FRIDAY, 12.30PM:
LANCE KLUSENER has been included at the eleventh hour in the squad to play Gloucester in a four-day match at the weekend, leading to speculation that he might be on the way to replacing the Test spot he vacated to Makhaya Ntini at the end of the South African season.
The word from inside the South African camp is that Klusener will almost cerainly play in the Test, unless he has a very bad outing against Gloucester.
The all-rounder has not been particularly impressive with the ball during the one-dayers, but has wielded willow with authority. He did, however, take six wickets in the tour opener against Worcestershire, and this may have proved decisive in his selection ahead of Steve Elworthy.
South African skipper Hansie Cronje dismissed speculation that both Jonty Rhodes and Brian McMillan will be included in the Test squad, saying: “I don’t believe we can make room for both Jonty and Big Mac. They will have to compete for the one place when we play against Gloucester.”
SA team against Gloucester: Gary Kirsten (c), Gerhardus Liebenberg, Jacques Kallis, Daryll Cullinan, Brian McMillan, Jonty Rhodes, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener, Paul Adams, Makhaya Ntini, Mornantau Hayward.
SPORT BRIEFS
LOST CITY REVAMPED
A MASSIVE resodding project, which teed off at the Lost City golf course on Thursday, will see the dry Bayview fairways replaced with lush, green Kikuyu over the next four months. 330000 square metres of sod will be laid at an average of 5000 square metres a day.
HORN BUNDLED OUT OF OPEN
NUMBER two seed Lindsay Davenport beat South African Liezel Horn 6-2, 6-0 in the second round of the French Open at Roland Garros on Thursday. Another South African, Joanette Kruger’s match against Italian Sylvia Farina was stopped bacause of bad light after two sets with the score at 6-4 3-6.
SMALL SUM BLOCKS TRANSFER
A R250 000 transfer fee put on James Small has become a stumbling block in his efforts to continue his rugby career at Ellis Park. Small’s agent is continuing negotiations with the Golden Lions Rugby Union, but it is believed that Small’s transfer fee does not fit the GLRU’s pocket.
SA BOXERS SCOOP AWARDS
SOUTH African boxers scooped five awards at the IBF’s annual convention held in Orlando, Florida, this week. IBF junior featherweight champ Vuyani Bungu won three awards: IBF fighter of the year, the fight of the year for the Kennedy McKinney rematch, and an award for the IBF champion with the most title defences in 1997. Bungu’s trainer Mzi Mnguni won the trainer of the year award, and his IBF mini-flyweight champion Zolani Petelo was honoured for the Upset of the Year after beating Ratanapol Vorapin in Thailand late last year.
SA GETS BOWLS TOURNEY
SOUTH Africa will host next year’s women’s Atlantic Rim Bowls Tournament, contested by countries whose shores border on the Atlantic Ocean. Bowls SA Chief Executive Jimmy Breaky said on Thursday that South Africa had stepped in and accepted to host the tournament after original hosts Spain withdrew from hosting the event.