Cricket-South Africa's Mulder makes record score as new test captain
(Reuters) -South Africa's stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder scored an unbeaten double century to set a record for a new test skipper and help his side to a formidable 465 for four wickets on the first day of the second test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Sunday.
Mulder made 264 not out, the highest score by a player in his first test innings as captain, eclipsing Graham Dowling's 239 for New Zealand against India 56 years ago.
The 27-year-old all-rounder took over as skipper from the injured Keshav Maharaj and led from the front as the touring side thrashed the ball to all corners of the Queens Sports Club.
It was a second successive century for Mulder, who hit 147 in the second innings of South Africa's 328-run win in the first test.
His century came up in 118 balls and his double ton in 214, the second fastest by a South African in test cricket, and as the run rate increased he got to 250 off 243 balls including 35 boundaries.
South Africa, playing without many of the key players who helped them to win the World Test Championship final against Australia last month, were put into bat by Zimbabwe, who removed openers Tony de Zorzi (10) and debutant Lesogo Senokwane (3) cheaply in a positive start.
But Mulder, promoted up the order to number three since the Lord's final, and David Bedingham put on 184 runs for the third wicket before the latter was trapped lbw by Tanaka Chivanga for 82.
Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius was aggressive from the outset and scored 78 off 87 balls before top edging and being caught to end a 217-run partnership with Mulder.
After Pretorius was dismissed, Zimbabwe took the new ball and Mulder was bowled when on 247, only for a no ball to be called as Chivanga had overstepped.
Mulder will resume on Monday with Dewald Brevis, who is 15 not out, with Sunday's play halted by bad lightjust before the close.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ed Osmond)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Rugby-Sleepless nights ahead for Schmidt as first Lions test looms
Rugby Union - Autumn Internationals - England v Australia - Allianz Stadium Twickenham, London, Britain - November 9, 2024 Australia head coach Joe Schmidt before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers SYDNEY (Reuters) -Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt woke up on Monday morning to reviews of his team's last-gasp win over Fiji that ranged from lukewarm to savage and the knowledge that the first test against the British and Irish Lions was only 12 sleeps away. Despite dominating all but the last minute of the first half, Australia trailed the Pacific islanders by four points going into the final couple of minutes before skipper Harry Wilson wrestled his way over the line to snatch a 21-18 win. Schmidt accepted it was not a display that would have the Lions camp quaking in their boots and conceded he had a "myriad" of things to keep him awake at night over the next two weeks. "We haven't been together for six months, and to have five trainings and to be seamless would be an expectation that I hoped for, rather than believed would immediately happen," the New Zealander told reporters in Newcastle. "So now we have another short runway to try to improve from where we were today." Injuries are always high on the list of concerns for coaches and particularly for Schmidt given the paucity of experienced players in key positions he was bequeathed when he took over a year ago. Noah Lolesio, the flyhalf Schmidt has started in 13 of the 15 tests in his time in charge, left the field on a stretcher and was taken to hospital after suffering whiplash when he slammed his head on the turf in a tackle. Schmidt did not rule out calling up an experienced playmaker when he names his squad for the Lions series even if he felt 17-cap replacement flyhalf Ben Donaldson had done a decent job. "If you have a look what Ben Donaldson did, I'm not sure that he didn't do exactly what was needed to do," he said. "He put us into the corner. He did what was needed to make sure that we were in the game at the end and got the game done." EXTRA MUSCLE Australia blew two strong attacking positions against Fiji when they were pinged for inaccurate lineout throws, so a concussion suffered by hooker Dave Porecki will be another worry for Schmidt. A bigger overall concern will, perhaps, be how the Fijians took control of the match in the second half once they got their big, backline ball-runners firing. But for the inaccuracy of some of the Fijian play and the idiosyncrasy of some of the officiating, the visitors could easily have been out of sight by the time Wilson touched down. The absence through injury of hulking lock Will Skelton and standout loose forward Rob Valetini did not help and Schmidt will be hoping to have them both fit to face the Lions in Brisbane on July 19. Fiji's Australian coach Mick Byrne thought that with a bit of extra muscle up front the Wallabies could compete with the Lions. "I think there's a couple of key players missing today," he said. "The Lions are going to be an attritional team. I think if they can hang in there, in those attritional parts of the game, their outside players can be pretty exciting." (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
4-time PGA Tour champ Ed Fiori dies at 72
