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CAPE TOWN: Player salaries for the South African 2020-21 cricket season are safe, but the long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic could mean the country's cricketers earn less in the future, Cricket South Africa Acting CEO Jacques Faul has said. A number of sports teams and organisations around the world have either reduced the salaries of players and officials, or cut their staff numbers in the wake of the virus outbreak that has crippled global sport. Faul said CSA, who contract players on a yearly basis, will not follow suit, but believed the longer-term prospects for player income is of great concern. "We have budgeted for the amount. It is a centralised system and both the national team and franchise players are budgeted for," Faul told local media on Tuesday. "At this stage we will have enough capacity to see us through the season. "But in the long term, even if we cover this season, we will have to look at what the situation is going to be after that and the … [Read more...] about Cricket: South Africa won’t reduce player salaries for 2020-21 season

JOHANNESBURG: South African businesses braced for a nationwide lockdown and panic buyers stockpiled food and other essentials on Tuesday as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases jumped to 554 from 402 a day earlier. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the 21-day lockdown from midnight on Thursday in an address to the nation on Monday, saying Africa's most advanced economy needed to escalate its response to curb the spread of the respiratory pandemic. South Africa has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in sub-Saharan Africa, and public health experts are worried that the virus could overwhelm the health system if infection rates rise steeply. Ramaphosa deployed the army in the streets, ordered underground mines to suspend operations and confined tourists who had arrived recently from "high-risk" countries to their hotels - some of the toughest measures on the continent. Rwanda has also imposed severe restrictions on movement, including "non-essential … [Read more...] about South Africa braces for lockdown as coronavirus cases spike to 554

REUTERS: South African-born batsman Devon Conway is set to make his international debut with New Zealand after the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed his eligibility starting Aug 28. Conway has also been granted an exceptional circumstance dispensation by the ICC, which means should he be selected for New Zealand's tour of Bangladesh starting on Aug 12, he would be allowed to play tour matches before the deadline. The tour is in serious doubt as international cricket remains suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. "There are mixed feelings at the moment," Conway told a news conference from his home in Wellington on Tuesday. "Obviously, really happy to hear the news about my eligibility but then again with regards to what's happening throughout the world it just puts it in perspective." The left-handed batsman's first New Zealand cap remains a formality, given his impressive numbers across all formats since he first appeared for the Wellington Firebirds in … [Read more...] about Cricket: South African run machine Conway cleared to play for New Zealand

CAPE TOWN: The fate of planned mid-year rugby union internationals, including a homecoming game for World Cup winners South Africa, will be decided this month, officials in several countries said on Thursday, but the indications are they will be called off. Discussions on scheduled tours by France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales to the southern hemisphere in July, and England's trip to Japan at the same time, were held on Wednesday when World Rugby’s executive committee met by video conference. But any decision on the fate of the tours was left to later in April, several sources told Reuters. World Rugby, the sport's governing body, has not issued any statement on the meeting, but its chief executive Brett Gosper had earlier this week said the tours were unlikely to go ahead. “The problem is that no union wants to make the decision to cancel its tour, not least because there are, among other things, insurance contract implications,” he told the French daily L’Equipe. … [Read more...] about Decision on July internationals to be made this month

RIYADH: World leaders on Thursday (Mar 26) promised US$5 trillion to stave off global economic collapse from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed 21,000 people and shut down huge swathes of the globe. From New York to Paris to New Delhi life has ground to standstill with some three billion people confined to their homes as governments scramble to halt the disease's deadly march across the world. The death toll spiralled upward again in Europe, as fatalities in the United Stated shot past 1,000 and cases in Africa continued to multiply, and already-stretched healthcare systems readied for the worst. READ: More than 1,000 US coronavirus deaths, near 70,000 cases Fears are mounting the virus could cause an even greater shock than the Great Depression, with the latest unemployment figures out of the US breaking records as businesses across the world's biggest economy are pinched by the pandemic. Leaders from the G20 most industrialised nations held crisis talks by video … [Read more...] about World powers vow united front on coronavirus as death toll mounts