Gary Lemke’s Fiver this week looks at the SA20 hype train, the quiet before the UFC storm, all systems go ahead of AFCON and more!
SA20 HYPE WILL HIT OVERDRIVE
And they’re off. After the opening game of the SA20 was washed out without a ball being bowled, Durban’s Super Giants and MI Cape Town got South Africa’s T20 contribution to world cricket underway on Thursday.
The 31 round-robin games continue until 6 February, when the play-offs start and then the final is on 10th February. In terms of the betting, you may as well throw a dart. Favourites at 4/1 were the Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals, while Sunrisers Eastern Cape were at 9/2 and Pretoria Capitals and Durban Super Giants at 5/1.
Be prepared for the hype, excitement, over-the-top TV commentary and one-handed catches in the crowd. The SA20 is considered crucial to the future of South African cricket.
Perhaps that statement should be qualified by those who run the game: it’s crucial to the future of our cricket at the cash register. And it’s at the expense of the longer versions of the game, especially Test cricket.
Captain FAFulous Preparing For SA20 💛 pic.twitter.com/gy5mukiWlf
— Junaid Khan (@JunaidKhanation) January 4, 2024
SENEGAL CAN GO FAR AT AFCON
The Africa Cup of Nations opens with hosts IvorY Coast hosting Guinea-Bissau on Saturday, while Bafana Bafana have to wait until the 16th before they flex their muscles, against Mali.
Much of the pre-tournament talk in South Africa was SAFA supremo Danny Jordaan’s statement that, “if Bafana Bafana win AFCON, the players will share $7 milliion. If they don’t win they will get nothing.” Way to go Mr Jordaan, that’s one way to deflate any player.
Bafana, the 1996 champions, are long shots to win the trophy, generally quoted at around 40/1, so Jordaan’s money (or rather, that of FIFA/CAF) is safe. Morocco, who reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, are favourites at 5/1, but in truth, this is yet another competition where you can throw a dart at a board for a winner.
Personal preference is for Senegal at 6/1, if only because of their pedigree in the competition and that they look to have goals in them with Sadio Mane and Nicolas Jackson.
The reigning champs touched down & ready to defend their 🏆 at all costs 🇸🇳#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/aukxLFsWhy
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 10, 2024
STORMERS, BULLS IN EUROPEAN ACTION
We can take off our United Rugby Championship hats and pull on the Heineken Champions Cup headgear for this weekend’s international franchise action. There are four pools with six teams each, which means 12 games will be played.
From a South African perspective, the Stormers host Sale in Pool 4. Both teams have four points and sit mid-table, with Leinster and Leicester leading the way. You’d think that home-ground advantage and a noisy Saturday night crowd will be enough for the Cape side to win quite easily here.
The Bulls meanwhile, are third in Pool 1 and travel to fifth-placed Bristol. No matter what it looks like on paper, on grass it’s different. Home ground advantage probably counts for about seven points in this competition – when changing hemispheres and even countries – so the Bulls have to be regarded as underdogs.
The top ranked attacking side in @URCOfficial are in town on Saturday! 🔥
— Bristol Bears 🐻 (@BristolBears) January 11, 2024
Join us for a blockbuster @ChampionsCup showdown at Ashton Gate 🍿 pic.twitter.com/uwr0veJ1Mu
QUIET BEFORE THE UFC STORM
Are we there yet? Well, no. We still have a week to go before Dricus du Plessis squares up against Sean Strickland for the UFC middleweight title. I’m expecting the South African to manhandle the champion and am taking all the even-money I can get in the build-up.
For MMA followers, you can whet your appetite with UFC Fight Night 234 in Las Vegas overnight Saturday. The main event is the rematch between light-heavyweights Magomed Ankalaev (18-1-1) and Johnny Walker (21-7-0).
In October the result was a no contest after Ankalaev landed an accidental illegal knee striker, which Walker was unable to recover from. Ankalaev is understandably favourite to get the job done legally this time.
With 12 days to the Toronto, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦 ppv card headlined by Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis. Let us look back on the fight week of #UFC282 - @dricusduplessis had this to say :
— AfrikanChef_ZA ™ (@AfrikanChefZA) January 8, 2024
🇿🇦⚔️🇺🇸 | January 20th, 2024 #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/guNugeCIIs
TREAD CAREFULLY THIS PREMIER LEAGUE ‘ROUND’
Premier League football is back after a two-week break and there’s a match on Friday night when Burnley (19th) host Luton (18th). Then, Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, notorious for upset results, sees Chelsea host near neighbours Fulham.
Throw in the fact that there’s been a break and that many clubs are missing players to AFCON and Asian Cup duty, beware this round from a betting perspective. On paper, Newcastle hosting Man City is Saturday’s highlight, while Man United and Tottenham is Sunday’s highlight.
There are only five matches this round. Bet carefully. For what it’s worth, I think Everton (17th) can get a point against Aston Villa (2nd), while I think City can overturn Newcastle at St James’s
38 Premier League players are heading to either AFCON or the Asian Cup over the coming weeks... 🌍
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 11, 2024
A look at which clubs will be affected most by losing players to the tournaments ⤵️
