is the only player to have scored in 17 different Uefa Champions League tournaments, including 11 consecutive tournaments, 1996–97 to 2006–07.

South Africa is just one of the stops, as the tour will also go on to Namibia, Indonesia, Mozambique, China, Nigeria and USA.

To follow the Uefa Champions League Trophy Tour on social, visit @Heineken_SA and use #Unmissable and #UCLTrophyTour.

The @ChampionsLeague Trophy Tour presented by @Heineken is coming to South Africa! This year the trophy will be accompanied by @ManUtd legend Ryan Giggs! pic.twitter.com/RiRJ1TvRj6

— TFGSoccerClub (@TFGSoccerClub) February 26, 2019

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Angry Amakhosi fans resorted to hooliganism at the full-time whistle of Chiefs’ 2-0 loss to Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup semi-finals in April, which proved to be the last game in charge for coach Steve Komphela.

ALSO READ: Chiefs worried about players’ safety after rioting

The Chiefs fans invaded the pitch, pelted missiles at the players and officials, assaulted security guards, ripped and torched out seats and destroyed broadcasting equipment.

ALSO READ: PSL condemn fans’ hooliganism

In addition, they also vandalised goalposts, fencing, crowd management barriers, bins, water points, tables and chairs among other items in the vicinity.

Komphela, Chiefs coach at the time, stepped down in the aftermath of the defeat after enduring constant calls for his head from the fans due to his three-year trophyless reign at the Soweto giants.

ALSO READ: Moses Mabhida Stadium reveal cost of Chiefs’ fan violence

Giovanni Solinas’ side have been ordered to play three matches (one of which has been suspended for a period of 24 months) behind closed doors with the matches needing to be played at a venue in KwaZulu-Natal.

ALSO READ: PSL charge Chiefs with misconduct

The PSL released an official press statement publicising the details of their ruling.

‘The Premier Soccer League disciplinary committee has found Kaizer Chiefs guilty and ordered that they play three matches behind closed doors with one [of the three] matches suspended for a period of 24 months provided Kaizer Chiefs is not found guilty of a similar offence,’ the statement read.

‘This follows the sitting of the disciplinary committee arising from the events of 21 April 2018 at Moses Mabhida Stadium during the Nedbank Cup match against Free State Stars where supporters of Kaizer Chiefs invaded the pitch and caused damage to property.

ALSO READ: Chiefs worried about players’ safety after rioting

Kaizer Chiefs found guilty – Moses Mabhida violence pic.twitter.com/cOnwlKtYqy

— Tracksuit (@ThabisoMosia) September 11, 2018

‘The disciplinary committee further ruled that the matches which the club play behind closed doors must be scheduled for KwaZulu-Natal. The DC held a view that since the incident had occurred in KwaZulu-Natal, a strong message must be sent to the spectators in that province that the behaviour of 21 April 2018 is totally unacceptable.

ALSO READ: Bafana, Baxter must stick to football

‘The findings of the disciplinary committee are in line with Article 45.5 of the NSL Handbook (Constitution) that holds member clubs culpable for the behaviour of their supporters,’ the statement concluded.

Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

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Gwala, who turns 27 next month, was attacked by three assailants while out on an early morning training cycle near the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

It’s alleged the assailants tried to cut off one leg then the other with a chainsaw.

This was despite Gwala offering to hand over the personal possessions he had with him.

Gwala, who has represented South Africa at national age-group level, underwent a five-hour operation and is recovering in hospital.

Fellow triathlete and Rio Olympics bronze medallist Henri Schoeman took to Twitter to express his shock.

‘A friend of mine, cycling in the Durban area was robbed by three people this morning, Then they attempted to saw off both legs with a chainsaw. Blade too blunt and only got half way through one and started on the other. Absolutely disgusting! How safe are we on SA roads?’

Also offering his condolences was Lindsey Parry, who will act as triathlon coach for Team South Africa at next month’s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

‘I was shocked to hear that another athlete has been attacked while out training. This incident is particularly brutal and it’s hard to comprehend how human beings can do this to each other.

