New Zealand ended a miserable 12 months of Test cricket when they comprehensively outplayed Sri Lanka to win the second Test by an innings and 38 runs inside four days in Wellington on Thursday and take the series 1-0. The win was set up by a magnificent 224 from Lou Vincent.
Border Bulldogs flyhalf Reinhardt Gerber missed three goal kicks in his team’s 15-12 loss to the Lions in their Vodacom Cup match two weeks ago. The fact that he was kicking in the most atrocious weather did not matter. He still missed three kicks, and took it so personally that he spent hours after the match practising.
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday that ”drastic measures” may be needed to stem the rise of violence at Italian soccer stadiums. Tuesday’s Champions League second-leg quarterfinal between Inter Milan and AC Milan was cut short late in the second half after Inter fans threw flares on to the field.
A goal in each half by Brent Carelse saw Ajax Cape Town defeat Wits 2-1 in their Castle Premier League match at Newland on Wednesday. Ajax led 1-0 at the break. Wits came back strongly in the second half, but solid defence by the Ajax defenders kept them out.
Tyron Henderson blazed his way to another match-winning innings to send the Warriors to their second successive victory when they defeated the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins by six wickets in their Standard Bank Pro20 Series cricket match at St George’s Park on Wednesday.
Juventus and Liverpool fans hurled objects at one another during a pre-game ceremony on Wednesday recalling the Heysel Stadium tragedy. Liverpool visited Juventus for the first time since 39 people were crushed to death in riots blamed largely on Liverpool supporters at the 1985 European Cup final in Brussels, Belgium.
A 33-year-old Nigerian man died when he jumped out of a 10th-floor flat in Sunnyside during a police search for drugs on Thursday morning. Pretoria police spokesperson Inspector Anton Breedt said two other men were arrested after police found a matchbox containing 12 cocaine ”rocks” at about 4am.
Campaigners wanting to see lower fuel prices in South Africa should call on the public to use fuel more efficiently, rather than inviting the public to join a "national campaign to reduce the petrol price" by boycotting certain petrol products, according to the South Africa Petroleum Industry Association.
Banking group Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a division of Firstrand Bank, on Thursday announced the creation of Makalani Holdings — a company dedicated to mobilising capital for empowerment and development investments. Makalani will offer an alternative source for mezzanine funding, RMB said in a statement.
Financial services group Alexander Forbes said on Thursday that although there has been a strong operational performance across most of its businesses, it expects to record headline earnings per share of between 108 and 115 cents for the year ended March 31 — down 15% to 20% compared with the previous year’s restated 135 cents.