CALIFORNIA: Ed Fiori, who won four titles on the PGA Tour, including the 1996 Quad Cities Classic that prevented Tiger Woods from his first victory, passed away from cancer on Sunday at 72. A native of Lynnwood, California, Fiori won his first title at the 1979 Southern Open, then added victories at the 1981 Western Open and 1982 Bob Hope Desert Classic. Fiori is best known for his triumph at the Quad Cities Classic, now known as the John Deer Classic, when he defeated a 20-year-old Woods in the final round at Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Ill. "You kind of root your playing partner on, he roots for you and maybe you can feed off each other and keep it going," Fiori said of how his two days went playing with Woods, who was participating in just his third event on the PGA Tour. "Playing with Tiger kind of raised my intensity a little bit. It brought my game up with it, I guess." Woods led Fiori, who was 42 at the time, by one shot entering the final round. Woods dominated Fiori off the tee, but eventually faded, opening the door for Fiori, who shot a 67 to hold off Andrew Magee for a two-shot win. Woods, who hit quadruple-bogey on the fourth hole, shot a 72 and finished T5. During yesterday's (July 6) final round of the John Deere Classic, the PGA Tour reflected on Fiori's legacy and praised his determination in his fight against cancer. "Ed Fiori was a true gentleman in our sport, and is a player who would often be referred to as a pro's pro," PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady said. "In three of his four wins on the PGA Tour, he dueled down the stretch with future World Golf Hall of Fame members, most notably Tiger Woods in 1996. That grit and resolution in the face of immeasurable odds is incredibly admirable in every aspect of life, and I know he battled cancer with that same determination until the end. "He will be missed by all of us at the Tour." — REUTERS
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Tennis-Wimbledon expansion plan goes into legal tie-break
LONDON (Reuters) -Wimbledon fans will have eyes only for the tennis this week but for those who run the world's oldest and most prestigious Grand Slam, the real high-stakes contest will unfold not on their grass, but in London's Royal Courts of Justice. On one side of the legal net is the campaign group Save Wimbledon Park, while facing them in a judicial review of their ambitious expansion plan on Tuesday and Wednesday will be the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC). It is the latest stage of a long-running fight that has split the south-west London "village", which has been home to the Championships since 1877. Last September the AELTC secured planning permission from the Greater London Authority (GLA) to treble the size of the main site to include 39 new courts including an 8,000-seat show court by redeveloping a former golf course on parkland land it already owns. The 200-million-pound ($272.92-million) expansion aims to increase daily capacity to 50,000 people from the current 42,000, upgrade facilities and move the qualifying rounds on site to mirror the Australian, French, and U.S. Opens. The plans have the backing of several leading players, including Novak Djokovic, and 62% of 10,000 residents in Merton and Wandsworth, the London boroughs that share the new site, also support the scheme, according to the AELTC. 'Our confidence in the development and the proposals that we've been working on for many years is as strong as it ever has been,' Wimbledon tournament directorJamie Baker told Reuters. 'For the championships to continue to be in the position that it is and to deliver all the benefits to stakeholders including the local community it is vital that we are able to stage the tournament on one site and bring all the grounds together." However, this week's judicial review will decide whether the GLA's decision to grant planning permission was unlawful. Opponents of the development, including Thelma Ruby, a 100-year-old former actress who lives in a flat overlooking the park, and West Hill Ward Councillor Malcolm Grimston, say the club's plans will cause environmental damage and major disruption to the area. 'It's terribly important that it does not go ahead not just for myself but for the whole planet and future generations," Ruby told Reuters. "I overlook this beautiful landscape and there are all sorts of covenants that say you mustn't build on it, and yet the tennis people have this unnecessary plan they admit will cut down all these glorious trees, which will harm wildlife. 'They're using concrete, building roads, they're going to have lorries polluting and passing my window every 10 minutes. The whole area will be in chaos as they're closing off roads,' she said. Save Wimbledon Park says the GLA failed to consider covenants that were agreed by the AELTC, including restrictions on redeveloping the land, when it bought the Wimbledon Park golf course freehold from Merton council in 1993 for 5.2 million pounds. The AELTC paid a reported 63.5 million pounds to buy the Golf Club's lease, which was due to run until 2041. The campaign group also believes the GLA failed to consider the land's statutory Public Recreation Trust status which means it should be held as "public walks or pleasure grounds". 'It is not antipathy towards the AELTC that's driving this, as some of the benefits are real, such as the extension of lake,' councillor Grimston told Reuters. 'The problem is that it will treble the footprint of the current Championship and turn what currently has very much a feel of being rural England and a gentle pace of life into an industrial complex that would dominate the views of the lake. 'That's why it's classified as Metropolitan Open Land, which is the urban equivalent of the green belt that has been protected for many decades in planning law in the UK and rightly so,' he said. The AELTC say the plans will improve the biodiversity of the park, as well as bringing parts of it back into public use. 'The London Wildlife trust have endorsed the plans, they've spent many hours scrutinising our analysis and our expert views," the AELTC's head of corporate affairs Dominic Foster said. "We know that this expansion will deliver a very significant benefit to biodiversity, whereas golf courses are not good for biodiversity.' ($1 = 0.7328 pounds) (Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley, editing by Mitch Phillips and Clare Fallon)
