Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 18 December 12:30 pm

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

# We begin with cricket: England trails Australia by 158 runs after the second day of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide. The hosts lost their final wicket with the score on 371 earlier today after Alex Carey’s 106. For England, captain Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer frustrated the Aussie bowlers with an undefeated 44-run ninth wicket partnership. They will resume on 45 and 30, respectively. Australian spinner Nathan Lyon took his tally of Test wickets to 564 today, overhauling compatriot Glenn McGrath to move to sixth on the all-time list.

More cricket news: The fourth T20 between South Africa and India had to be abandoned without a ball being bowled due to excessive fog in Lucknow. Umpires conducted six inspections to test visibility before play was called off. The adverse weather conditions were exacerbated by the notorious air pollution, with toxicity readings well into the hazardous zone. India leads the five-match series 2-1, with the fifth and final encounter set to be played in Ahmedabad tomorrow.

# Tennis: South Africa will host 14 weeks of International Tennis Federation world tour events in 2026, comprising seven women’s and seven men’s tournaments across the country. The WIPHOLD International Series will return to Pretoria for a fourth consecutive year, while Mpumalanga will host the inaugural Mbombela Open Global Series. Six weeks of tournaments will be held in Hillcrest, Durban. TSA says the expanded calendar provides South African players with the opportunity to compete on home soil, earn valuable ranking points, and gain vital international experience.

Meanwhile, world number one Carlos Alcaraz has parted ways with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero after over seven years. Forty-five-year-old Ferrero guided his fellow Spaniard to 24 career titles, including all six of his Grand Slam titles and eight ATP Masters One-thousand crowns. No reasons have been given for the duo parting ways. In a social media post, Alcaraz stated that Ferrero made him grow as an athlete, but more importantly as a person. Alcaraz will continue to work with Samuel Lopez, who joined the team last year.

# And soccer: FIFA’s council has approved a record-breaking financial contribution to be distributed for next year’s World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. The competition will see a 50-percent increase in prize money that will be paid out among the 48 participating teams. Each team is guaranteed at least 175-million-rand for their participation in the global showpiece, while the winner will receive 835-million-rand. FIFA president Gianni Infantino says this is groundbreaking in terms of the governing body’s financial contribution to the global soccer community.

Stay tuned for more news………….