Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 5 March 12:30 pm

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

# We begin with cricket: Proteas coach Shukri Conrad says they were just not good enough in yesterday’s T20 World Cup semifinal defeat to New Zealand in Kolkata. The Proteas, who had entered the knockout clash as tournament favourites and the only unbeaten team, were completely outplayed as the Black Caps sealed a nine-wicket victory to make Sunday’s final. Conrad admitted his team was comprehensively beaten rather than choking under pressure:

# Soccer: Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, says National Treasury has officially transferred the necessary funds to local governing body SAFA to implement Video Assistant Refereeing next season. This follows calls for VAR to be implemented over concerns about the standard of officiating in the Premier League. It’s estimated that the VAR implementation would cost around 80-million-rand. McKenzie says the funds would also cover referee training and technology installation at stadiums:

# Rugby: South Africa faces New Zealand, Spain and Great Britain in this weekend’s sevens world series tournament in Vancouver, Canada. The Blitzboks are currently second on the log behind Fiji after winning the tournaments in Cape Town and Perth, with less favourite results in Dubai and Singapore. The All Blacks are third and France fourth, followed by Australia, Argentina, Spain and Great Britain. The next tournament will take place in New York next weekend, followed by events in Hong Kong, Valladolid in Spain and Bordeaux in France.

# Golf: South Africa’s Casey Jarvis has a shot at DP World Tour history at the Joburg Open, which gets underway at the Houghton Golf Club today. The 22-year-old, who won back-to-back victories in the Kenya Open and South African Open, has a chance of joining giants of the game Nick Faldo and the late Seve Ballesteros as the only players who have claimed three successive victories on the DP World Tour. Jarvis says he has always wanted to win the Joburg Open:

# And motorsport: Formula One’s new era starts at this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, where teams will leap into the unknown and grapple with sweeping technical changes. F1 has simultaneously overhauled chassis and power unit regulations for the first time in decades, posing a challenge for drivers and engineers alike. With more power generated by electricity than last year’s engines, there is more emphasis on drivers needing to be tactical with energy deployment. Some drivers are comfortable with the changes, while others say there are still lots of unknowns.

Stay tuned for more news………….