Gary Lemke looks back at a jam-packed sporting weekend by paying tribute to cricket giant Mike Proctor, an exciting URC weekend, Man City drop points and more!
PROCCIE WAS ONE OF THE GIANTS
One of the giants of the game has fallen. Mike Procter has died in hospital at the age of 77. I knew him as “Proccie”, having gotten acquainted with him during my days as Sports Editor of the Daily News and Sunday Tribune. I’d grown up idolising him and Barry Richards, and he was the one man who poured cold water over the adage, “Never meet your hero, you’ll be disappointed”.
We often had a bet together – Proccie loved a punt – and a beer. He would have been great in any era. He once hit five sixes in a row and then in 1979 made it six in an over for Gloucestershire. He was one of the great all-rounders (a First-Class score of 254 and bowling of 9-71), bowled off the “wrong foot”, and in 1971 at Newlands he led the Rest of SA team off the field against Transvaal, protesting against apartheid. Sleep easy, Michael John Procter.
It is with great sadness that we share the news that Mike Procter passed away this afternoon.
— Hollywoodbets (@Hollywoodbets) February 17, 2024
Mike joined the Purple Team as a Brand Ambassador in 2020.
Thank you for being a part of the Purple Team. Condolences and strength to all his family, friends and the cricketing world.… pic.twitter.com/qZ7CSvrcAj
INDIA CASH IN ON HOME COMFORTS
There’s a misperception that England play “Bazball” all the time and it’s to their cost. Against India, in a third Test won by a huge 434 runs in Rajkot, it wasn’t “Bazball” which proved Englnd’s undoing. “Bazball” is not Joe Root scoring 7 from 40 runs in a second innings total of 122. It’s not Ben Duckett getting 4 from 15 balls, or even Ben Stokes making 15 from 39 balls. It’s a mixture of aggression and control which makes it so exciting when it works.
However, the third Test in India was, well India being India. This is what they can do. They won the toss and scored 445. England replied with 319 and then India surged to 430-4. Game, set and match on a pitch that went from featherbed to minefield in the space of 24 hours. Win the toss and never bat second in India. Onto the fourth Test, we go.
Smiles all around here in Rajkot 😃👌#TeamIndia win the 3rd Test by 434 runs and take a 2⃣-1⃣ lead in the Test series 👏👏
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 18, 2024
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/FM0hVG5X8M#INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/C5QeI757QN
URC MATCHES GO WITH THE SCRIPT
The two South African matches in the United Rugby Championship went according to predictions, with the Bulls beating the Lions 25-10 in Johannesburg and the Stormers getting the better of the Sharks in Durban. In fact, it was a rare round of no upsets, which means the table sees Leinster stay on top from the Glasgow Warriors, while the Bulls (3rd) are the best of the South African quartet.
The Stormers are in sixth spot, the Lions in 11th, while the Sharks remain the bottom feeders in 16th. The pick of the next round looks to be at Loftus when the Stormers visit the Bulls.
The @Vodacom #URC Man of the Match in Durban, our cappie @johneetfouche 🎖️ #SHAvSTO #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/nIEmN8tksC
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) February 17, 2024
POWERFUL STATEMENT BY TOPURIA
Many followers didn’t see it coming at UFC 298, and nor did Alexander Volkanovski. A highlight reel right hand to the chin in the second round switched off the formidable champion’s lights and Ilia Topuria was hailed as, “the NEW featherweight champion of the world…”
Topuria is 27, a Spaniard with a black belt in jiu-jitsu, but it was his fists which knocked out the 35-year-old champion who now slips to 26-4, while Topuria improves to 15-0. Also on the card, Robert Whittaker rebounded from his loss to Dricus du Plessis by outpointing Paulo Costa over three rounds.
UNDEFEATED. UNDISPUTED.@TopuriaIlia is your NEW featherweight world champ 🇪🇸🏆🇬🇪
— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2024
[ B2YB Lights Out presented by @QuiverDistrib | #UFC298 ] pic.twitter.com/baZwauY5ms
CITY BLINK FIRST TO LOSE THEIR ‘W’
With Liverpool having won five in a row, Man City six and Arsenal three, we said in our weekend preview that the law of averages dictates that someone’s “W” has to go. As it turned out, both Liverpool and Arsenal extended their 100% winning streak in the English Premier League, beating Brentford 4-1 and Burnley 5-0, respectively.
So, it was City’s turn to defy the law of averages. They didn’t. And for 82 minutes every Liverpool and Arsenal fan was shouting for Chelsea at the Etihad. For 82 minutes Chelsea hung on to a 1-0 lead before Rodri netted for the equaliser. Raheem Sterling scored the opener against his former club and chose to not celebrate. We covered this trend in our previous blog. Liverpool now lead Arsenal by two points and City by four. How did the betting market react? City remain favourites to win the title (17/20), while Liverpool are 37/20 and Arsenal 4/1.
Post-match reaction from @PepTeam 🗣️
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 17, 2024
🩵 1-1 🔵 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/pKmsTGp47y
SWIMMERS RETURN WITH ONE MEDAL
The reality as to what South Africa will be facing at the Olympics in July was highlighted by the fact they won one medal – a bronze – at the World Swimming Championships in Doha. Pieter Coetze is a rising. star of the sport and he secured a bronze in the 200m backstroke. Erin Gallagher, Lara van Niekerk and Chad le Clos all came close to earning a medal, but ultimately it was just the one from Coetze.
Tatjana Schoenmaker was absent, continuing her Paris preparations back home. All I’m saying is, let’s aim for three medals in the pool at the Olympics (Schoenmaker with two) and celebrate each one from the rooftops.
Le Clos, Gallagher just miss podium as Coetzé and Van Niekerk book finals spots: https://t.co/WboqDBxTBF
— Swimming South Africa (@SwimSouthAfrica) February 18, 2024
Photo Credits: South African Sports Images#PressRelease pic.twitter.com/M2QCZ8eIat
