Latest news with #Tri-Nations
IOL News
16 hours ago
- Sport
- IOL News
COMMENT: Kwena Maphaka hasn't quite lived up to expectations . . . but time still is on his side
FILE - Proteas starlet Kwena Maphaka hasn't quite been at his best during the current tour of Zimbabwe. Since that day, however, the fast bowler has yet to light up the international scene. The 19-year-old earned his maiden international cap in the Caribbean last year, becoming the youngest Proteas player in history. Maphaka was certainly a standout player at the U19 level and in domestic cricket, as his sheer pace proved too much for opposition batters. However, the same cannot be said about his impact in international cricket and his maiden SA20 season with the Paarl Royals. While youngsters such as Lhuan-dre Pretorius have stolen the show since getting a taste of international cricket against Zimbabwe over the last month, left-arm fast bowler Kwena Maphaka is yet to fire on all cylinders. But the youngster still has plenty of time to acclimatise, having only accumulated in 11 international caps across the three formats, where he averages 56 in his two Tests, 24 in ODIs and 45 in the shortest format of the game. Perhaps because Pretorius, his SA U19 teammate, has set the world alight since making his Proteas debut, there are growing concerns over the quiet start that Maphaka has had at the highest level. In the ongoing Tri-Nations series in Zimbabwe, the youngster has played two out of the four games the Proteas have played, taking a two-wicket haul in one match while going wicketless in the other. While he finds his feet in international cricket, Rubin Hermann, Senuran Muthusamy and Dewald Brevis, another set of newbies in international cricket, have been impressive in Zimbabwe. As a top-order batter, Hermann has certainly given coach Shukri Conrad something to think about going into the Australia white-ball tour next month. Spin-bowling all-rounder Muthusamy and middle-order batter Bevis have had the same impact in their respective roles. In Maphaka's case, he is yet to make a strong enough case for a spot in the full-strength squad that will most likely be selected to travel to Australia next month. After all, the Proteas have a long list of fast bowlers, and two of them, Marco Jansen and Nandre Burger, can certainly rank it up to the 145 kph mark, just like Maphaka. As things stand, it is more likely that the youngster will be allowed back to domestic cricket to work on his game, particularly his consistency. The Proteas are scheduled to play New Zealand in the final of the Tri-Nations series in Harare on Saturday, and Maphaka could get an opportunity to further showcase his skills.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
TOSS: Proteas play three spinners after Black Caps elect to chase in Harare
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has won the toss and inserted the Proteas in the T20I clash at the Harare Sports Club. Picture: Zimbabwe Cricket Proteas captain Rassie van der Dussen lost his first toss in the ongoing Tri-Nations series in Zimbabwe, as New Zealand opted to bowl first at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday. Despite having lost the toss, Van der Dussen highlighted that the Proteas would have opted to bat first anyway as they look to challenge themselves in setting the score, a feat they have not yet done in the ongoing series. The Proteas lost against the Black Caps last week and will be looking to level the score heading into the final of the series, which will be against the same opponent later this week. The Proteas have opted to go with three spinners in today's contest as leg-spinner Nqaba Peter, George Linde and Senuran Muthusamy will play in the same starting XI for the first time this series.
IOL News
14-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Dewald Brevis' pyrotechnics gets Shukri Conrad's T20 era underway on a high note in Harare
Dewald Brevis struck 41 off just 17 balls to power the Proteas to victory in the first T20I in Harare. Picture: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix Debutant Rubin Hermann top-scored with 45 and Dewald Brevis hit quickfire 41 to ensure Shukri Conrad's tenure as the new Proteas white-ball coach started on a positive note with a five-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first T20I at the Harare Sports Club on Monday. Conrad has enjoyed great success with the Test side, climaxing in the World Test Championship Final success at Lord's last month, but is embarking on a whole new journey with the limited-overs teams. The 57-year-old began by fielding three debutants in top-order batters Hermann and Lhuan-dre Pretorius along with allrounder Corbin Bosch. The latter played his part too by guiding the Proteas' past Zimbabwe's 141/6 with an unbeaten 23 off 15 balls. It was, however, Conrad's former SA U19 prodigy Dewald Brevis that made the biggest impact. The Proteas were precariously placed at 38/3 after the dismissal of stand-in skipper Rassie van Dussen (16) towards the end of the Powerplay when Brevis walked to the crease. The MI Cape Town starlet brought an immediate impetus to the Proteas' innings with a flurry of boundaries. Brevis was merciless against the spin of Ryan Burl, smashing a boundary and three consecutive sixes, as he took 25 runs off the 11th over. 🚨 MATCH RESULT 🚨 A brilliant run chase led by our young guns! 🔥 Rubin Hermann and Dewald Brevis delivered standout performances with the bat, showing class, composure, and confidence under pressure! 