‘We wish Mhlengi all the best as he faces a long road to recovery.’

Photo: BackpagePix

The post SA triathlete in brutal chainsaw attack appeared first on SportsClub.

Wits secured their spot in the final after seeing off Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in their semi-final encounter, while Celtic needed penalties to overcome a resilient Polokwane City outfit.

The clash is historic in the sense that despite Durban having played host to many cup finals, this will be the first domestic final to be played at Princess Magogo since the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

The encounter is scheduled to kick-off at 18:00.

The post Durban to host TKO final appeared first on SportsClub.

On Thursday there was no stopping Chad le Clos as he raced to his second World Championships qualifying time in his favourite event, the 200-metre butterfly. Now based in Cape Town, Le Clos’ fast time of 1min 55.00sec saw him claim gold, over four seconds ahead of Myles Brown, who ended with a time of 1:59.77. Uitenhage’s Alard Basson was third in 2:03.86.

Cameron van der Burgh was once again in top form as he sped to the finish in the 50m breaststroke, claiming his second gold medal of the championships in 27.17 ahead of Brad Tandy’s 28.16 and Jared Pike’s 28.34, while Tatjana Schoenmaker led the charge in her respective race and emerged with the gold in 31.61, ahead of Kaylene Corbett in 32.02 and Tara-Lynn Nicholas in 32.44.

Rebecca Meder, Kate Beavon and Dune Coetzee were all smiles as they confirmed their FINA Junior World Championships qualification times in the 200m freestyle. Meder won the event in 2:02.94, while Beavon claimed silver in 2:03.13 and Coetzee grabbed fourth in 2:03.90. The bronze went to Nathania van Niekerk, South Africa’s best female swimmer at last year’s Region 5 Games in Angola, in 2:03.57.

Midmar Mile winner Matthew Meyer just missed out on the 800m freestyle World Championships qualification time, as he scooped the gold in 7:54.53, to the required 7:54.31, ahead of Josh Dannhauser in 8:01.02 and Chad Michau (16), who added his name to the Junior World Championships qualification list with a time of 8:22.99.

Mariella Venter booked her second Junior World Championships qualification of the week, this time in the 200m backstroke semi-finals when she clocked 2:13.52, over four seconds under the required 2:18.41.

The semi-finals of the 50m backstroke saw Jacques van Wyk, Clayton Jimmie and Jack Oliver fill out the top three spots in 26.06, 26.82 and 27.09, while the women’s race was contested between Venter, the Seychelles’ Felicity Passon and Erin Gallagher in 29.04, 29.79 and 29.87 respectively. The finals for both events will take place on Friday.

Zane Waddell, Douglas Erasmus and Ryan Coetzee will be battling it out for the 100m freestyle gold in Friday night’s final, as they concluded the semi-finals in 49.55, 50.26 and 50.74, while Dune Coetzee, Marli Jacobs and Caitlin Kat (pictured above) will be looking for fast times in the 200m butterfly final, having finished the semi-finals in 2:16.27, 2:19.59 and 2:21.27, respectively.

The 200m individual medley semi-final was dominated by Ayrton Sweeney in 2:01.69, followed by Neil Fair in 2:03.14 and Luan Grobbelaar in 2:07.59, with the final being held on Friday.

Boland-based Paralympian Hendri Herbst won the gold in the 50m freestyle (S1-13) in a fast 27.50, while the first place in the S14-15 category went to Pierre Dellieu in a Deaf Olympics Qualification time of 24.51. Dellieu also grabbed the 50m breaststroke gold in 31.15.

On the women’s side, Christelle Kriel, who posted a World Para Swimming Championships qualification time in the 100m butterfly earlier in the week, claimed her third and fourth gold medal of the competition in the 50m freestyle (S14-15) in 31.55 and the 50m breaststroke in 43.22, with the S1-13 freestyle gold going to Shannon Martins in 34.73 and the breaststroke title to Cornelle Leach in 44.00.

Friday’s heats will start at 10am and the finals at 6pm.

The staging of this event has been made possible through the support provided by Swimming SA partners, Sport and Recreation South Africa, SASCOC, National Lotteries Commission, Arena and Rand Water.

