Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 19 March 12:30 pm

Good day, let’s look at the latest sports news and scores:

# We start off with cricket: Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter, AB de Villiers from South Africa, believes team balance and Indian great Virat Kohli’s presence in the top order will give the team a chance to win the Indian Premier League for the first time this year. The team had all the big names over the years, but never succeeded in lifting the trophy. De Villiers represented RCB from 2011 to 2021. He describes this year’s team, also including captain Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone, as pure power.  

# Soccer: Africa’s strongest teams continue their quest this week to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Northern America. Bafana Bafana plays Lesotho in Polokwane, Limpopo, on Friday, while Rwanda and Nigeria will face off in Kigali. Today, Cameroon will face Eswatini in Mbombela, South Africa. Tomorrow, Mozambique will play Uganda in Cairo, Egypt. Among the other fixtures are Liberia against Tunisia, and the Central African Republic against Madagascar. Nine slots are reserved in the tournament for African teams, plus an inter-confederation play-off slot.

# Golf: A strong field of 86 players has assembled for the Ladies Open which tees off at the Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate in Gauteng today. The total prize money is one-million-rand. The field includes South Africans Danielle du Toit, Casandra Alexander, and Kaiyuree Moodley, England’s Hayley Davis, and France’s Lucie Malchirand. Scotland’s Lorna McClymont, who is playing her third tournament since joining the professional ranks earlier this year, says her brother got her into the game:

# Rugby: All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has made peace with New Zealand Rugby’s strict eligibility policy after initially pushing to select overseas-based players. The union limits playing for the national team to players based in the country to bolster domestic competitions, although some long-serving All Blacks are allowed short spells with overseas clubs while on sabbaticals. Robertson says the policy is flexible enough to give him a strong squad, and he must make sure they can continue the flow of quality professional players.

# And finally, tennis: The Professional Tennis Players’ Association, co-founded by Novak Djokovic, is taking legal action against the sport’s governing bodies over anti-competitive practices and a lack of player welfare. The 163-page lawsuit says professional players are stuck in a rigged game, which gives them limited control over their careers and brands. The association also criticises the scheduling of matches, ranking systems, and control over image rights. The ATP says the case has no merit and it will vigorously defend its position.

Stay tuned for more news………….