Latest sports news and fixtures: Saturday 23 November 2019
Sports lovers might be getting a little bit restless as their favourite pasttimes take a break for a while but there is still plenty to cover when it comes to the latest sports news.
The Telkom Knockout decides the first of its finalists today while there is also some Mzansi Super League action for cricket fans.
Latest sports news and fixtures
The Telkom Knockout
Golden Arrows vs Mamelodi Sundowns, Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium, Clermont, 15:00
Golden Arrows will be looking to cause another upset when they host Mamelodi Sundowns in a Telkom Knockout Semi-final at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Durban.
Arrows beat Sundowns in Durban earlier this month scoring a late winner in a game played in the driving rain. Steve Khompela’s side also upstaged Supersport United in the quarter-finals with a 1-0 win at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
The league result between the two teams will have had placed a psychological marker in Sundowns’ players’ minds, but captain Hlompho Kekana says they are not approaching the game with revenge high on the agenda.
“As a team like Mamelodi Sundowns we can’t fall into those traps of playing for revenge.
“We have been doing well in the previous years where we have been minding our own business and that was to make sure that we break every record that we wanted to break.
“Teams lose against us all the time but nobody has come to us for a revenge match. We are very professional enough to understand that we are carrying a lot of responsibility to win games for Sundowns.”
Mzansi Super League
Nelson Mandela Bay Giants vs Durban Heat, Port Elizabeth, 12:30
Nelson Mandela Bay Giants captain Jon-Jon Smuts is hoping all his players continue to contribute during the Mzansi Super League (MSL), just as they have been doing during the opening four rounds of the competition.
The top-of-the-table team are currently preparing for round five on Saturday when they are scheduled to host the winless Durban Heat at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.
The Eastern Cape franchise have been efficient, consistent and ruthless so far in MSL 2.0, sweeping away everything that has been put in front of them.
They have beaten defending champions the Jozi Stars twice and also toppled the previous pace-setters, the Cape Town Blitz, in their last match during the week.
What has stood out for Smuts is that no one single player was exceling for his team.
“The big thing about T20 cricket is that you can have one or two individuals stand up and win you games,” he said. “But when you have a team like outs that put in a really big performance all round like they did in the last game it’s really pleasing to see.
“I always say that when you’re playing well as a unit then that’s even better. Something is going to happen for you.”
Four of the top five bowling averages are held by Giants’ players – Junior Dala, Chris Morris, Onke Nyaku and Imran Tahir – while Smuts and Australian Ben Dunk fill the top two spots amongst the averages.
The skipper added: “I don’t want to say you relying on someone else, but you always know that there’s someone that got your back. Someone that’s there behind you that you can back 100 per cent.
“If you do have those individuals scoring in every game it makes you wonder what everyone else is kind of doing. So for us it’s really exciting that everyone is contributing.”
While the Giants are flying in 2019, it has been pretty much same old for the Heat.
They cannot buy a win, although last season’s basement team can hardly be blamed for that. The Durbanites cannot even buy enough game time to try and win.
The rain seems to follow the poor Heat everywhere, even when they leave the familiar surroundings of Kingsmead Stadium as they again experience in Centurion against the Tshwane Spartans on Thursday.
Their three washouts and one defeat leave them second bottom on the table and batsman David Miller is not happy.
“It’s very, very frustrating because obviously we just haven’t got going,” he lamented. “I think that’s probably the biggest thing.
“We lost the one game that we did play so we’re obviously a little behind the eight ball.”
But Miller is keeping his chin up ahead of the PE trip.
“Chatting to a few of the guys like Dane Vilas for instance, he pointed out that the Stars won one game out of five last year and they ended up winning the comp,” he continued. “So we’re definitely not out of the comp and there’s definitely still a lot to play for.
“We just need to get onto the park and get some games going. So it is frustrating but we are prepping as well as we can. There’s nothing much we can do about the weather to be fair.”
And despite their woes, Miller is still enjoying the MSL experience.
He added: “It’s always cool to be part of this comp. There’s just a different sort of feel to it.
“There’s some seriously good players from around the world as well as the Proteas so there’s good vibes. But it’s never easy when you’re not playing and we just need go get on the field and get the opportunity to produce.”
Read all about the South Africans in the Heineken Cup
Kyalami 9 Hour
The Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit will once again return to glory by bringing car enthusiasts and petrol heads to the South African leg of the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli for the Kyalami 9 hour 2019 challenge. This world-class international motorsport event forms part of the only global GT3 championship and is set to take place from 21-23 November 2019.
With over 20 international cars already committed to the start grid, including South African drivers Jordan Pepper and Kelvin van der Linde, this prestigious race will be returning home. Fans can expect two days of packed race track activity including a support race, qualifying laps, celebrity hot laps, team activations and grid walks, all leading up to the 9 hour race on 23 November. Alongside the race activity is an extensive program of lifestyle entertainment for the whole family including consumer activations, main stage hosting South Africa’s hottest bands and DJs, food trucks, kids zone, bars and more. Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit is the place to be this November. Gates open at 8am.
Latest sports news
South Africa will join Egypt and Cote d’Ivoire to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after winning the bronze medal match 6-5 in a penalty shootout against Ghana at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday evening.
At the end of fulltime, the teams were tied at 2-all and the dreaded penalty shoot-out was needed to separate the teams in the Total Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations third-place play-off match.
South Africa secured their Olympics berth for the third time in history and are headed to their second successive Games after Rio 2016.
The Blue Bulls Company on Friday welcomed new shareholder Patrice Motsepe, the mining businessman and billionaire owner of Mamelodi Sundowns.
South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli carded an impressive bogey-free four-under 68 at the RSM Classic US PGA Tour event in Georgia on Thursday.
The 29-year-old was right in the mix in a tie for 14th, three shots behind American Webb Simpson who led after a round of seven-under 65.
The former world-number 44, now ranked 104th, picked up his first birdie of the day on the par five fourth. It was all pars from that point until the par five 14th where he made another gain. To cap off his day, Frittelli birdied his final two holes to ensure he vaulted up the leaderboard.
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