Pictures courtesy of Anesh Debiky

Qualifying Times after Thursday’s action

17th FINA World Championships (four qualifying times so far):
Cameron van der Burgh – 100m breaststroke – 59.73
Chad le Clos – 200m freestyle – 1:46.84, 200m butterfly – 1:55.00
Myles Brown – 200m freestyle – 1:47.55

6th FINA Junior World Swimming Championships (26 qualifying times so far):
Dune Coetzee – 100m butterfly – 1:01.04, 200m freestyle  – 2:03.90
Kate Beavon – 200m freestyle  – 2:03.13
Jarryd Baxter – 400m freestyle – 3:51.85, 200m freestyle – 1:50.45
Chad Michau – 800m freestyle – 8:22.99
Timothy Sates – 200m freestyle (SF) – 1:52.94
Rebecca Meder – 200m individual medley – 2:16.24, 1500m freestyle – 16.49.77, 200m freestyle – 2:02.94
Jenna Pearse – 200m freestyle (SF) – 2:05.89
Abi Meder – 1500m freestyle – 17:08.15
Gabi Grobler – 200m individual medley – 2:19.83, 200m freestyle (SF) – 2:05.64
Christina Mundell – 200m individual medley (SF) – 2:20.51, 100m breaststroke (SF) – 1:11.56
Michael Houlie – 100m breaststroke – 1:03.20
Daniel Swanepoel – 100m breaststroke -1:03.07
Bryce Skea– 100m breaststroke -1:03.07
Duncan Rudolph– 100m breaststroke (SF) -1:03.36
Bailey Musgrave– 100m breaststroke (SF) -1:03.56
Kaylene Corbett – 100m breaststroke – 1:09.46
Hanim Abrahams – 100m breaststroke – 1:11.18
Mariella Venter – 100m backstroke – 1:01.53, 200m backstroke (SF) – 2:13.52
Inge Weidemann – 50m freestyle – 26.26

Deaf Olympics Qualifiers (seven qualifying times so far):
Cornelle Loubser – 50 & 100m butterfly
Mark Roach – 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle
Pierre Dellieu – 50m freestyle
Credence Pattinson – 400m freestyle, 50 and 100m backstroke

World Para Swimming Qualifiers (seven qualifying times so far):
David Klopper S2 – 100m backstroke
Christian Sudie S7, SB7, SM7  – 50m butterfly
Franco Smit S12 – 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke
Alani Ferreira S13 – 400m freestyle & 100m breaststroke
Christelle Kriel S14 – 100m butterfly

The post Le Clos storms to second world champs qualifying time appeared first on SportsClub.

Le Clos turned on the power and cruised ahead of Brown to an impressive qualification time of 1min 46.84sec in the final of the 200m freestyle.

Brown finished in a time of 1:47.55, also a Fina World Championships qualification time, while young Jarryd Baxter clocked a Junior qualification time of 1:50.45 to claim the bronze.

Le Clos and Brown also finished on top in the 200m butterfly semi-final in 2:00.88 and 2:02.19 respectively, ahead of Thursday’s final.

Rebecca Meder (14, pictured above) raced to her second and third Fina Junior World Championships qualification times in the 1500m freestyle when she grabbed the gold medal in 16:49.77 and the 200m freestyle semi-finals in 2:05.66. Her older sister Abi (16) also made the list with a qualification time of 17:08.15 to take home the bronze in the long distance event.

Dune Coetzee (14), Kate Beavon (16), Gabi Grobler (17) and Jenna Pearse (16) made the cut in the 200m freestyle in Junior World Championships qualification times of 2:03.69, 2:04.48, 2:05.64 and 2:05.89 respectively.

Mariella Venter (17) was over the moon as she confirmed her Junior World Championships qualification time in the 100m backstroke, clocking a golden 1:01.53 ahead of Seychelles’ Felicity Passon and Alexus Laird in 1:03.11 and 1:04.54, respectively.

