Midday Sports News for 24 July 2025
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RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
New Black Caps coach expects more from Zimbabwe in Test series
New Zealand's Tim Seifert during the Blackcaps v Pakistan 3rd T20I at Eden Park Friday, 21 March Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Black Caps coach Rob Walter believes the team's adaptability is paving the way for their success in Zimbabwe. New Zealand went through the T20 Tri-Series unbeaten, scoring a three-run win over South Africa in the final in Harare on Sunday. Walter, who is on his first tour in charge, said the players adapted well to the local conditions. "Played on three different pitches through the series and all three of them played differently," Walter told RNZ. "The way the guys were able to adapt to the conditions and the opposition was excellent, both with bat and ball." Walter used 18 different players during the Tri-Series. Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway were the top three run scorers in the tournament, while Matt Henry grabbed 10 wickets. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi had the best bowling economy rate of 5.75, with Zak Foulkes just behind him on 6.31. Conway wasn't originally named in the squad for the Tri-Series, but was called up to replace the injured Finn Allen. He made the most of his opportunity, averaging 45 over four games. "Dev is a quality player and sometimes form can be a bit wanting, but ultimately these guys will shine at some point," Walter said. "It was good to see him expressing himself and playing with some nice freedom New Zealand's Matt Henry (L) and Mitchell Santner. Photo: photosport The Black Caps now prepare for a two-Test series against Zimbabwe starting in Bulawayo on Wednesday. Zimbabwe have played seven Tests so far this year. Their most recent was a 2-0 loss at home to South Africa. They lost the first Test by 328 runs and the second by an innings and 236 runs. "They'll certainly be a better team in this series, they've got a couple of players coming back that will definitely strengthen what they look like. "We'll be paying attention to our standards so we're looking to deliver a really good performance across the two Test matches." Test series, Queen Sports Club, Bulawayo First Test: 30 July- 3 August Second Test: 7-11 August Black Caps test squad Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Fisher, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Michael Bracewell (first Test only), Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Nathan Smith, Will Young.
Otago Daily Times
3 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Fairweather disqualified in world title defence
Canadian teenage sensation Summer McIntosh powered away to a convincing win in the final, clocking 3min 56.26sec to finish two seconds ahead of China's Li Bingjie. American Katie Ledecky followed in third, while Australian Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus was not present. Fairweather won the event at last year's World Championships, although the big three of Titmus, McIntosh and Ledecky did not feature on that occasion. She came within a whisker of that trio at last year's Paris Olympics, finishing an agonising 0.26sec behind bronze medallist Ledecky. Fellow New Zealander Eve Thomas also swam in the event, although missed out on a final spot, posting the 14th fasted heat time of 4min 10.10sec. Fairweather will get her chance at redemption in the 200m freestyle tomorrow, and the 800m freestyle later this week. - APL
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Pasifika Sipoti in brief for 28 July
Issak Fines-Leleiwasa scores a try for the ACT Brumbies. Photo: Photosport Former Wallaby Issak Fines-Leleiwasa is joining the Fijian Drua for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season. Fines-Leleiwasa has featured for the Western Force in the past three years and had declared his intentions to play for Fiji, with his three-year international stand-down period coming to an end in October 2026. The 29-year-old made his Wallabies debut against France in 2023. He is eligible to play for Fiji through his Fijian-born father. The first eight teams to compete in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Professional League, due to kick off in January 2026, will be announced next month. OFC said its club licensing committee will review the assessments and recommend the successful applicants to the OFC executive committee for their decision. There are 13 clubs in the running, with four out of New Zealand, two each from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, plus one club each from Solomon Islands, Tahiti, and Vanuatu. OFC professional league manager Stuart Larman said the the clubs have all worked hard to meet the requirements of the club licensing regulations. Tonga National Rugby League is seeking a new women's coach for the Pacific Championships. The person will take care of Tonga in their Pacific Cup fixtures against Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea, in October and November. Applications close on 1 August. Meanwhile, Melbourne Storm assistant coach Ryan Hinchcliffe will join Toa Samoa's head coach Ben Gardiner as an assistant for the men's Pacific Cup. Toa Samoa will meet Tonga and New Zealand in the competition. Fiji's under-20 men's rugby team will be part of the expanded World Rugby Under-20 Championship in 2026, scheduled to be hosted by Georgia. World Rugby announced the prestigious age-grade tournament has been expanded from the current 12 teams to 16 next year. Fiji, as the Oceania champion, will join hosts Georgia as well as USA, Japan and Uruguay at the event. World Rugby's Nigel Cass said the expansion is a significant step forward in the mission to enhance global competitiveness and provide more young players with the opportunity to shine on the international stage. The Vanuatu Judo Federation says they need government to invest in judo development, especially securing proper training facilities. VJF Vice President Nazario said a lot more success would be achieved with proper judo facilities or dojo. Vanuatu Daily Post reported the Vanuatu judo team, who trained without proper facilities, returned from the Pacific Mini Games in Palau with two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Nazario said a lot of young athletes are taking up judo and a proper training facility is needed to better prepare judokas for upcoming tournaments. Fiji is to host two major futsal tournaments later this year. Oceania Football said the OFC Futsal Men's Cup will be held in Suva in September - after the tournament was moved from Solomon Islands. The OFC said the decision was made with member associations, considering the logistics of hosting the competition in Honiara. Fiji will also host the Futsal Men's Champions League, in late November, in Suva.
