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Recently, I managed to buy a book at a sale written by Gauteng author Ted Botha, concerning the life of the Johannesburg murderer Daisy de Melker, who was executed in 1932 for her crimes. Now, what has De Melker’s story to do with sport?…
v After their triumphs in Australia in 1952-53, the SA cricket team played two Test matches in New Zealand, winning one and drawing the other. In the first Test at Wellington, SA won by an innings with Jack McGlew scoring what was then…
Just on a year after the 1951-52 Springbok rugby team left these shores for Great Britain, the SA cricket team was on the move. They had returned from England a year before, after a disastrous 1951 tour under top batsman Dudley Nourse…
Some six years after hostilities had ended after World War 2, and peace had returned to the Earth, SA sent a rugby squad to tour Great Britain and France for three months in 1951 and 1952. The team developed into possibly the best-ever…
Over the many decades since international sport was established during the 19th century, of the thousands of sportsmen only two lived beyond 100 years of age. Both were South African. When the 1938-39 England touring team arrived in the…
These days the game of cricket is very popular in SA with a number of matches being played every day. In the summer months, and well into autumn, with a number of interprovincial and so many franchise games being played, and often with an…
The RMB Buffalo Regatta is a sporting event held on East London’s Buffalo River since 1881. It is without a doubt the city’s oldest and most prestigious sporting event and as usual, it lived up to its expectations as almost 800 rowers…
Every so often, the country of India produces a world-class batsman who outdoes all others in first-class and Test play. Before World War 2, Vijay Merchant was considered India’s best, despite playing only 10 Test matches between 1933 and…
There has been a fair amount of finger-pointing and outright condemnation of the inexperienced SA cricket team currently touring New Zealand under uncapped skipper Neil Brand and his team of greenhorns. The team are due to play two Test…
Having once been a schoolboy — many years ago, I am aware that often school holidays tend to be boring unless the schoolboy or girl is involved with sports or hobbies. The days pass so slowly and then, before you know it, it is time to…
The centenary celebration of the Cambridge Rugby Football Club was held at the Country Club in Beacon Bay on Saturday night and turned out to be a huge success with about 100 former and current players, many with wives or girlfriends, in…
The 96th Comrades Marathon, the “down run” from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, was special for four Border athletes who all finished the race last Sunday. All praised the magnificent organisation and despite the pain experienced, all four…
After their excellent showing against the 1970 All Blacks, the Springboks rugby team showed a number of changes after the retirement of some of their top players such as the 1970 skipper Dawie de Villiers, who hung up his boots and…
Lately, references to racism in sport have raised their ugly head again, with a number of top sportsmen, particularly cricketers, having their say. Interestingly, almost 130 years ago, a similar saga was sensationalised in the South…
Some 18 months ago, I idly picked up a book and began reading. It was rather a thick book – more than 700 pages – but I was soon engrossed and enjoying the story. The novel was written in 2017 by US author AG Riddle, who dedicated the…