The semi-final of the 50m breaststroke saw Cameron van der Burgh in the lead with a time of 27.06, followed by Brad Tandy (28.00) and Jared Pike (28.41), while on the women’s side, Tatjana Schoenmaker touched the wall first in 31.68 ahead of Tara-Lynn Nicholas in 32.20 and Kaylene Corbett in 32.27, with the finals set to take place on Thursday.

Corbett was back in the water for the 100m breaststroke final, winning the silver and confirming her Junior World Championships qualification in a time of 1:09.46, alongside Hanim Abrahams, who finished in 1:11.18 to the required 1:11.79. Schoenmaker claimed the gold in the event in 1:08.36.

In the 100m backstroke final, Jacques van Wyk was victorious with a time of 56.52, while the silver and bronze went to Martin Binedell and 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games team-member Neil Fair in 56.58 and 57.42, respectively.

The multi-disability races saw Cornell Loubser and Mark Roach top the medal podium in the S14-15 100m butterfly events in 1:05.50 and 1:00.38, respectively, while Kaleb van der Merwe won the S1-13 category in 1:13.44.

Thursday’s heats start at 10am and the finals at 6pm.

The staging of this event has been made possible through the support provided by Swimming SA partners, Sport and Recreation South Africa, SASCOC, National Lotteries Commission, Arena and Rand Water.

Pictures courtesy of Anesh Debiky

Qualifying Times after day three

17th Fina World Championships:
Cameron van der Burgh – 100m breaststroke – 59.73sec
Chad le Clos – 200m freestyle – 1min 46.84sec
Myles Brown – 200m freestyle – 1:47.55

6th Fina Junior World Swimming Championships:
Dune Coetzee – 100m butterfly – 1 01.04, 200m freestyle (SF) – 2:03.69
Kate Beavon – 200m freestyle (SF) – 2:04.48
Jarryd Baxter – 400m freestyle – 3:51.85, 200m freestyle – 1:50.45
Timothy Sates – 200m freestyle (SF) – 1:52.94
Rebecca Meder – 200m individual medley – 2:16.24, 1500m freestyle – 16.49.77, 200m freestyle (SF) – 2:05.66
Jenna Pearse – 200m freestyle (SF) – 2:05.89
Abi Meder – 1500m freestyle – 17:08.15
Gabi Grobler – 200m individual medley – 2:19.83, 200m freestyle (SF) – 2:05.64
Christina Mundell – 200m individual medley (SF) – 2:20.51, 100m breaststroke (SF) – 1:11.56
Michael Houlie – 100m breaststroke – 1:03.20
Daniel Swanepoel – 100m breaststroke -1:03.07
Bryce Skea– 100m breaststroke -1:03.07
Duncan Rudolph– 100m breaststroke (SF) -1:03.36
Bailey Musgrave– 100m breaststroke (SF) -1:03.56
Kaylene Corbett – 100m breaststroke – 1:09.46
Hanim Abrahams – 100m breaststroke – 1:11.18
Mariella Venter – 100m backstroke – 1:01.53
Inge Weidemann – 50m freestyle – 26.26

The post Fina World Champs qualifiers for Le Clos, Brown appeared first on SportsClub.

This year’s event doubles as the official 17th Fina World Championships and 6th Fina Junior World Championships Trials, which are due to take place in Hungary from 14-30 July and the USA from 23-28 August, respectively.

Olympian Cameron van der Burgh (pictured above) did not disappoint the Durban crowd as he swam to a Fina World Championship qualification time of 1min 00.07sec in the 100-metre breaststroke semi-finals to take the lead into Tuesday evening’s final.

Michael Houlie (16, pictured above), Daniel Swanepoel (18), who were both part of Team SA at the AUS Region 5 Games in Angola last year, Bryce Skea (17), Duncan Rudolph (17) and Bailey Musgrave (18) all dipped under the Fina Junior qualification time of 1:03.74.

The gold in the 400m freestyle went to Rio Olympian and Midmar Mile champion Matthew Meyer in 3:49.55 ahead of Brent Szurdoki in 3:51.21 but the real winner was 18-year-old Jarryd Baxter, who claimed the bronze in a Fina Junior World Championships qualification time of 3:51.85.

