Latest news with #Moseki
News18
7 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Namibia To Host South Africa For First-Ever T20I In Windhoek On October 11
Last Updated: Namibia to host South Africa for their first-ever T20I on Oct 11 at Windhoek's new FNB Cricket Ground. Namibia will host South Africa's men's team for a historic T20 International on October 11. The match, to be played in Windhoek, will also officially inaugurate the FNB Namibia Cricket Ground (FNB NCG) — the country's newest and most advanced cricket facility. This will be the first-ever international match between the Namibian Eagles and the South African Proteas and promises to be a celebration of sport and continental unity. Under construction since 2021, the FNB NCG will serve as the home of the national high-performance centre and will host matches during the 2026 ICC Under-19 Men's World Cup and the 2027 ICC Men's ODI World Cup, where Namibia will co-host alongside Zimbabwe and South Africa. By the time the historic T20I against South Africa is played in October, Namibia will also have competed in the Africa T20 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, aiming for a spot in the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Notably, Namibia has featured in the last three T20 World Cups, including a famous win over Sri Lanka in 2022. Cricket Namibia CEO Johan Muller described the upcoming match and stadium opening as a dream come true. 'The FNB NCG has been four years in the making, and we're thrilled to finally unveil it on such a grand stage. Playing against our neighbours, one of the world's leading cricket nations, makes the occasion even more special," he said. Muller also extended his gratitude to Cricket South Africa (CSA) and its CEO, Pholetsi Moseki, for their support in bringing this fixture to life. Moseki responded in kind, praising Namibia's recent progress on the field and reaffirming CSA's commitment to fostering the growth of cricket across the continent. 'We're proud to be part of this historic moment," Moseki said. 'This match is more than just a game — it's a celebration of African cricket's rising strength and a preview of what's to come as we prepare to co-host the 2027 ICC Men's World Cup." (with IANS Inputs) First Published: May 27, 2025, 18:45 IST
TimesLIVE
7 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Proteas to face Namibia for the first time in October
Namibia will face South Africa for the first time in a one-off T20 International in Windhoek, in October. The match will be played at the FNB Namibia Cricket Ground (NCG) on 11 October. It will be the first match at the newly renovated venue which will host matches in the Under-19 World Cup next year and the senior men's event in 2027. Namibia and Zimbabwe will be joint hosts for that tournament alongside SA. 'We are honoured to be part of this historic occasion. Namibia are a competitive side, and this fixture reflects the growing strength of cricket on the continent,' said Cricket SA's CEO, Pholetsi Moseki. 'As a fellow African cricketing nation and the host of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027, we are proud to support the official opening of this new cricket ground which will be one of the host venues of the tournament.' Moseki's counterpart at Cricket Namibia, Johan Muller thanked CSA for agreeing to play the fixture. 'The new FNB NCG has been a dream for the last four years and has finally materialised. A match against our neighbours, and one of the top cricketing countries in the world, is the perfect way to open this world class facility,' said Muller. The match adds to what is already a heavy schedule for the Proteas this year. After next month's World Test Championship final at Lord's they head to Zimbabwe at end of June to play two Tests and in a triangular T2o series with the host nation and New Zealand. Then there are trips to England and Australia for a limited overs series's in August and September and after the clash in Windhoek, SA heads to Pakistan and India for tours involving, Tests, ODIs and T20 matches. They play their last fixture in India on December 19 and a week later most of the players will be involved in the SA20, which starts on Boxing Day. There are no home Tests scheduled for the 2025/26 season and the men's team will on play in five T20 Internationals against the West Indies next January on SA soil, before heading to India for the T20 World Cup.
