Prolific opener David Warner smashed a brilliant 122 but could not claim victory for Australia as they slipped to a 10-run defeat to South Africa in their Cricket World Cup clash at Old Trafford on Saturday, leaving them facing a semi-final against England.
The result allowed India to take over at the top of the round-robin table at the end of the first stage, meaning Australia will battle the host nation at Edgbaston on Thursday, while the Indians meet New Zealand at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Already-eliminated South Africa chose to bat and a century from captain Faf du Plessis took them to 325 for six in their 50 overs, a total boosted by Rassie van der Dussen’s well-constructed 95.
Australia were in trouble early in their innings and a hamstring injury to number three batsman Usman Khawaja saw him retire hurt, and put the rest of his tournament in jeopardy, but they rallied magnificently before being bowled out for 315 with one ball remaining.
"We would have liked to have got the win but there are some real positives from the game," Australia captain Aaron Finch said at the post-match presentation.
"We fought ourselves out of a bit of a hole with the bat and Davie Warner got a magnificent hundred. Alex Carey also played a brilliant knock to get us close.
"It’s a bit frustrating but we can also learn from this as well. We still managed to get really close while not playing our best cricket."
South Africa have been poor with the bat in the tournament but found form on an excellent wicket for stroke-making and posted their highest total of the World Cup.
Du Plessis followed up his unbeaten 96 against Sri Lanka last time out with another controlled innings of 100 from 94 balls.
He put on 151 for the third wicket with Van der Dussen, who was caught on the boundary in the last delivery of the innings as he chased his maiden ODI ton.
Australia lost Finch (3) in the third over of their reply and were in further trouble when Khawaja hobbled off with the score on 20.
Steve Smith (7) was trapped leg before wicket by Dwaine Pretorius (2-27), before wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock effected a brilliant run-out of Marcus Stoinis (22) with a flick behind his back and then took a superb catch to remove Glenn Maxwell (12).
At that stage Australia were reeling at 119 for four but Warner continued to score at a run a ball and got to his 17th ODI hundred with fours off successive deliveries.
He put on a brilliant 108 in 90 balls for the sixth wicket with the excellent Carey (85 from 69 balls) to keep Australia in the hunt but miscued a Pretorius delivery and was superbly caught by a diving Chris Morris at mid-on.
A hobbling Khawaja (18) returned to the wicket late in the innings but, with his movement restricted, was bowled by seamer Kagiso Rabada (3-56).
"What a game, it's always a pleasure playing against Australia," Du Plessis said. "We wanted to at least go home with a small smile and today we got that as a team."
An inspiring evening of sport, solidarity, and celebration unfolded on Friday (13) as Her Excellency Nimisha J Madhvani, High Commissioner of Uganda to the UK, hosted a dynamic fundraising event for the Tritons Uganda Rugby Tour 2025. The fundraiser drew attention to a groundbreaking moment in UK and Ugandan rugby relations, the first ever UK women’s rugby team set to tour Uganda.
The high-energy evening included guest appearances by celebrated rugby personalities Simon Shaw, a former England lock and British & Irish Lion, and Shaunagh Brown, an inspirational former England Red Roses international.
Set to take place from 19th to 23rd November 2025, the Tritons Uganda Tour will see both a men’s and women’s UK team travel to the "Pearl of Africa" to face the Uganda Club Select and National Select XVs. The tour, organised by Tritons Sports in collaboration with the Uganda Rugby Union, is poised to make history, marking the first ever UK women’s rugby team to play in Uganda.
Last year’s men’s match against the Ugandan National Veterans XV left an indelible mark. The 2025 tour is expected to build on that legacy with renewed purpose, inviting players and supporters alike to “Play. Explore. Make History.”
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Temba Bavuma of South Africa lifts the ICC World Test Championship Mace with teammates following his team's victory on Day Four of the WTC final against Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground on June 14. (Photo: Getty Images)
AIDEN MARKRAM's century helped South Africa secure a five-wicket win over Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s on Saturday. With this result, South Africa claimed their first major global title in men’s cricket.
Set 282 to win, South Africa reached the target before lunch on the fourth day, finishing on 282-5. Markram was dismissed for 136 after bringing his team to within six runs of victory.
The Proteas resumed on 213-2, needing 69 runs more. Markram, who had been out for a duck in the first innings, was unbeaten on 102 at the start of the day. Captain Temba Bavuma was on 65 despite struggling with a hamstring injury.
South Africa’s history in knockout games had often been marked by defeats, including 18 failed attempts in previous ODI and T20 World Cups. They had only reached one final before this – last year’s T20 World Cup in Barbados, where they lost to India after requiring just 30 runs from the last 30 balls with six wickets in hand.
On Saturday, however, South Africa held on to win. A team without many big names succeeded where players like Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis had not.
South Africa had an early setback when Bavuma, adding only one run to his overnight score, was caught behind off Australia captain Pat Cummins. His partnership with Markram ended at 147, but South Africa were still in control at 217-3.
With clear skies and a flat pitch, conditions were in the batters’ favour. Markram continued, cutting Cummins for four and later pulling him again to bring the target down to 50.
Cummins brought on Nathan Lyon, hoping for spin. But it was Mitchell Starc who got a breakthrough, bowling Tristan Stubbs for eight with a delivery that cut in sharply.
Australia took the new ball with South Africa at 268-4, needing just 14 more runs. Markram then drove Josh Hazlewood’s first ball for four and followed it up with three more runs off the next.
He fell shortly after, pulling Hazlewood to Travis Head at midwicket. His 207-ball innings included 14 fours.
Markram walked back to a standing ovation. Several Australian players shook his hand.
Kyle Verreynne then scored the winning run. He might have been out had Australia had any reviews remaining. South Africa’s 282-5 became the second-highest fourth-innings chase in a Lord’s Test, behind the West Indies’ 344-1 against England in 1984.
Kagiso Rabada also played a key role in the victory, finishing with match figures of 9-110.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli (C), along with his teammates, celebrates with the trophy after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 final cricket match against Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 4, 2025. (Photo by ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images)
BRITISH giant Diageo is exploring the sale of its controlling stake in India's Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team, potentially valuing the newly-crowned champions at up to £1.6 billion ($2bn).
The maker of Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky is weighing its options for the Indian Premier League franchise, including selling part or all of its ownership through United Spirits, its Indian subsidiary where it holds a 55.9 per cent controlling interest, reported the Bloomberg.
Reports said that the London-based company has been in talks with potential advisers about various possibilities for the team, though no final decision has been made and Diageo may choose to keep the franchise.
United Spirits quickly dismissed the speculation in a stock exchange filing, calling reports of a potential sale "speculative in nature" and adding it was "not pursuing any such discussions". Diageo declined to comment when approached.
The timing of these discussions coincides with mounting pressure from India's health ministry, which is pushing to ban all tobacco and alcohol advertising from the IPL. Current Indian law already prohibits direct promotion of these products, forcing companies like Diageo to advertise alternative products using cricket stars instead.
However, the triumph was overshadowed by tragedy when a deadly stampede during the team's victory celebrations in Bengaluru killed at least 11 people, creating reputational challenges for the franchise owners.
Diageo's connection to the team traces back to troubled aviation entrepreneur Vijay Mallya, once known as "India's Richard Branson" and "the king of good times".
Mallya was forced to sell his spirits empire to Diageo for £60 million thirteen years ago to raise funds for his failing Kingfisher Airlines, which eventually collapsed in 2012 owing roughly £1bn to banks.
The potential disposal fits with Diageo's broader strategy to streamline its global portfolio. Finance chief Nik Jhangiani recently outlined plans for "substantial" disposals beyond the "usual smaller brand disposals" as part of a £400m cost-cutting programme.
"It's clearly going to be above and beyond the usual smaller brand disposals you've seen over the last three years," Jhangiani said during the company's third-quarter update.
The company has already begun reducing its exposure in various markets, selling its Nigerian and Ghanaian Guinness operations last year and swapping Cîroc vodka rights for basketball star LeBron James-backed tequila brand Lobos 1707 in April.
Any sale would come at a time when IPL team valuations are soaring, making franchises among the most coveted assets in global sport. The league has grown into a commercial powerhouse rivalling the NFL and Premier League, with its short three-hour matches attracting hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.
Diageo aims to generate around £2.4bn in free cash flow from 2026, supported by its cost-saving programme, to fund further investments and improve its financial position amid challenging market conditions in key regions like the US.
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Kagiso Rabada celebrates with teammate Kyle Verreynne after taking the wicket of Alex Carey during day two of the WTC Final 2025 between South Africa and Australia at Lord's on June 12, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
SOUTH AFRICA remain confident about chasing down a big target in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s, despite the match being dominated by the bowlers so far.
David Bedingham, who top scored with 45 in South Africa’s first innings total of 138, said the team believed they could chase whatever target Australia set.
Australia, who lead by 218 runs with two second innings wickets remaining, will resume on Friday aiming to stretch their lead further and put South Africa under more pressure.
“I think it's just an amazing chance. And I think we're all very, very excited about the opportunity to win,” Bedingham said after the second day’s play.
“Like I said, it could go either way, but I think us as a team are very, very excited and there's a lot of belief in the dressing room.”
With 28 wickets falling over the first two days, bowlers have dominated the contest so far. South Africa’s chances of chasing down the target appear challenging.
“I think when you have six quality seamers on a tricky pitch, it obviously makes batting tough. But I think the way the game's going, I think the wicket has slowed down a bit. The nicks aren't carrying," Bedingham said.
“So I think in the fourth innings, they'll maybe come a bit straighter, and hopefully we can get those runs.”
He said Australia’s bowling, led by Pat Cummins who took six wickets on Thursday, had been difficult to handle.
“Personally, I don't think the Australians gave us any bad balls. That's why they're the best in the world.
“But hopefully, going forward, we can just counteract that and win the World Test Championship. The main thing is just to 100% commit if you are defending or attacking. I think as soon as you get caught in two minds against this attack, you get found out,” he said.
The third-highest successful chase at Lord’s is England’s 277 against New Zealand three years ago. West Indies chased down 342 against England in 1984, while England scored 282 against New Zealand in 2004.
England also chased 218 against New Zealand in 1965, which is the fourth-highest successful chase at the venue.
GRASSROOTS sports education platform Sportzprix last Saturday (7) announced the launch of a digital sports marketing master’s degree for Indian talent in collaboration with UAX Rafa Nadal University School in Spain.
The nine-month course, developed by UAX Rafa Nadal University School, combines global expertise with local insight through an India module co-created by Sportzprix. The online programme will be open to graduates, working professionals and sports entrepreneurs.
“I’ve always believed in the transformative power of sport – and when paired with education, its impact becomes truly enduring,” said tennis legend and mentor Nadal.
“Sport shapes character, resilience and ambition, but academic grounding gives it direction and depth.
“The UAX Rafa Nadal School of Sport excites me because it reflects this powerful synergy – combining education, specialisation and realworld relevance. With the incredible team behind this initiative, I’m confident we’ll equip future professionals with the skills and mindset the global sports industry demands.”
Prasad Mangipudi, co-founder and CEO of Sportzprix, said, “With India bidding for global events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, and domestic leagues becoming bigger and more professional, the country is poised for a sports revolution.
“Shaping sports professionals in the field of marketing will play a central role in determining its future.