Cape Argus E-dition

INJURY TIME

STUART HESS stuart.hess@inl.co.za

CONGRATULATIONS LUNGI

FAF du Plessis, the former captain of South Africa, helped his Indian Premier League team, the Chennai Super Kings, to win the competition on Friday. Du Plessis was named Man of the Match, after scoring 86 in the final. Over the course of the season, Du Plessis was the second highest run-scorer. So what did Cricket SA do yesterday morning? On its social media feeds – twitter and Instagram – CSA said the following: “Congratulations @lungingidi on claiming the 2021 IPL title with Chennai Super Kings.” Alongside was a picture of Ngidi celebrating a wicket. And to be fair, Ngidi did play three matches for Chennai, way back in April when the tournament was still taking place in India, before its postponement due to the Covid pandemic. Ngidi played no part in the UAE portion of the competition. There was no congratulatory message for Du Plessis, nor Imran Tahir, nor Eric Simons, one of Chennai’s coaches or Greg King the former Proteas fitness trainer. Oh well.

‘REALLY???’

Understandably, the former Proteas captain was somewhat taken aback by CSA’s choice of who it congratulated. Replying to the post on Instagram, Du Plessis wrote: “really???” We think he’s missing a few exclamation points there. Dale Steyn weighed in below with the following: “Who’s running this account? Last I checked, Faf isn’t even retired, Imran isn’t retired, both these guys have given years of service to CSA and they (are) not worth a mention? Disgusting.” CSA then blocked the comments section on the post.

A FOOTBALL VENUE

Help us. Is there only one football ground in South Africa capable of hosting a domestic final? We’ve heard that Soccer City aka FNB Stadium once hosted a World Cup final, but we can’t be sure. It’s not hosted a domestic final in a while. Maybe it’s those cooling towers nearby with the funky artwork, which is a bit much for the PSL. Is there a stadium in Bloemfontein? What about Gqeberha? Or Rustenberg? Polokwane?

DURBAN SPIN

“When choosing a venue for a cup final like the MTN 8, there are numerous elements that need to be considered. There is a consultative process where as a league we consult with both participating clubs as well as with our sponsors. The preferred venue was considered by both Cape Town City and Mamelodi Sundowns, as well as MTN. They chose this venue because it is a world-class facility and has hosted numerous events, and also because it is a neutral ground for the teams taking part,” said the PSL’s head of marketing, brand and sponsorship, Nonhlanhla Nkosi trying to spin the fact that the PSL wears blinders when it comes to football grounds that aren’t based in Durban.

PEP’S FAULT

England limped to a 1-1 draw with Hungary but who is really to blame? Why, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, of course. In providing five City players, it’s basically his defeat. “While Southgate employed five City players in his starting line-up against Hungary, and opted for a Pep-style formation, Guardiola has done him few favours of late,” wrote The Sun’s correspondent. And then added: “City’s pursuit of Harry Kane was half-hearted, leaving the England skipper and his brother Charlie looking slightly naive, after he had made such a public play of wanting out.” Woah there. Are the British media really suggesting that Guardiola is partly at fault for Kane’s form because he was interested – but not interested enough at the fancy prices being quoted – in the Tottenham striker? Should he have sanctioned a ludicrous £160m move to help Southgate? “And the £100million signing of Jack Grealish – a player Southgate simply doesn’t trust like Sterling – has further complicated Sterling’s club future.” Gosh, Pep has really screwed England’s World Cup chances with a selfish pursuit of one England player over another.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“F***” – Andy Murray on Twitter after losing to Alex Zverev in the quarter-finals in Indian Wells.

SPORT

en-za

2021-10-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

http://capeargus.pressreader.com/article/281835761891217

African News Agency