Rebecca Meder (14), Gabi Grobler (17) and Christina Mundell (15) penciled their names on the 6th Fina Junior World Swimming Championships qualification list as they finished the 200m individual medley semi-finals with the top three spots, clocking 2:17.80, 2:20.17 and 2:20.51, respectively.

The final of the event will take place on Tuesday.

In the 100m butterfly semi-final, 14-year-old Dune Coetzee finished in second place with a Fina Junior World Championships qualification time of 1:01.67 to the required 1:01.90, while Seychelles’ Felicity Passon was first in 1:00.82. The final of the event will be held on Tuesday.

The women continued to dominate the semi-finals as 2014 Commonwealth Games competitor Erin Gallagher (18) also raced to a Fina Junior World Championships qualification time of 26.14 in the 50m freestyle, to the required 26.47.

Rio Olympian Douglas Erasmus, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Tuesday, was quick off the block in the 50m butterfly semi-final, finishing first in 24.16, ahead of Reynard Wessels in 24.28 and US based Zane Waddell in 24.29.

In the multi-disability section, Aaron Putz won the gold in the 100m backstroke (S14-S15) in a time of 1:14.64, followed by Raymond de Freitas in 1:16.27 and Valentino Vergotine in 1:21.33, while Jean Pretorius brought home the gold in the S1-S13 category in 1:10.75 ahead of Franco Smit in 1:11.67 and Dave Williams in 1:27.45.

On the women’s side, the 100m backstroke (S14-S15) gold went to Christelle Kriel in 1:18.94, while Shannon Martins won the S1-S13 event in 1:31.24.

Pictures courtesy of Anesh Debiky

Qualifying Times following Day 1

17th Fina World Championships:
Cameron van der Burgh – 100m breaststroke (SF) – 1:00.07

6th Fina Junior World Swimming Championships:
Dune Coetzee – 100m butterfly (SF) – 1:01.67
Jarryd Baxter – 400m freestyle – 3:51.85
Rebecca Meder – 200m individual medley (SF) – 2:17.80
Gabi Grobler – 200m individual medley (SF) – 2:20.17
Christina Mundell – 200m individual medley (SF) – 2:20.51
Michael Houlie – 100m breaststroke (SF) – 1:02.55
Daniel Swanepoel – 100m breaststroke (SF) -1:02.80
Bryce Skea– 100m breaststroke (SF) – 1:02.88
Duncan Rudolph– 100m breaststroke (SF) – 1:03.36
Bailey Musgrave– 100m breaststroke (SF) – 1:03.56
Erin Gallagher – 50m freestyle (SF) – 24.16

The post SA’s finest chase down Fina World Championships spots appeared first on SportsClub.

Riders and officials on the day wore black bands on their arms, and flags were at half-mast in honour of the cyclist who passed away on the first day of the championships.

His teammate, Ebtissam Zayed, lapped up the gold medals in both the Elite Women’s Individual Pursuit and Keirin event, and the silver medal in the Team Time Trial (also with Donia Rashwan) events as they held him close to their hearts.

Zayed claimed the gold medal in the Elite Women’s Individual Pursuit, with South Africa’s Charlene du Preez riding into the silver medal spot. Danielle van Niekerk – who won the pursuit over Absolute Motion’s Julie Lee – claimed bronze.

The Egyptian team celebrated another victory soon after when Zayed won the Elite Women’s Keirin Final ahead of South Africa’s Bernette Beyers in second and Strasse Panda Team’s Jennifer Abbot in third.

Rio Olympian Zayed (pictured right) then went on to win the silver medal in the Elite Women’s Team Sprint final with teammate Donia Rashwan. Zayed was thrilled with her victories, and dedicated each win to her fallen teammate and friend.

’I don’t know if I’m happy or so sad because I won two gold medals today, but I lost my friend yesterday,’ she said. ‘I give him these two gold medals today. I know he’s not with me right here, but I give them to him anyway,’ she added.

