TUESDAY, 2.00PM:
PAUL ADAMS, with his best first-class analysis of 7/69, placed Western Province securely on track to give Griquas the Supersport series wooden spoon, beating them by an innings and 45 runs at Newlands on Monday.
Province scored their second win in seven outings, thanks to their international wrist spinner. Last week Adams set up victory for his team against Eastern Province, when he took 6/90 on the final day.
Griquas are now bottom-of-the-log, behind Province, although they still have a match in hand.
Man of the match was Province’s number four HD Ackerman, who hit a chanceless 174 on Monday. The hosts collected 16 points for the win, and sent the visitors back to Kimberley with three.
SPORT BRIEFS
GUINEAN PLAYERS OUT GUINEAN goalkeeper Kemokai Camara and defender Morlaye Soumah have been banned by the Confederation of African Football for a year after allegedly assaulting referee Omer Yengo after their team’s controversial defeat by Burkina Faso in the African Cup of Nations tournament on Sunday.
NORMAN UNDER FIRE WORLD number two golfer Greg Norman’s decision to depart early from the Alfred Dunhill PGA on Sunday night, with nine holes remaining to end his round, has come under severe fire from fellow golfers. Tournament winner Tony Johnstone said: “I know what I feel but I’m not going to say it — except if he was getting what people say he was getting, you would have thought that would have been worth an extra day.” Norman was reportedly paid a $300 000 (R1,5-million) appearance fee to play at Houghton, so it seems likely that the R1 000 fine slapped on him by the PGA of Southern Africa won’t bother him much.
ELS BIGGEST EARNER IN EUROPE, SA ERNIE ELS’s second-place finish in the Dunhill PGA has seen him increase his lead in the European Tour rankings. Els has also won nearly R1-million during his two-week stint in SA, making him by far the highest earner on the Vodacom Tour. Els won’t, however, be ranked on the SA order of merit, because he will not play in the required number of events to qualify. Els leads the European Tour rankings with winnings of 236 020, followed by Thomas Bjorn of Denmark on 108 935, and South African Retief Goosen earning 74 088.
SA TROUNCE AZERBAIJAN SOUTH AFRICA beat Azerbaijan 5-0 in their first match in the men’s Thomas Cup badminton tournament being played in Norway. In their second match South Africa beat Armenia 4-1.
AKBAR TO BOOST PAKIS PAKISTANI quick-bowler Fazle Akbar will fly to SA on Wednesday to reinforce the injury-ridden Pakistan squad currently on tour in the country. Akbar will stand in for paceman Mohammad Akram and spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who were injured after being assaulted last week.