Gary Lemke looks back at a jam-packed sporting weekend as the Proteas suffered heartbreak in the T20 World Cup finals, while England staged a dramatic comeback over Slovakia in a Euro 2024 last 16 clash.
ENGLAND ARE STILL IN AFTER LOOKING OUT
After 90 minutes it was #Southgateout and England are going home. Ten playing minutes later and it was “Southgatein and “It’s Coming Home”. England came from 1-0 down to first equalise through a Jude Bellingham 95th-minute stunner and then a Harry Kane contribution in the first minute of extra-time to beat Slovakia 2-1.
England, the Euro 2024 pre-tournament favourites, have stuttered into the quarter-finals, where they next play Switzerland. They are still tournament favourites, at 7/2. Football can still come home. Others through to the quarters so far are hosts Germany and Spain, who meet in a quarter-final blockbuster. Monday’s last 16 games feature France against Belgium and Portugal versus Slovenia.
INDIA WON IT, THE PROTEAS DIDN’T CHOKE
Obviously, emotions get the better of fans in the moment, but if you still feel that the Proteas “choked” in their T20 World Cup final against India then you simply don’t understand elite-level sport. World Cups are won on single moments of genius or brilliance.
Remember Kolbe’s charge-down, Pollard’s clutch penalty, Willemse’s scrum call? They came back to open-top bus parades. David Miller was 5cm away from taking it to 10 runs needed (9 for the super over) off 5 balls, and at the crease, when he fell to one of the most outstanding catches in a final you will ever see. Those are the fine margins; psychologists call it the “one percenters” that are at this level. Well done both teams, what an epic final.
RUSSELL BENEFITS FROM LATE DRAMA
With Lando Norris all over the back of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull heading into the final few laps of the Austrian Grand Prix, you realised that F1 has a new rivalry. At last, someone to consistently challenge Super Max. So, how was it that George Russell emerged as the winner? Well, Verstappen and Norris came together and both suffered punctures.
They went into the pits and Russell, who was some 15 seconds behind the battle, took advantage to claim victory. Verstappen looked at fault and Norris had every right to feel aggrieved. It was a dramatic end to a race where it seemed it would be another Verstappen-Norris exacta.
TOUR DE FRANCE TONE IS SET
After just two stages in the Tour de France, the stage is set. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the No1, another former two-time winner Tadej Pogacar, Belgian Remco Evenepoel and Spaniard Richard Carapaz, have already pulled 6 seconds clear of the next rider in the general classification.
Pogacar is in yellow, despite four riders having the same overall time. That shouldn’t change on Monday where there will be a sprint finish after 231km. South Africa’s leading hope Louis Meintjes is 2min 31sec off the front four, while Ryan Gibbons is 26:57 behind the leaders.
BAGNAIA WINS, BINDER STUCK IN SEVENTH
While F1 looks to have a genuine rivalry, the MotoGP season is also developing into a competitive affair. Francesco Bagnaia beat Jorge Martin to the line to win in Assen, but the eye-popping stat is that the Italian, who also won last year, was 30 seconds over the 25 laps than he was in 2023.
Martin was over three seconds back at the line – substantial in MotoGP terms – but retains a 10-point lead over Bagnaia in the standings. Brad Binder’s season seems to have flatlined. He finished seventh, courtesy of a Pedro Acosta crash on the final lap, and the South African is seventh on the overall standings.
VAN HEERDEN DROPPED TWICE, BEATEN
Danie van Heerden lost in his bid to become world super heavyweight power slapping champion in Las Vegas. Yes, this is a sports blog. Koa Viernes, aka “The Crazy Hawaiian” retained his title when he won a unanimous decision after five slaps each. Viernes, who won the toss and went first, was actually deducted a point after his first slap which did not hit the target area.
With the second slap, he dropped Van Heerden, who just managed to beat the 10-count. Exactly the same happened in the third round (slap) and the South African’s strength drained. The judges’ scores were 48-44 and 47-45 (twice).
AROUND THE WATER COOLER …
There’s no such thing as an official final at Craven Week, but everyone knows that the last game is for schoolboy braggings rights. The Sharks can hold those for the next year after beating the Bulls 26-19 in the final match …
The Baby Boks were impressive in their 57-7 opening win over Fiji at the Under-20 Rugby World Cup. They play Argentina on Thursday, the same day France meet New Zealand … Alex Pereira retained his light-heavyweight title at UFC 303 with a crushing knockout kick to the head of Jiri Prochazka in the second round. The Brazilian, now with an 11-2 career record (one loss was to Israel Adesanya at middleweight), is the most destructive stand-up fighter in the sport … S
outh Africa’s women’s cricketers were forced to follow on in their one-off Test against India. The hosts scored 603-6 decl and the Proteas replied with 266 and reached 300-5, trailing by 105 runs, early on day four.