WEDNESDAY, 12.30PM:
UNITED Cricket Board managing director Ali Bacher on Tuesday said the sponsorship row surrounding cricket and golf will be resolved within the next three days.
“We have reached a stage where there are only a couple of issues that need to be ironed out,” he said. Bacher said he and former PGA Tour chairman Jahann Rupert are busy trying to find a solution to the impasse, which resulted from interest shown by cellular phone companies MTN and Vodacom in the two sports.
“I am very optimistic that we are well on the way to finding a solution that will satisfy everyone,” he said.
SPORT BRIEFS
LEONARD FOR MILLION DOLLAR AN invitation has been extended to British Open Champion Justin Leonard to join co-major winners Ernie Els and Davis Love III at the head of the field for the Nedbank Million Dollar golf Tournament at Sun City in December.
SA NOT BIDDING FOR RUGBY WORLD CUP SOUTH African Rubgy Football Union CEO Rian Oberholzer has dismissed reports that South Africa is among the countries planning to bid for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. “We’re not planning to bid for the 2003 tournament, but we will be supporting the joint bid by New Zealand and Australia,” said Oberholzer.
KRIGE ON A ROLL FORMER South African Schools rugby captain Corne Krige, who will captain Western Province for the Currie Cup match against North West, is being groomed to take over as the next Western Province rugby captain. Krige, who made his debut for Western Province in 1995, could be one of the surprise choices in the Springbok team to tour Italy, France, England and Scotland at the end of the year.
SA RUNNERS FOR WORLD 100km SOUTH AFRICA’S top ultra-distance athletes will compete in the world 100km challenge in Winschoten, Holland on Saturday. The athletes — Elias Stemer, Livingston Jabanga, Russell Crawford, former Comrades champion Shaun Meiklejohn and women’s quartet of Charlotte Noble, Rene du Plessis, Helen Joubert and Berna Daly — are all fancied to do well over the 100km course.
SA BIKER DOES WELL SOUTH African cyclist Owen MacHelm finished fifth in the World Mountain Trophy at Upice in Czechoslovakia on Sunday. Western Province’s MacHelm and Gauteng North’s Michael MacDermott represented South Africa in the 12,5km race — sanctioned by IAAF — where the world’s top mountain bikers faced a steep 900m climb on each of the 4km laps.
ONDRUSKA THROUGH SOUTH AFRICA’S Marcos Ondruska beat sixth seeded Filip de Wulf of Belgium 7-6 (8/6) 3-6 6-2 in the opening round of the 350 000 Samsung Open men’s clay court tennis tournament in Bournemouth on Tuesday.
BOK COACH RACE GAUTENG Lions coach Dawie Snyman has declared himself unavailable for the Springbok coaching job. Also unavailable is Western Province coach Harry Viljoen. It seems the battle is between Natal caoch Ian McIntosh and Boland’s Nick Mallett. South African Rugby Football Union CEO Rian Oberholzer said the advertisements for the job are going out later this week. “The more responses we get the better,” he said.
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