Blast from the past: Australia win the Waugh against Proteas at Newlands

Today in SA sports history: April 6

1980 — Harold Volbrecht challenges hard-hitting WBA welterweight champion Pipino Cuevas of Mexico in Houston. After four rounds the South African led on the scorecards of two judges, but in the fifth he got nailed by Cuevas’s left hook and went down for the count. Volbrecht said afterwards he thought he heard the referee shouting break, so he made the mistake of stepping back with his guard down. Volbrecht lost a second title shot seven years later. 

1994 — SA’s cricketers succumb tamely to Australia in the seventh ODI at Newlands, losing by 36 runs. The visitors, spearheaded by Mark Waugh’s 71, scored 242/6 in their 50 overs, and then restricted the hosts to 206/5. Opener Andrew Hudson, with 62 from 92 deliveries, was the only SA batsmen to get past the thirties. Shane Warne (3/31) and Paul Reiffel (1/18) helped bog the SA batsmen down. SA led the eight-match series 4-3.

1997 — Macchambes Younga-Mouhani scores twice in the space of five minutes in the second half as Bafana Bafana are beaten 0-2 by Congo in a World Cup qualifying match in Pointe-Noire. It was the only qualifier SA lost en route to qualifying for France 1998.

2001 — Mbulelo Botile delivers a lacklustre performance as he loses his IBF featherweight title to Frankie Toledo in his first defence. Botile had won the title with a vicious knockout of Paul Ingle, putting him into hospital with bleeding on the brain. Although Ingle recovered, it was believed Botile had struggled emotionally.

2002 — The Proteas score 326/3 against Australia in Port Elizabeth, but it’s not enough to lose the sixth ODI of the seven-match series. Graeme Smith made 84 up front, with Jacques Kallis scoring an unbeaten 80 off 59 deliveries and Jonty Rhodes 71 not out from 50. The visitors lost seven wickets in the chase, but Ricky Ponting’s 92 and Darren Lehmann’s 91 helped get them home with five balls remaining. Australia led the series 5-0.