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Sunday, February 23, 2020

Mignon du Preez's unique 100



Sure, one may not immediately  identify this good looking person……. She is a Cricketer – a right handed bats(wo)man and occasional wicket keeper, who made her debut in Jan 2007, when aged 17……..  she is Mignon du Preez and was  in news as Cricket South Africa has offered contract to her alongwith few others for the first time in its history.  Today she has reached a big important personal landmark.  She has played 1 test; 130 ODIs and today her 100th T20( - has made 3239 ODI runs and 1666 runs in T2o.

Downunder, Perth may be one of the most isolated cities in the world but it is about to become a key player in the international space race, thanks to a new robotics centre developed in partnership with NASA. World-class technology will be adapted for remote operations on the moon and Mars at the national space robotics centre based in Perth. Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE) is a key figure in the Australian-NASA partnership, developing technologies to assist in the international space race.

The battle to host a Test against India next summer has intensified, with Perth's Optus Stadium outlining why it believes the $1.6 billion venue has a "compelling" case to be approved. Melbourne and Sydney are locked in to host two of the four Tests of the heavyweight - and financially lucrative - series, leaving Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane to fight for the remaining two matches, ahead of a decision state associations expect Cricket Australia to make on March 20. The Indian cricket team return to Australian shores next summer for a four-match Test series, but speculation remains over where the fixtures will be played.

The final Test remains an arm-wrestle between the Gabba and Perth Stadium. Both grounds have recorded disappointing crowd numbers over the past couple of seasons. An aggregate of 45,991 attended this season’s Test against Pakistan at the Gabba, while the 60,000-capacity Perth Stadium has never achieved a crowd greater than 21,000.  “Perth are arguing they have a brand spanking new $1.4 billion stadium, whereas the Gabba is the least of the stadiums on the mainland and needs a lot of money injected into it.  Australia have not lost a Test at the Gabba since 1988, undefeated in their last 31 matches, so far us, it is better to play in Perth perhaps.

Today, Perth is hosting the T20WC match between England and South Africa.  SA won the toss and chose to field.  Yesterday NZ beat Srilanka by seven wickets. The score card reads : New Zealand 131 for 3 (Devine 75*) beat Sri Lanka 127 for 7 (Atapattu 41, Jensen 3-16) by seven wickets.  NZ skipper Sophie Devine led by example - she was unbeaten to marshal her team to a victory that stretched them for stages. In the end, though, the margin was comfortable with 14 balls to spare as Sri Lanka's lack of power with the bat beyond Chamari Atapattu again hurt them. However, it was Sri Lanka who made the early running and they were 51 without loss after the powerplay with New Zealand a little untidy and getting a touch nervous that the target could be troublesome. Amelia Kerr made the first breakthrough, then it was Hayley Jensen who played the key role by equalling her career-best, the pair taking 5 for 37 in eight overs as Sri Lanka's second 10 overs brought just 52 runs. Devine, who is in the form of her life, was dropped on 18 but while she anchored the innings - shelving the full-on aggression seen recently - it was Maddy Green who seized the moment to put New Zealand ahead of the rate with a perfectly paced middle-order innings.

Today, Mignon du Preez has  become the first South African woman to play 100 T20 Internationals  - just to add – today’s match referee is an Indian from Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh.  She is GS Lakshmi, aged 51.   Lakshmi, was a right-hand batsman and right-arm outswing bowler. She played from 1986 to 2004, representing a variety of teams, including South Central Railways, Andhra, Bihar, East Zone, and South Zone.She first officiated as a match referee in domestic women's cricket in 2008-09 and has overseen three women's ODIs and three women's T20Is.

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
23.2.2020

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