Top 6 in Weekend of Sport - Stormers win big & MI crash out of SA20

It was a weekend of records, big wins, near upsets, and nail-biting finishes in the world of sport. A real platter for sports lovers. We were treated on all fronts, be it football, the oval ball game, and that game where they throw leather balls at guys with sticks.

Here’s what you might have missed…

1. MI Cape Town can’t hold their nerve

MI Cape Town might have been the favourite to win the inaugural SA20 trophy. Boasting bowling qualities like Jofra Archer, Kagiso Rabada, and Rashid Khan, while with the bat they had the hard-hitting youngster, Dewald Brevis, Rassie van der Dussen, and Rayn Rickleton.

Unfortunately, a team filled with playmakers can’t guarantee success. And when it comes to the 2023 class of MI Cape Town, it was one that severely underperformed. While there were moments when the potential danger within the team’s ranks shined through, those moments were, unfortunately, few and far between.

That ultimately left the team in a sticky situation at the back end of the round-robin stage. Their task going into the penultimate group match was clear. Win and keep the campaign alive – Lose and… well… finish the campaign in last place.

The task wasn’t the easiest, as Saturday’s encounter saw them play log-leaders, the Pretoria Capitals. Through sheer grit and determination, the match went down to the wire.

There was one wicket left, with two runs to get off three deliveries. English International, Sam Curran got the equation down to two runs needed off the last ball, but couldn’t keep his nerve and missed his mark in aiming for the yorker.

Watch MI Cape Town lose off the last ball of the match:

2. Heinrich Klaasen wrecked the Pretoria Capital bowling attack

The day after MI fell to a narrow loss to the Capitals, the Durban Super Giants arrived at Super Sport Park and wreaked complete havoc.

The two DSG openers, Quinton de Kock and Ben McDermott, started the innings like a house on fire. However, both were dismissed in the early 40s. While David Willey and Wiaan Mulder both lost their wickets while still in single figures, Heinrich Klaasen and Matthew Breetze hung around to send the ball to all ends of the Pretoria ground.

Klaasen enjoyed a particularly destructive innings, and in 44 deliveries, ended unbeaten on 104. The boundaries of Super Sport Park just weren’t big enough for Klaasen!

Watch this beautiful display of power-hitting:

Thanks to that explosive innings, DSG posted a massive 254 for 4. They then bowled the hosts out for 103 for a 151-run victory.

3. Perth Scorchers win the Big Bash Title

It was a dream night for the teenager, Cooper Connolly. The 19-year-old helped the Perth Scorchers to an incredible victory in the final of the Big Bash T20 league, in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Optus Stadium.

Connolly, who captained the under-19 Australian side to a third-place finish at the 2022 ICC under-19 Cricket World Cup, together with Nick Hobson, finished off a miraculous chase, much to the delight of the nearly 54,000 fans in attendance.

The two batters found themselves out in the middle with just 19 balls remaining in the match, and 38 runs still to get. It then came down to 10 runs needed off the final over.

The two seemed unphased by the moment and remained solid as a rock to get win four balls to spare.

The BBL final goes down to the wire – a must watch:

4. Harry Kane becomes Tottenham’s top goal scorer, helps North London rivals

It’s shocking to realize that this man has won zero trophies for club and country. It, in fact, makes one wonder what could’ve happened if Kane departed Spurs earlier in his career.

The man has several personal accolades, and this weekend achieved yet another milestone. Kane scored the decisive goal in their Premier League outing against Manchester City over the weekend.

That goal took him past Jimmy Greaves, to become Tottenham’s leading goal scorer. A record that belonged to Greaves for over a half-century.

Kane’s goal on Sunday evening took his Spurs tally to an incredible 267.

One season wonder 😉 pic.twitter.com/nX1vnf5InZ

— Harry Kane (@HKane) February 5, 2023

5. Stormers blow Sharks out of the water

The Stormers bounced back from a horrible defeat to Ulster just a week prior, to cut a dangerous Sharks side down to size in a bonus point, 46-19 win.

It was an incredibly hot February afternoon in Durban. It did seem to suit the Stormers best because they were absolutely cooking!

Watch the Stormers annihilate the Sharks:

Yes, this match was supposed to be played in the first round, but had to be rescheduled at the behest of Super Sport.

6. Duhan van der Merwe runs through England to win the Calcutta cup

I have this feeling that the William Webb Ellis trophy will find a home in the Northern Hemisphere for the next four years. While France is currently the bookies’ favourite to win rugby’s biggest prize, it could seriously go to any Six Nations outfit. Except for Italy, of course.

This weekend Scotland proved that they could potentially go all the way.

They’ve been a team that consistently fails at producing the goods at the Rugby World Cup. Their best run came in 1991 when they made it to the semifinals. After that, they could only get as far as the final eight, while crashing out in the pool stages in New Zealand in 2011, and in Japan at the previous tournament.

However, the team Gregor Townsend has put together could finally achieve what his predecessors failed at.

He has a well-rounded team, and a beast of a wing in Duhan van der Merwe, who has the power of a John Deere tractor, and the grace of a Ballerina performing at the Palais Garnier.

The South African borne has the ability to create moments of brilliance out of thin air and can stampede his way over the try-line. Which is exactly what he did on Saturday, to clinch a nail-biting win over England at Twickenham.