Sports Briefs

NEW West Indies coach John Dyson will not accompany the team on their forthcoming tour of Zimbabwe as he remains in Australia to finalise his domestic matters, it emerged last week.  

The 53-year-old former Australia batsman, who was appointed last month, was absent from the first day of the team’s training camp last week on Monday, and the chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Donald Peters, said they had met with the coach and come to an agreement on his availability.

“There are no major issues where this is concerned. Obviously for someone coming from so far, there are a number of matters to settle. He will miss the Zimbabwe tour and will join the team in South Africa,” said Peters.

West Indies play the first of five one-day internationals in Zimbabwe on November 30 before touring South Africa where they will play three test matches and another five ODIs.

Peters said the coaches in Zimbabwe would be Henderson Springer and David Williams, who will then be the assistants to Dyson in South Africa.

Tangata now professional

KICKBOXER Brighton Tangata won a silver medal at the All Styles Ultimate Championship challenge in Pretoria’s Carousel Casino last week.

For winning the medal, Tangata (21), who beat Josephat Humerscorp of Cape Town in the 63kg light welter category, managed to qualify to become a professional as he has been fighting as a super amateur kickboxer.

Tangata was the winner of the country’s only medal in kickboxing at the All Africa games now joins four other professional leading kickboxers, namely, Justin Musona, Norman Robin, Wilson Rwafa and Bernard Robin.

Tangata will have his first assignment as a professional kickboxer on 9 December in South Africa. Before then, Tangata would have represented the country at the world kickboxing championships in Conbra, Portugal from 2 to 6 December.

Tangata said he was delighted that he has qualified to become a professional although he said lack of adequate facilities had affected the development of the sport in the country

Stadium upgrade progress

THE supply of artificial turf granules, to be put between the surface and the turf, the goal posts and structures and chairs for the technical area at Rufaro Stadium, has arrived.

A Fifa artificial turf consultant, Bert Hammas whose Singapore-based company is responsible for quality control, also arrived in the country last week to assess the situation.

Contractors are reportedly battling to complete the project that is already behind schedule.

Hammas said was happy with the work that has been done so far, paving way for the start of the installation of the artificial turf.

 

Cara Black won US$780,318

ZIMBABWE’S number one tennis player, Cara Black, finished the 2007 season among the top 15 money earners after she received US$795,907 on the road.  

According to the latest Sony Ericsson Women’s Tennis Association Tour Prize Money list, Black (28) was among the top earners in professional tennis circuits this year.

She won nine women’s doubles titles, including the Australian Open, Sony Ericsson Championships and Wimbledon crowns with her American partner Liezel Huber.  

She and Huber received a cheque for US$250,000 for winning the Sony Ericsson Championship.  

Apart from playing doubles this year, Black and Huber also took part in a number of mixed doubles matches in Grand Slam tournaments in which the former collected US$15,598 while the latter won US$37,781.  

This means Black won a total of US$780,318 with Huber in the doubles and earned another US$15 598 with different partners in the mixed doubles, bringing her total prize money for the year to US$795 907.

That took her career earnings to US$4 339 409 since turning professional in January 1998.  

And according to the list of the leading prize money winners for 2007, Black finished the year placed 14th, one place behind her partner Huber.  

The list is headed by the world’s number one singles player Justine Henin of Belgium who reaped US$5,367,086 while American tennis star Serena Williams and Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova are placed second and third with US$2 099 974 and US$2 062 487.

Harare SC retains Sevens title

RUGBY giants Harare Sports Club retained their title as the national champions in the Sevens league when they edged Mashonaland Country Districts 17-15 at Harare Sports Club.

Harare Sports Club first won the XVs Northern Region title after beating Country Districts in the final at the same venue and the Red Lions chose their favourite hunting ground to lift the Sevens title.

Sports Club finished the season without a defeat but the game against the farmers on Saturday proved to be their most difficult tie.

On their way to the final, Country Districts finished top in Pool B where they won all three games against Mbare, Masvingo and a Matabeleland second-string side.

In the other pool, Sports Club also won all their three games after overpowering Mutare, Matabeleland senior side and a Matabeleland third-string side.

This meant there were three Harare teams in the semi-finals, and Sports Club hammered Mbare with a 45-0 hiding while Country Districts brushed aside Mutare 33-12.