Sports fans have been treated
Dear Editor,
The summer is hot!
Last week we were treated to a breathtaking final of the cricket World Cup, where New Zealand suffered heartbreak at the hands of the English and Novak Djokavic upstaged the evergreen Roger Federer in a five-set thriller at the Wimbledon final.
On the weekend, in the Diamond League, we saw the Pocket Rocket Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and the indomitable Danielle Williams, set the track ablaze with scorching speed and blistering times.
To cap the weekend off, there were the exciting semifinals and final of the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019. The first semi-final saw South Africa coming up against the #1 ranked and favourites Australia. A match that was expected to be a fairly comfortable victory for Australia turned out to be quite the opposite. South Africa was up for the challenge and fought gallantly, but came up short, Australia won 55-53. The other semi-final saw New Zealand facing the host England. This match was bound to be an exciting affair as, only a week prior, the English men’s cricket team defeated the New Zealanders in the final of the cricket World Cup. England had the hometown support, but New Zealand was motivated and was not about to suffer another loss to the English on English soil. In what was another exciting encounter, and the English fell short despite their hometown support. They went down 47-45.
Here’s how it went: It’s Sunday morning and it’s the familiar matchup of a netball World Cup final. New Zealand known as the Silver Ferns faces the 3-time defending champions Australia, known as the Diamonds. Will the Diamonds come up trumps over their rivals from ‘down under’ or will the Silver Ferns, like 2003 in Kingston, Jamaica overcome the Diamonds? The match begins, both teams trade points and the first quarter ends at 10 apiece. The second quarter gets underway and the Diamonds crack under the pressure to give up a three-point lead, ending the first half 28-25. The Silver Ferns, now smelling blood, go for the kill in the third quarter, going up by as much as six points but the Diamonds keep fighting, cutting the deficit to four points, ending the third quarter 41-37 in favour of the Ferns. Victory is in sight, it’s a position the Ferns have been in before, are they about to allow it to slip from their grasp? The Diamonds, in true Aussie fashion, begin to pile on the pressure and cuts the deficit to one-point but the Ferns weren’t about to lose another final and holds on for the one point victory, 52-51.
The final was another tensioned-filled affair not for the faint at heart. In the space of a week sporting fans have been treated to incredible matches and some spectacular finishes. What will next week bring? No one knows, but what is for sure is that sports fans have been treated to some delightful performances and will be checking their calendars for the next big event. US Open anyone?
Kemar Bogle
knb800@yahoo.com