Zayed mentioned that she was emotionally and physically tired. ‘We had so many events today because yesterday’s was cancelled, and it’s very hot as well, so it’s all made me very tired.’

http://www.sascoc.co.za/2017/03/21/hoffman-stars-but-track-champs-are-marred-by-tragedy/

Never having won a Keirin before against South African riders, Zayed was overwhelmed with her victory: ‘I’ve won before, but never against South Africa. They are such a strong nation with many more riders. I do all track cycling events – sprint and endurance – and I also do road cycling, but I never thought I’d win the Keirin.

‘I knew I could take second, but I dreamt to take the first. I have only had four days of training on the track before this event because I was doing road championships in Egypt and came straight to the training camp.

 Bernette (Beyers) is also such a strong rider and a good friend to me.

‘She’s been training at the UCI in Switzerland and is a very good sprinter. I am so, so happy about today.

 ,In the Individual Pursuit, I saw Charlene (du Preez) ahead of me but tears were blocking my eyes. I knew she was ahead of me, but I didn’t have it in me to ride hard because I was so sad. And then something told me to fight, and instead of seeing Charlene through my tears, I just saw Eslam. I became strong and just rode for my friend.’

Zayed mentioned that she and teammate Rashwan were hoping very much for the gold medal in the Team Time Trial, but were happy to take the silver after two golds.

The final two races of the Elite Men’s Omnium event – Elimination and Points race – also took place in the morning session of the second day, and were won by Evan Carstens and Nolan Hoffman respectively (see them in action, right).

This contributed to Hoffman winning the overall gold medal for points accumulated in the Omnium events, with Carstens in second and Hendricks in third.

In the Junior Women’s Keirin event, Courtney Smith just pipped Jessica Brown, with mere split seconds between them to take the gold medal (see main picture above).

Displaying a whirlwind of mixed emotions, she said: ‘I was super nervous because Jessica is such a great sprinter, she’s even been to Switzerland to sprint. She had quite a gap on me in the middle of the sprint and I just kept going. My legs were absolutely burning, but I had to keep going because I knew hers were too.

‘I didn’t know if I was going to close the gap or not, but I eventually got over her which was the best thing. It was amazing.’ 

Smith also mentioned how much she is enjoying racing against the other juniors. ‘I’m not racing against girls often here in KwaZulu-Natal, but this has been so incredible. They are all such good riders and its amazing competition,’ she added.

Team South Africa dominated the Team Pursuit in the Elite Men’s category, with Got It Global and Giant coming second and Future Stars Cycling Academy in third.

In the Elite Men’s Team Sprint, Team Giant took the honours ahead of Team South Africa in second and Seychelles in third.

The Junior Men’s Scratch race caused a thrill of excitement for teams and spectators as Morocco’s Mohamed Medrazi took the title after 10 kilometres with Rwanda’s Eric Jean Hambimana in second position and Seychelles’ Stephen Belle in third.

All pictures courtesy of Andrew McFadden/BOOGS Photography

Provisional summary of results

Elite Men Individual Pursuit – Final 4000m
1 Steven van Heerden (BCX) 5:03.34
2 Jared Poulton (Got It Global)
3 Othmane El Afi (MAR)

Elite Men Omnium
1 Nolan Hoffman (BCX) 172 (total points)
2 Evan Carstens (RSA) 154
3 Clint Hendricks (Got It Global) 148



Elite Women Keirin – Final
1 Ebtissam Zayed (EGY)
2 Bernette Beyers (RSA)
3 Jennifer Abbott (Strasse Panda)

Elite Women Team Sprint – Final
1 Bernette Beyers/Jennifer Abbott (RSA)
2 Ebtissam Zayed/Donia Rashwan (EGY)

Junior Men Scratch – 10km
1 Mohamed Medrazi (MAR)
2 Eric Jean Habimana (RWA)
3 Stephen Belle (SYC)

Junior Men Time Trial – Final 1km
1 Jason Oosthuizen (RSA)
2 Yassine Berjali (MAR)
3 Tye Stainbank (FSSA)

Junior Men Individual Pursuit – Final
1 Jason Oosthuizen (RSA) 3:44.75
2 Ricardo Broxham (RSA)
3 Mohamed Medrazi (MAR)

Junior Women Keirin – Final
1 Courtney Smith (RSA)
2 Jessica Brown (RSA)

Junior Women Team Sprint – Final
1 Jessica Brown/Courtney Smith (RSA)

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Sri Lanka’s young and inexperienced unit will wonder where the performances are going to come from, as another one-sided contest on Wednesday evening saw their depleting confidence take another battering to the all-round efforts of the South Africans.

