Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 17 March 12:30 pm

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

# We start off with cricket: The Proteas Women claimed an 18-run victory over New Zealand in Hamilton to level the five-match T20 series. Tazmin Brits scored 53, captain Laura Wolvaardt an unbeaten 41 and Kayla Reyneke a whirlwind 28 off just nine balls, and the visitors posted 177 for five. Ayabonga Khaka then took four wickets and Nonkululeko Mlaba three, as the homeside was bowled out for 159. New Zealand won the opening match by 80 runs. The third T20 will be played in Auckland on Friday.

# Athletics: South African long jumper Luvo Manyonga says he remains determined to put himself in the frame for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The 35-year-old, who won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, will return to the international stage after a seven-year hiatus. He has been selected in the South African delegation to compete in the World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, this weekend. Manyonga, who has served two doping bans, says he is ready to compete internationally again.

# Rugby: Former England coach Eddie Jones says it would be a huge mistake to fire Steve Borthwick before next year’s World Cup in Australia. Borthwick led the team to 12 consecutive victories at the start of the Six Nations, but that was followed by four losses in a row. Borthwick was Jones’s assistant until he took over from him shortly before the 2023 World Cup. Jones says he did a few things wrong during the Six Nations, but his union should support him rather than sacking him.

# Soccer: Iran has reportedly asked world governing body FIFA to move its World Cup group matches from the US to Mexico. Two of the matches are scheduled for Los Angeles and the other in Seatle, but Iran is concerned over its players’ safety after the US and Israel’s attacks on the country. The president of Iran Soccer, Mehdi Taj, says the team will not travel to the US after president Donald Trump explicitly stated he couldn’t ensure their safety. The US, Mexico and Canada are co-hosts.

And more soccer news: Chelsea had been fined around 240-million-rand, the Premier League’s biggest fine to date, and a one-year transfer ban, suspended for two years. This follows after the club admitted to making secret payments, totaling just over one-billion-rand, to unregistered agents and third parties in connection with transfers between 2011 and 2018 under Roman Abramovich’s ownership. Chelsea has also been given a nine-month academy transfer ban. The Premier League says the total fine was halved because the Blues self-reported and co-operated with the investigation.

Stay tuned for more news………….