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IOL News
19-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Lungi Ngidi responds to critics: 'Fitness is just an opinion'
NGIDI HITS BACK Lungi Ngidi silenced his critics with a stellar 3/38 performance in the World Test Championship final, as he insisted fitness was a matter of opinion. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL Though he went wicketless in the first innings of the WTC final, he came storming back in the second with 3/38, which included the key wicket of Steve Smith for 13 as South Africa went on to win by five wickets. In fact, Ngidi's last first-class match was SA's Test match against the West Indies in Port of Spain in August last year. Ahead of the WTC final, Ngidi had played no first-class cricket in the last few months except the two overs he bowled in the warm-up match against Zimbabwe last week. Lungi Ngidi has hit back at his critics following his top performance in the World Test Championship ( WTC ) final over the weekend. Ngidi's Mental Resilience and Fitness Debate: Turning Criticism into Sensational Performance 'What I've tried to do is obviously just block out the noise. There was obviously a lot to be said before the Test series started, but now I haven't heard anything but good things, so it's funny how that's turned on its head,' said Ngidi. While the main issue was that Dane Paterson, who was not picked for the match XI, had played far more cricket in similar conditions, Ngidi took it as purely a question of his fitness. 'Fitness is always people's opinions. You don't get put on the field unless the fitness trainer or the coach knows that you're going to be able to do a job. 'So it's always a matter of opinion as most things are when it comes to what the guys are doing on the field. In that moment, I think it's just a mental decision to push through whatever I'm feeling right now or whatever mental block I've got. 'It's a matter of people's opinions of when people say, oh, you look unfit, but if we had to probably run with each other, I'm probably the one who's going to win.' The way Ngidi turned it around in the second innings was nothing short of sensational, and the Proteas explained how he achieved the feat. 'After the first innings as well, like I said, I've been there before and I did struggle from that end as well. A couple of years ago, but it wasn't a matter of, you know, doubt, it was just rhythm. And maybe trying too hard, especially maybe trying to prove a point. 'At that time in the game, obviously, KG [Kagiso Rabada] had started off unbelievably. So trying to match that in a sense. But then again, every bowler has his own processes. So in the second innings, it was more about focusing on what I know I can do and execute that as best as possible.' @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
IOL News
19-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Proteas coach Shukri Conrad: WTC victory proves Test cricket is thriving
Markram scored a sensational 136 and Bavuma made an invaluable 66 batting with an injured hamstring at the other end, as the pair shared a pivotal 147-run stand for the third wicket in pursuit of 282 for victory. Skipper Temba Bavuma formed part of the match-winning partnership with Aiden Markram in the fourth innings, as the Proteas emerged emphatic winners. South Africa clinched the WTC final at Lord's on Saturday, beating Australia by five wickets at the home of cricket. Conrad was speaking at the Proteas press conference on Wednesday in Johannesburg, to welcome the team back to South Africa. In the wake of South Africa's breakthrough victory in the World Test Championship ( WTC ) final, Proteas coach Shukri Conrad says Test cricket remains the ultimate for players. The Enduring Significance of Test Cricket According to Shukri Conrad 'I think the big thing and firstly what it shows is that you can only look at the guys in the front here, it remains the best format for them. It's the format that they all hold the dearest,' said Conrad. 'The big spin-off for me is that you've got a strong Test team that plays regularly, that performs as well as we have, then the spin-offs are major for the other formats.' It's often said that Test cricket is dying, while the shorter formats, especially T20, provide the most interest and in income generation for the game. Conrad, though, insisted there is still an important role for Test cricket. 'We know T20 is the most popular, it brings in the money, but you'll have good T20 teams on the back of good Test teams, because your best players remain your best players, whether they play T20 or Test cricket, that's been proven. 'We're very hopeful that going forward it remains the pinnacle of the sport. I think we've seen people fall in love with Test cricket again. 'I've never seen so many people watch Test cricket. I've never seen so many people in the airport before. That's not on the back of a T20, that's on the back of the Test team being as successful as we are.' @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
IOL News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
South Africa in control as Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen rattle Australia
