Gary Lemke looks back at a jam-packed sporting weekend as the Proteas clinched a dramatic win over the West Indies to book a semi-final spot in the T20 World Cup, while the Springboks dominated Wales.
PROTEAS KEEP THAT ‘W’ STREAK GOING
Sri Lanka, tick. Netherlands, tick. Bangladesh, tick. Nepal, tick. USA, tick. England, tick. West Indies, tick. By beating West Indies on the D/L Method in the final over runs with Tabraiz Shamsi man of the match, South Africa made it a perfect seven wins and they’re into the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
There they’ll play either Australia or, rub your eyes, Afghanistan. The Afghans pulled off a historic win over the Aussies, who now need to beat India, or hope Bangladesh beat Afghanistan. Is this the year the Proteas will finally go all the way? Close games historically lost, D/L conspiring against them, have gone their way. Have the planets finally aligned? Will there be open-top countrywide bus parades? Even though it’s T20? One game at a time and all that, but they’re one win away from the final. To lift the World Cup they’d have won all nine of their games. That would be an extraordinary achievement.
South Africa and England march into the #T20WorldCup semi-finals 🥁
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) June 24, 2024
📲 https://t.co/Co5P9o8sE7 pic.twitter.com/aRtLsE95UX
EURO BIG GUNS KEEPING THEIR POWDER DRY
We’re also getting to the knockout stages of Euro 2024 and hosts Germany booked their spot in the last eight with a come-from-behind 1-1 draw with Switzerland. Scotland will again arrive home before the postcards after losing to Hungary.
It’s probably fair to say that we’re still waiting for the first real upset of the tournament. On Monday night it’s Albania versus Spain and Croatia taking on Italy. The betting has changed, slightly, with Germany and France now 4/1 favourites and England easing out to 9/2.
BOKS CONFIRM WELSH DOMINANCE
The morning after the Springboks had beaten Wales 37-20, hooker James Dalton was on his way back to the team hotel after a big night out in Cardiff. A newspaper seller was up bright and early. “Wales, Wales On Sunday”, he shouted to would-be buyers. Dalton walked past and said, “Wales on any **** day”. He might still be saying that.
This past weekend’s 41-13 at a neutral Twickenham meant that in the last three Tests between the two nations, the aggregate score has been 123-43 for an average of 41-14. That’s superiority in any language. It was an impressive win for the Boks given it wasn’t the strongest squad they could muster and Rassie Erasmus was looking at options. He’ll be pleased with what he saw as he starts building for 2027.
WARRIORS DEFY ODDS – AND WORTHY CHAMPS
Wow, wow, wow. Hats off, caps off and any wigs hiding a bald dome too. For the Glasgow Warriors to come to South Africa, a week after beating United Rugby Championship favourites Munster away and then seeing off the Bulls 26-21 in the final at Loftus, is a remarkable achievement. There was also the absence of ref-bashing, which is often so prevalent when a South African team loses.
In fact, the Loftus DJ bore the brunt of plenty of criticism for playing music most of the way through the match, which “negated” the influence of the 50,000 baying home fans. The Warriors deserved their win, they deserve the trophy. To round off their season the way they did speaks of a brotherhood under coach Franco Smith that other franchises can only aspire to.
NORRIS CLOSING THE GAP ON VERSTAPPEN?
Former England striker Gary Lineker once said: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.” One could tweak it to Formula One. “Twenty drivers start on the grid and at the end, Max Vewrstappen always wins.”
Well, not quite always, but his victory over Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton at the Spanish GP was his seventh in 10 starts this season. This time the official margin was only 2.3 seconds, but the world champion always looked to have things under control. However, the fact that Norris, who moved into second on the overall drivers’ standings, was disappointed to not win, is encouraging.
Another angle on an action-packed start in Barcelona from Charles Leclerc's Ferrari🔍#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/gu7TdiJJNg
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2024
AROUND THE WATER COOLER …
India’s women cricketers completed an emphatic 3-0 series win over South Africa in Bengaluru when they won the final match by six wickets. It actually wasn’t even that close, as the hosts had 56 balls to spare. The first Test starts on Friday … Racing’s controversial TCO2 testing procedures claimed more high-profile casualties as, amongst others, the odds-on favourite for the Langerman, and popular Pick 6 banker, at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, One Stripe, was withdrawn shortly before the race for elevated levels.
Exotic punters were then given the Tote favourite, which ran second as record-breaking jockey Richard Fourie won on Eight On Eighteen … South Africa’s men’s rugby sevens will be heading to the Paris Olympics after they clinched the last remaining spot at the final qualifying event in Monaco. The Blitzboks beat Great Britain 14-5 in the final to book their tickets … Wayde van Niekerk outdipped Akani Simbine in Madrid in 20.29sec to win their 200m sprint ahead of the Olympics, which means that on the five occasions the pair have met over the 200m, Van Niekerk has won all five.
¡No es su distancia preferida, y aún así no tiene rival! @AthleticsTourES
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) June 21, 2024
Wayde Van Niekerk, plusmarquista mundial de los 400 metros lisos, gana con facilidad en los 200 metros en Madrid
En directo el mitin en: https://t.co/nyfnCxGlFX pic.twitter.com/TfhTsd4EzG
