27 h. ago ‘I was locked in the bathroom sulking’: Temba Bavuma on his path from township to WTC final

The South Africa captain talks about street cricket in Langa, adapting to new schools after a scholarship and why playing at Lord’s means so much“There was always some sort of allegiance with Lord’s when we were growing up in Langa,” Temba Bavuma says of his childhood as a township boy living just outside Cape Town. Bavuma, the first black cricketer to captain South Africa, will lead his country against Australia in the World Test Championship final, which begins at Lord’s on Wednesday.In the quintessentially English surroundings of Arundel, the 5ft 3in Bavuma looks as if he has gone back to being a kid in the dusty townships. “In Langa we had a four-way street,” he says, his face crinkling with the memories. “On the right-hand side of the street the tar wasn’t done so nicely and we used to call it Karachi because the ball would bounce funny. The other side was the MCG [Melbourne Cricket Ground] but my favourite section of the street was clean, and done up nicely, and we called...

Politics

46 h. ago All branches of major UK high street supermarket could be sold to 'mystery buyer'

Currently owned by South Africa's SPAR Group, the UK arm of the SPAR Group is run by the Appleby Westward Group – and has more than 1,750 stores across the country

Economics

49 h. ago Children plummet from bouncy castle blown away in front of terrified parents

Two children were left with injuries after the untethered bouncy castle was carried high into the air by a gust of wind at a school event in Krugersdorp, South Africa

Society

49 h. ago Terrifying moment two children cheat death after falling from bouncy castle blown 40 feet into the air during school fund

The horror happened during a fund-raising day at a school in South Africa when an unexpected gust caused the apparently untethered inflatable to take flight.

Society

49 h. ago Stuart Broad to help out South Africa bowlers but not interested in coaching job

Broad will join the Proteas as a consultant for one day ahead of their World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s.

Politics

61 h. ago Brit, 73, strangled to death with own belt in horror South Africa phone robbery

Retired Brit Karl Lauks, 73, was brutally killed on his driveway when he was strangled with his own belt after coming home from the pub, in South Africa - police said a 29-year-old has been arrested

Events

61 h. ago Sick ICE agents are stuck in Djibouti at risk of malaria and rocket attacks. