Proteas finally off the mark, Banyana Banyana nudged out of World Cup

[Because Mondays are for sports, not work.]( [Web Version]( Tuesday, 18 June 2019 "That's one of the reasons why I'm here and I have this flag representing Cameroon and Africa. As a kid I didn't have the opportunity to dream about this moment. I didn't think I could make it. I didn't think this was possible." Pascal Siakam Welcome to the weekly Maverick Sports brief. Because Mondays (in this case Tuesdays) are for armchair analysis. Want to tweak things? Don't click unsubscribe, rather [manage your preferences right here.]( The Weekend Damage We're Back Again! Once again we return to bring you some sporting crib notes from the past week's action. Some of it will make you smile, some of it will leave you wanting to punch your screen (we don't recommend that), but most importantly, it'll give you something to talk about wherever you are. Right then, let's get right to it! The Proteas finally registered points on the board as they made hard work of chasing down Afghanistan’s lowly total of 125 runs, choosing to play it safe and guarantee victory, instead of coming out all guns blazing. They may yet rue that decision as it didn’t do any favours to their Net Run Rate. Imran Tahir starred with the ball, finishing with figures of 4/29, while Quinton de Kock contributed 68 runs with bat to see the South Africans to a 9-wicket victory against the minnows. On Monday, 17 June, [Banyana Banyana]( suffered a 4 – 0 drubbing to Germany in their final game at the FIFA Women's World Cup. That means the South Africans finish at the basement of the group, without a single point to their name. This follows on from Thursday last week, when they were beaten 1 – 0 by China. Meanwhile, Nigeria became the first African team to register points on the table when they beat South Korea 2 - 0 last week Wednesday. However, on Monday, yet another controversial VAR decision at the Women's World Cup saw them go down 1 - 0 to hosts, France. All is not lost though for the Super Falcons; they can still qualify as one of the best third-placed teams, but they will need results in the other group games to go their way. The Junior Boks will face Argentina in the bronze-medal match in the World Rugby U/20 Championship on Saturday after going down 20 – 7 to the defending champions, France, in the semi-final. Until this loss, the South Africans were the only unbeaten team left in the tournament. The Africa Cup of Nations is around the corner too, with the first match taking place on 21 June 2019. South African coach Stuart Baxter trimmed down his [initial 30-man]( preliminary squad to 23 players. The squad was already trimmed down to 26 as injury, passport and personal issues saw falling by the wayside. Kermit Erasmus (Cape Town City), Fortune Makaringe (Maritzburg United) and Ben Motshwari (Orlando Pirates) were players to be cut from the 26 remaining. On Saturday, South Africa's senior hockey men's team settled for second place at the FIH Men’s Series in Bhubaneswar, India as they suffered a 5 – 1 defeat against the host nation in the final. The South Africans had booked their place in the final after a last-gasp goal that saw them beat the United States of America 2 – 1 on Friday. The African Championships are up next for the SA men’s team on their path to qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Water Cooler Talking Points Need a quick sports talking point to impress your co-workers? We've got you covered. On Friday, the Toronto Raptors won a wild game 114-110 against Golden State Warriors in Oakland to lift their first NBA title. Toronto won the series 4-2 overall. Africa had reason to celebrate with the Raptors as three Africans were an integral part of the champions's set-up. Namely, General Manger, Masai Ujiri, as well as players Pascal Siakam of Cameroon, and Congolsese-born Serge Ibaka Returning to the Women’s World Cup, world No. 1, the United States of America got the defence of their title a flying start as they walloped Thailand 13 – 0. However, instead of getting praised for their record-breaking performance, they courted controversy for supposedly over-celebrating their goals, with some calling them classless and saying they lack sportsmanship. Do you think the USWNT did indeed go over the top? Or were they justified in their celebrations? Lionel Messi's quest for a maiden international title got off to the worst possible start when Argentina lost 2 - 0 to Colombia at Copa America 2019 this past Saturday. On Friday Brazil, the hosts of the tournament, got off to a flying start with 3 - 0 thrashing of Bolivia. In international boxing, British heavyweight, Tyson Fury stepped back into the ring for the first time since December 2018. The Brit made light work of little-known Tom Schwarz, ending the fight inside two rounds in front of a packed MGM Grand on Sunday morning. Bitter rivals, India and Pakistan, met for the 7th time at a ODI World Cup on Sunday. And the Indians made it seven straight wins with an 89-run DLS victory. Brilliant knocks from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, followed by magnificent spells by the bowling unit guided the tournament favourites over the finish line. Four-time Tour de France winner, Chris Froome, will miss this year’s edition after the 34-year old crashed and hit a wall at around 54km/h during practice before stage four of the Criterium du Dauphine race and has withdrawn from the world-famous Tour de France that begins on 6 July. He was airlifted to St Etienne Hospital for surgery, which his team has since announced was a success. However, he will be out for the remainder of the cycling season and will take an estimated time of six months to recover. We believe that our investigations and our brand of journalism should be free for all. That's why we don't have any nasty paywalls. If you value our journalism and you appreciate what Daily Maverick does, [consider becoming a Maverick Insider.]( In Play By EPA-EFE/MOHAMED HOSSAM A woman walks in front of a mural depicting Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah in Cairo, Egypt, 15 June 2019. The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will take place from 21 June until 19 July 2019 in Egypt. Coming Up This Week ICC Cricket World Cup: South Africa vs New Zealand (Wednesday 19 June, 11:30 SAST) and South Africa vs Pakistan (Sunday 23 June, 11:30 SAST) Super Rugby quarterfinals: Crusaders vs Highlanders (Friday 21 June, 9:35 SAST) Jaguares vs Chiefs (Saturday 22 June, 0:05 SAST) Hurricanes vs Bulls (Saturday 22 June, 9:35 SAST) Brumbies vs Sharks (Saturday 22 June, 12:05 SAST) In Numbers 2 The number of minutes Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson said he needed to rest after suffering a knee injury in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The injury? A torn ACL. On Daily Maverick Right Now [Fielding to the fore at ICC Cricket World Cup]( [Fielding to the fore at ICC Cricket World Cup]( By Mark van Dijk [Lords of the Ring: The past, present and future of SA boxing]( [Lords of the Ring: The past, present and future of SA boxing]( By Jonah Dylan [Being Banyana: A history of strife]( [Being Banyana: A history of strife]( By Antoinette Muller [Rain threatens to turn World Cup into a damp squib]( [Rain threatens to turn World Cup into a damp squib]( By Mark van Dijk [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2019 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Interested in advertising with us? [Click here to sign the pact.](mailto:advertising@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=Advertising%20query%3A%20First%20Thing%20Mailers) [Getting too many emails from us? Manage your preferences]( [Unsubscribe](