GREAT START South Africa's Kagiso Rabada (L) celebrates taking the wicket of Australia's Cameron Green during day one of the ICC World Test Championship cricket final match between Australia and South Africa, at Lord's cricket ground, in London, on June 11, 2025. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP It was a measured start by Australia as they moved to 12/0 before Rabada struck twice in the seventh over to remove both Usman Khawaja (0) and Cameron Green (4) with Australia reeling on 16/2. On both occasions, fine catches came in the slips from David Bedingham and Aiden Markram respectively. Rabada (2/9) set the tone with a fine display, and he was ably supported by Marco Jansen (2/27) and Wiaan Mulder. Led by Kagiso Rabada , South Africa made a strong start to the World Test Championship final as Australia reached 67/4 at lunch on day one at Lord's, on Wednesday. Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. South Africa's Bowlers Apply Pressure Early in the Innings Jansen came close to striking in the eighth over as Marnus Labuschagne (17) edged a delivery to short leg, but the ball just dropped short. The two quick wickets brought together Labuschagne and Steve Smith (26 not out) as they went about rebuilding their innings. As Lungi Ngidi (0/19) came into the attack he relieved some of the pressure as he went at nearly five runs to the over. At the other end though, allrounder Wiaan Mulder (0/6) was at his miserly best as he opened his account at Lord's with three consecutive maidens. Less than half an hour before lunch, Jansen came back into the attack and he found the edge of Labuschagne's bat to reduce Australia to 46/3 after 18 overs. Jansen would strike again to dismiss Travis Head for 11, as Kyle Verreynne took a great catch diving to his right. Earlier, Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bowl first under cloudy London skies. The Proteas announced their team a day prior, with no major surprises on the day. The surprising selection though, was the inclusion of Lungi Ngidi who has not played any first-class cricket since August last year, at the expense of Dane Paterson who has been tearing it up in country cricket over the last couple months. @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
IOL News
08-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Comrades Marathon: Top-10 women's results
DOMINANT PERFORMANCE Gerda Steyn clinched her fourth Comrades Marathon victory with a commanding performance, finishing in 5:51:19, ahead of Alexandra Morozova and Shelmisth Muriuki in the top-10 women's results. Picture: Sibonelo Ngcobo/Independent Newspapers The wily ultra star Steyn went out at a steady pace, content to let Elizabeth Mukoloma lead the way in the early stages of the race. Steyn crossed the line in five hours 51 minutes and 19 seconds, over four minutes ahead of Alexandra Morozova in second (5:55:56). Gerda Steyn further entrenched her legacy as a legend of the Comrades Marathon on Sunday, with her fourth victory in the gruelling ultra marathon between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Note: Gerda Steyn delivered a dominant performance to win the 2025 Comrades Marathon women's race, securing her place among the all-time greats of South African distance running. Gerda Steyn makes her move Just over the two hour 20 minute mark, Elizabeth Mukoloma had opened up a major gap over Steyn as she went out at a blistering pace. If she had been able to maintain that pace it would have smashed the down run record, therefore it was just a matter of time before she would be caught and passed. At the 2h42 mark, Steyn finally caught Mukoloma as she took the lead in emphatic style on the descent down to Drummond on a steep downhill. The only thing Mukoloma could do was watch as Steyn quickly became a tiny figure in the distance. The top-10 runners in each race will sleep soundly not just from exhaustion but also from the knowledge of their bank balance receiving a significant boost. Long gone are the days when record nine-time champion Bruce Fordyce won the race purely for prize and not a single cent in prize money. Fordyce's last win in the gruelling ultra-marathon took place in 1990, and five years later prize money was first introduced. This year, both the men's and women's top-10 finishers will also receive the same payouts: 1st place - R875,000 2nd place - R438,000 3rd place - R315,000 4th place - R158,000 5th place - R123,000 6th place - R71,000 7th place - R62,000 8th place - R54,000 9th place - R45,000 10th place - R36,000 @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
IOL News
08-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Tete Dijana wins third Comrades Marathon men's title
It came down to the final 8.5km of the down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, in which Dijana running at the front would outlast Wiersma. At that point, Dijana clung to a 44-second lead over Wiersma. With 4km left, the lead was 51 seconds. In a race in which a couple of runners went out like pacemakers for the first half of the race, before they burnt out - the real race took place further back. Dijana moved into the lead with 16k left. Dijana out-duelled defending champion Piet Wiersma, to add to the titles he won in 2022 and 2023. Wiersma crossed the line (5:25:34) less than 1o seconds after Dijana. Nikolai Volkov was third in 5:29:40. Tete Dijana won his third Comrades Marathon title in an unoffical time of five hours, 25 minutes 27 (5:25:27) in a tense finish in Durban on Sunday. Historic start Earlier, in a first for the Comrades Marathon, the elites went off 15 minutes ahead of the rest of the field in what was an attempt to alleviate some of the congestion of runners at the start. Onalenna Khonkhobe was the first athlete to make a major break in the race, and by the two-hour mark he had amassed an eight-minute lead over Mbuti Mollo, and a staggering 19 minutes over a large group of runners which was the main chase pack. At the 2h12 mark though, Khonkhobe showed his first signs of fatigue as he suddenly stopped running and began walking. Though he carried on running after a few steps, the crack were beginning to show. Just 10 minutes later, Khonkhobe also began clutching his left hamstring on some strides, just showing he was really beginning to cramp up. Further back, Mollo just after the halfway mark also began to start walking for the first time as the chasing pack were rapidly closing the gap. Khonkhobe had amassed a 4km lead at the 2h31 minute mark, when he again stopped and grabbed his hamstring once more, looking like he had been shot by an invisible sniper. Looking like his race was finally done, he began running shortly afterwards. Ironically at about the same time, Mollo also began walking again and he looked to be unable to start running again. Though he did resume running eventually, at the next fuelling station, Mollo stopped again to grab a drink and a potato, as he prepared to be caught by the chasing pack imminently. @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