Du Plessis, who struck 55 not out in the first match, continued to lead from the front without the skipper’s armband with a brilliantly constructed 105, while Miller proved once again that he’s more than just a big-hitter, getting his side past 300 with an excellent and unbeaten 117.

Form and depth to Miller’s batting appeared to be lacking last year, and when he was dropped from the side for the Tri-Nation series in West Indies, doubts surrounded his future in the 50-over format. He’s responded emphatically since, and blasted a century at the same ground that saw him return to form against Australia in October last year with his match-winning 118.

It was Du Plessis who allowed Miller to settle. Hashim Amla (15) and Quinton de Kock (17) fell cheaply, and Du Plessis was forced to watch his captain AB de Villiers (3) and JP Duminy (11) perish in relatively quick fashion too.

After being in a precarious position on 108-4, the hosts needed a solid stand to get them back on track, and they found that in Du Plessis and Miller, who put together 117. The Test captain refused to get bogged down and rotated the strike with ease.

When Du Plessis fell for 105, Miller, already well set on 67, saw the opportunity to open his arms and it paid off handsomely. He put on a brisk 60-run stand with Chris Morris (26 off 20), smashing six sixes on his way to his fourth ODI century. The 19 runs Miller scored off the last over allowed the Proteas to post an imposing 307-6.

On a deteriorating pitch, Sri Lankan skipper Upul Tharanga was probably regretting his decision to have a bowl first. It was, however, a promising start from the tourists, as Niroshan Dickwella and Tharanga played with freedom in the PowerPlay overs.

Wayne Parnell, who saw a hat trick of dropped catches go against his bowling in the third T20 last week at Newlands, probably thought he was in for another night of calamities as Andile Phehlukwayo dropped a sitter in the fourth over. Du Plessis then stopped the rot for Parnell with a sublime, one-handed grab in the covers, which ended the promising 45-run stand, removing Dickwella for 25. Parnell had another in his next over, and this time it was De Villiers with a fine grab, seeing off Tharanga for 26.

That opening stand was as good as it got for Sri Lanka, as the rest of the bowling lineup weighed in. Everyone who bowled took at least one wicket, as Phehlukwayo saw off the dangerous Kusal Mendis for 20, and any potential threat was removed when Morris saw off Dinesh Chandimal for 36.

Duminy couldn’t contribute with the bat, but two wickets and a run out made up for that, while Imran Tahir bowled with excellent control once again, putting the seal on the victory with the last wicket to bag figures of 2-26 from his nine overs.

It was the complete performance from the Proteas yet again, and they will look to close out the series when they lock horns in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Scorecard

Photo: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images

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The 35-year-old found the middle of the green at the par-five 18th after a superb approach from the short grass, then drilled his 20-foot putt home for an eagle three and a total of 18 under par.

Peter Karmis wins the #SunSibayaChallenge 👏 pic.twitter.com/r7Skuxh0MD

— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) October 28, 2016

Three was the lucky number for Karmis, who lifted his third Sunshine Tour trophy after seeing off the challenge of 36-hole leader Oliver Bekker.

Karmis broke 70 in all three rounds of the R750,000 tournament, including a 63 on Wednesday that gave him the first-round lead.

Becker was unable to consolidate his overnight lead, which came on the back of a Thursday round of 62. He settled for sole second, two strokes clear of third-placed Tyrone Ferreira.

Wallie Coetsee, Madalitso Muthiya, Jonathan Agren, Charl Coetzee and Le Roux Ferreira shared fourth place.

The post Karmis eagles his way to victory at Sun Sibaya Challenge appeared first on SportsClub.