MONDAY, 1.00PM:
SOUTH AFRICAN cricketers will continue with their build-up practice matches ahead of the tour to Pakistan when they play a four-day match at Kingsmead starting on Tuesday.
The squad will split into teams of equal strength and potential balance of batting and bowling skills. The team in which skipper Hansie Cronje will play probably has the edge in batting strength with the key tour bowlers lined up against them.
TEAM ONE: Gary Kirsten, Adam Bacher, Brian McMillan, Daryll Cullinan, Hansie Cronje, Boeta Dippenaar, Shaun Pollock, Dave Richardson, Lance Klusener, Pat Symcox and Brett Schultz. 12th man: Richard Nienaber.
TEAM TWO: Andrew Hudson, Herschelle Gibbs, Louis Koen, Jonty Rhodes, Dale Benkenstein, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Craig Matthews, Fanie de Villiers, Makanya Ntini, Paul Adams. 12th man Momantau Hayward.
SPORT BRIEFS
BUCS FANS WANT BONDARENKO ORLANDO Pirates supporters gave Russian-born former Orlndo Pirates coach Victor Bondarenko a standing ovation as he made his way into the VIP stands at Rand Stadium on Sunday. There were chants of “Bondarenko, Bondarenko” and posters reading “You can’t bring a good man down — up Bondarenko” and “Bring back the Russian Bondarenko”.
COOKES UP A STORM DEREK COOKES helped Transvaal from a rout on the opening day of their three-day cricket match against Western Australia at Lilac Hill Park, Perth on Sunday. Cookes hit 61, including struck seven boundaries, off only 84 deliveries in a 97-minute knock. He received little support from his teamates. Trevor Webster (22 not out), vice captain Clive Eksteen (21) and Sven Koenig (18) were the only other contributers.
CHIPU BACK IN RUNNING ABNER CHIPU, who was disapponting at the recent World Athletics Championships in Athens, won the Ryobi half-marathon at Midrand, north of Johannesburg on Sunday. Chipu clocked in a time of 66 minutes and 14 seconds — 45 seconds ahead South African marathon champion Daniel Radebe, who clocked in a time of 66 minutes 58 seconds. Jan Tau finished third in 67 minutes 28 seconds.
GROB’S BACK FORMER Zimbabwean national goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar — cleared last month of trying to fix results of matches by letting in goals — is set to return to English football with First Division outfit Oxford.
MONTY’S MILLION COLIN Montgomerie of Scotland will defend his Nedbank Million Dollar Golf Challenge title at Sun City in December. Montgomerie will be up against two players rated above him in the curent world rankings — local hero Ernie Els and Zimbabwean Nick Price.
VAN ROOYEN CASE POSTPONED THE South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) postponed the disciplinary hearing of the former Transvaal Rugby Union vice-president Brian van Rooyen into the allegations that he brought the sport into disrepute, for the second time on Saturday. Van Rooyen stands accused of making defamatory remarks about Sarfu president Dr Louis Luyt, working outside the structures of Sarfu, attempting to disrupt the British Lions tour earlier this year and forming an illegal organisation — the Rugby Co-ordinating Committee — of which he is chairman.