Daily Maverick
22-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
‘It's a calling… someone has to do it' — NSPCA inspector on why she endures the danger and the heartbreak
Being an NSPCA inspector is a calling and not for the faint-hearted, as Sparky Moseki can attest, working in a landscape of legal loopholes, cultural clashes and sometimes dangerous confrontations. It's 6am and Sparky Moseki is somewhere between a city and the dustier edges of South Africa, heading to a property no one wants to see, to deal with something no one wants to face. 'You never really know what's waiting for you when you arrive,' she says. 'People think the NSPCA is just cats and dogs, but you'd be amazed. We deal with everything. Dogs, snakes, seals, livestock on ships, smuggled animals at borders, you name it.' Moseki is a senior inspector in the NSPCA's Special Projects Unit and with every rescue, every raid, every inspection, she carries something heavy: the look in an animal's eyes. 'You know when you see a dog that's been starved so long it can't stand up? And it looks at you like… please. Please help me. That's what stays with you.' For Moseki, this isn't a job. It's a mission. It's a calling. And it's heartbreak, over and over again. 'It's the law and it's people' Moseki's journey began at the University of Northwest, where she studied animal health. 'I always knew I wanted to work with animals,' she says. After a short stint at a vet practice in Johannesburg, fate nudged her towards the SPCA movement. 'That was 15 years ago, and here I am.' She's now a key figure in the Special Projects Unit – a team that operates in some of the most legally and ethically complex parts of animal welfare. 'We're the unit that deals with border control, checking for illegal animal trafficking. We inspect police dogs, prison dogs, private security dogs. We respond to cruelty reports. We monitor live exports. We handle dog fighting, illegal hunting, even tail docking.' She pauses. 'Every day is different. And some days it's overwhelming.' You're sitting there rewinding a video of someone stabbing a zebra, trying to spot a landmark, a licence plate. It wears you down. Unlike a vet's clean, clinical space, Moseki works in a landscape of legal loopholes, cultural clashes and sometimes dangerous confrontations. 'People don't always welcome you. You show up and it's 'why are you here? Who sent you? Get off my property.'' But the law is clear. 'Every animal in South Africa is protected under the Animal Protection Act. We're authorised to ensure their welfare. But if we're denied access? We have to go to court for a warrant. And I've never had a magistrate refuse us.' Still, paperwork is one thing. Reality is another. 'Sometimes you sit waiting hours for a police escort because the station has no vehicle, or you're walking into hostile situations, people threatening you. You have to stay calm. You have to stay focused on why you're there.' Asked what keeps her going, Moseki doesn't hesitate. 'It's a calling. You don't do this for money. You do it because you care, because someone has to.' People think we show up and take animals away and that's it. But they don't see the mental load, the emotional toll. It's a philosophy that's been tested, especially when she faces cruelty so severe it feels impossible to process. She tells the story of inspecting a live export ship in the Eastern Cape. 'That morning, we arrived and the rams' horns had been cut off too close to their heads. Blood everywhere. Animals were trapped. Crushed. It was a nightmare. We'd left them the night before and came back the next morning to this horror.' She shakes her head. 'You never forget that. Never.' And then there are the decisions. The impossible ones. The ones that tear you up no matter how many times you've made them. 'Sometimes the kindest thing you can do is euthanise,' she says quietly. 'When you look at an animal and know: nothing can save you. You've suffered enough. You deserve peace.' It's a burden few outsiders understand. 'People think we show up and take animals away and that's it,' she says. 'But they don't see the mental load, the emotional toll.' We're here to make sure no animal suffers in silence. That's why I wake up every morning. Even fear hasn't stopped Moseki. 'I was scared of snakes,' she admits, laughing. 'Couldn't even touch one. Then I got a call about a python, and I thought, I have to do this.' So afterwards she learnt and even completed a snake-handling course. 'Now? I can handle them no problem.' It's a theme in her work: confronting what others avoid. Whether it's snakes, smuggling operations or cruelty cases, Moseki faces it head-on. 'Someone has to. Someone has to be there for the animals.' Social media makes it worse – and better One thing that's changed in recent years is the rise of cruelty shared online. 'We get videos sent to us – WhatsApp, Facebook – people torturing animals, animals forced to fight, killing wildlife. And we have to watch them, over and over, to identify places, people.' She sighs. 'That's the part people don't think about. You're sitting there rewinding a video of someone stabbing a zebra, trying to spot a landmark, a licence plate. It wears you down.' But it also helps. 'People are sharing more, reporting more. So in a way, social media's made it harder for us, but also better for animals.' After 15 years, Moseki has complicated feelings about people. 'Some are cruel for fun. Some do it for clicks. Some do it because they've fallen on hard times and can't care for their animals anymore.' She pauses. 'But then you see the other side. People who rescue. People who care. People who feed stray animals from their own empty pockets.' She believes education is key. 'The more we're out there, the more people understand what cruelty really is. And maybe that means less cruelty in the long run.' At home, Moseki's world is quieter. She has a dog – a cross-breed border collie with heart. 'When I look into her eyes, I think, how could anyone hurt something that trusts you like this?' Her children share her passion. 'My youngest wants to be an inspector too. The older one wants to be a lawyer to advocate for animals. They see what I do. They've grown up knowing this is important.' She's lasted. And she'll keep lasting. 'At the end of the day,' she says, 'we're here to make sure no animal suffers in silence. That's why I wake up every morning. That's why I go out there. Even when it's hard. Even when it breaks me a little.' DM This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
