WINDHOEK: A burst of late hitting by wicketkeeper Zane Green took Namibia to a shock win over South Africa in a one-off Twenty20 international on Saturday.&nbsp;Green, who finished on 30 not out, hit 23 of the 26 runs scored by Namibia in the last two overs of the first international match between the neighboring African countries.&nbsp;With 11 needed off the last over, Green hooked the first ball from Andile Simelane for six. With the scores level, he hit the last ball of the match to the midwicket boundary for the winning runs.&nbsp;The match was arranged to inaugurate the Namibia Cricket Ground, which will be one of the venues for the 2027 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.&nbsp;&quot;You can see what it means, for the team and the crowd,&quot; said Namibian captain Gerhard Erasmus after leading his players on a victory lap in front of a capacity crowd. &quot;The guys did it with good skill.&quot;&nbsp;It was a below-strength South African team, with several leading players, including regular captain Aiden Markram, in Pakistan for a Test series which starts in Lahore on Sunday.&nbsp;All the South African players had international experience, but they struggled from the start against a Namibian team that had qualified for next year&#39;s T20 World Cup in India just a week earlier.&nbsp;&quot;We weren&#39;t good enough,&quot; admitted stand-in South African captain Donovan Ferreira.&nbsp;He said his team&#39;s defense of a below-par total had been hurt by a chest muscle injury, which forced fast bowler Gerald Coetzee off the field after bowling only nine balls.&nbsp;Quinton de Kock, returning to international cricket for the first time since the 2024 T20 World Cup, was out for a single in the first over, and none of the South African batsmen were able to dominate against disciplined bowling on a slow pitch.&nbsp;South Africa labored to 134 for eight after winning the toss.&nbsp;Left-arm fast bowler Ruben Trumpelmann, who started his cricket career in South Africa, took three for 28 and new cap Max Heingo took two wickets in the space of three balls to reduce the visitors to 65 for five in the 11th over.

Cricket

The match was arranged to inaugurate the Namibia Cricket Ground, which will be one of the venues for the 2027 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Namibia shock South Africa in T20 international

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Tazmin Brits struck her fifth century of the year to guide South Africa to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the Women&rsquo;s World Cup at Holkar Stadium on Monday. New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first, but their innings got off to a disastrous start. Suzie Bates was dismissed for a golden duck by Marizanne Kapp on the very first ball of the match. Georgia Plimmer (31) and Meli Kerr (23) managed to steady the ship, adding 44 runs for the second wicket before Kerr fell. Plimmer then combined with Sophie Devine for a 57-run partnership. Devine, who had scored a century in New Zealand&rsquo;s opening match, scored 85 runs off 68 balls, including a half-century. She and Brooke Halliday (45) forged the best partnership of the innings, adding 86 runs together. However, the introduction of Nonkululeko Mlaba turned the tide. Mlaba took key wickets in her second spell, triggering a collapse as New Zealand lost their last seven wickets for just 44 runs, including two run-outs.&nbsp; Mlaba finished with figures of 4-40 from 10 overs, the best by a South African bowler against New Zealand in a World Cup. New Zealand was bowled out for 231 in 49.4 overs. South Africa&rsquo;s chase began with an early setback, losing Laura Wolvaardt for 14. However, Brits took charge, racing to 50 off 44 balls. She and Sune Luus then put together a record-breaking 159-run partnership for the second wicket, the highest in South African World Cup history and the second-highest in ODIs against New Zealand. Brits brought up her century with a knock of 101 from 89 balls, surpassing Australia&rsquo;s Meg Lanning to score seven ODI hundreds in the fewest innings. Luus, who played a patient knock, finished unbeaten on 83 off 114 balls, guiding South Africa to victory. Brits was dismissed in the 32nd over, and Kerr struck twice to reduce South Africa to 213-4. But Luus ensured there were no further hiccups, hitting the winning runs with 55 balls to spare. South Africa reached 234-4 in 40.5 overs to secure their first win and points of the tournament after their opening loss, when they were bowled out for just 69. The victory moved South Africa up to fifth place in the standings.

Scores her fifth century; Nonkululeko Mlaba takes 4-40; record 159-run partnership with Sune Luus secures South Africa’s first World Cup points.

Tazmin Brits century guides South Africa to six-wicket win over New Zealand

LONDON: South Africa&#39;s pack turned on the power in the second half to beat Argentina 29-27 at Twickenham on Saturday and win the Rugby Championship for the sixth time, ahead of New Zealand on points difference.&nbsp;The All Blacks&rsquo; 28-14 bonus-point win over Australia in Perth earlier meant that South African needed a bonus-point victory to win the title with clear water, though their overwhelming points advantage meant that any win would be enough.&nbsp;After an error-strewn start, however, they trailed 13-3 and 13-10 at halftime before two tries by Malcolm Marx and a second for Cobus Reinach enabled them to surge 29-13 ahead.&nbsp;Late scores for the Pumas made the scoreboard close but it was South Africa&#39;s day as they won back to back titles for the first time.&nbsp; They and New Zealand finished on 19 points, but South Africa&#39;s points difference was plus-57 to the All Blacks&#39; plus-eight.&nbsp; Australia ended on 11 points and Argentina 10.&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s unreal, we spoke about it (lifting the trophy) the whole week. We had not won it back-to-back before. We still have a lot of improvements to make, but we are getting there,&quot; man-of-the-match Reinach said.&nbsp;&quot;We knew we would not just run out here and roll over them. It takes teams 60 or 70 minutes (to break the opposition down) and Argentina are unreal. They have a lot of dog in them, they keep fighting all game.&quot;&nbsp;Argentina takes early leadThe match at Twickenham was officially a home game for Argentina, and what they lost in support they will gain in finance via their share of the 70,300 crowd gate receipts.&nbsp;They took an early 7-0 lead via a brilliant finish by winger Bautista Delguy and though South Africa had much possession and a dominant scrum, they made a series of handling errors.&nbsp;That kept them 13-3 down late in the first half after two penalties by Santiago Carreras, switched from fly-half to fullback after last week&#39;s pummelling in Durban.&nbsp;The Springboks&rsquo; dominant scrum, however, eventually paid dividends, earning a series of penalties on the Argentina line before scrumhalf Reinach found a gap to reduce the deficit to 13-10 at the break.&nbsp;Argentina prop Mayco Visas was yellow-carded for a high hit after 43 minutes and the South African pack took immediate advantage to bundle Marx over.&nbsp;A relentless series of attacks again made space for Reinach to slip through for his second and another forward drive ended with Marx claiming a second as South Africa seemed to have taken total control at 29-13.&nbsp;Delguy snatched an interception try after 65 minutes but when Carreras struck the post with a penalty three minutes from time, the destination of the trophy was assured.&nbsp;Argentina replacement Rodrigo Isgro had the last word when he caught a lovely wide kick by Carreras to score in the corner but the vast majority of the crowd in green were celebrating as Carreras&rsquo;s conversion sailed between the posts.

Rugby

South Africa beat Argentina 29-27 at Twickenham to win the Rugby Championship for the sixth time.

Articles tagged with "South Africa"

Namibia shock South Africa in T20 international

Tazmin Brits century guides South Africa to six-wicket win over New Zealand

South Africa beat Argentina to retain Rugby Championship title

Namibia shock South Africa in T20 international