🇿🇦💪 The Proteas Men got the job done in style to kick off the Tri-Nations… — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) July 14, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The momentum switched heavily in the Proteas' favour with not even Brevis' (41 off 17 balls, 1x4, 5x6) dismissal in the following over stemming the visitors' march to victory. "When I made my mark there, it was a big privilege to represent South Africa again, and that was what was going through my head. It was super fun, and I am glad we won," Brevis said. "I am just watching the ball and wherever the ball goes, it needs to go, irrespective of the size of the boundary." Brevis and Hermann shared a 72-run partnership off just 37 balls, which ate chunks out of the Proteas' eventual successful run-chase. "It was quite clear. We were in an interesting position, but we were only a few boundaries away. It wasn't a big total we chased. There was no need to rush anything or go searching - plan was to keep it simple and play our game," he added. Hermann's contribution should not be undervalued too for the left-hander, despite being on his international debut, provided a calming influence in the middle-order after the early wickets. The left-hander showed silly touches, utilising the sweep to good effect against the spinners, and also drilled some powerful drives straight down the ground before his off-stump was uprooted by a brilliant Richard Ngarava delivery. The left-arm seamer finished with excellent figures of 3/35 after earlier picking up both Pretorius (0) and Reeza Hendricks (11). Zimbabwe, however, needed more from their support bowlers after their batting unit delivered a below-par total on a sluggish Harare Sports Club surface. Left-arm spinner George Linde was excellent for the Proteas with figures of 3/10, while seamer Nandre Burger (1/22) also made an impressive comeback after a 10-month international absence Zimbabwe captain Sikander Raza's experience shone though with the skipper striking an unbeaten 54 off 38 balls (3x4, 2x6), while Brian Bennett (30) and Burl (29) also made worthwhile contributions, but unfortunately it was not enough for the home team on the day. The Proteas will be in action again on Wednesday when the face New Zealand in the second match of the T20I Tri-Series.
The South African
21-06-2025
- Sport
- The South African
RWC 1995 anniversary: Remembering Joost van der Westhuizen
Next Tuesday will officially mark the 30th anniversary of the 1995 World Cup final, a match in which Joost van der Westhuizen pulled off one of the all-time great tackles on All Blacks superstar Jonah Lomu. That was just one special moment in a career littered with heroic acts from Van der Westhuizen, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest Springboks to have ever donned the green and gold. Tragically, Joost is one of five Springbok players from that RWC final who has passed away. In the second part of this remembrance series, we look back at the career of the legendary scrumhalf. You can find part one here Van der Westhuizen added a Tri-Nations and two Currie Cup titles to his honours roll in a career that lasted eight years beyond the 1995 World Cup. He went on to represent the Boks at the 1999 and 2003 World Cups before retiring as the then most-capped Springbok. Capped 89 times for the Springboks Joost became the country's first choice scrumhalf in the mid-to-late nineties to early 2000s retiring a rugby legend with a career test try tally of 38 earning him the record of being the scrum-half with the most tries in Test Rugby. Inducted in the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007 he represented South Africa in three Rugby World Cups in 1995, 1999 and 2003. Of course one of his most iconic moments came during the famous 1995 triumph when he completed an incredible tackle on Lomu. He is also the only Springbok to captain his country in both the Sevens and the 15-man games in World Cups. After retirement, stints in front of the cameras at SuperSport followed briefly before he moved into other avenues of business. Van der Westhuizen was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2011, an illness he fought until he passed away at the age of 45 in 2017. The J9 Foundation, founded in 2012, assists other MND sufferers, and Van der Westhuizen's family remains actively involved with this charity. *Keep an eye on TheSouthAfrican as the four remaining articles in this remembrance content series will be published over the next few days Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Barnama
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Barnama
Malayan Tigress Retain Most Players For 2026 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers
KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Bernama) -- National head coach Joel Cornelli has retained more than 90 per cent of his existing players to face the 2026 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, scheduled to take place from June 29 to July 5. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced today in a statement that Cornelli has retained 21 of the 23 players in the Malayan Tigress squad that participated in the Tri-Nations tournament in Thimphu, Bhutan, which concluded earlier this month. Among the players retained by the Brazilian coach are prolific striker Intan Sarah Anisah Zulgafli, experienced defender Steffi Sarge Kaur, and leading goalkeeper Nurul Azurin Mazlan. bootstrap slideshow 'The new players selected are Malayan Tigress Under-19 (U-19) goalkeeper Daliea Eliesa and striker Henrietta Justine. 'The national women's football squad will first play two Tier 1 international matches against the UAE (United Arab Emirates) on June 18 and 22 in Dubai before flying to Tajikistan to face the 2026 Women's Asian Cup Qualification campaign,' the statement said. In the 2026 Women's Asian Cup Qualification campaign, Malaysia has been drawn in Group H to start the competition against Palestine on June 29, followed by Tajikistan (July 3) and North Korea on July 5 with all matches scheduled to be held at the Central Stadium, Dushanbe. The eight group winners will qualify for the final round along with Australia, China, South Korea and Japan in Australia in March 2026. The last time Malaysia qualified for the Women's Asian Cup was in 1995, when they were the hosts. The national team's best achievement in the quadrennial tournament was third place in the 1983 edition in Thailand.
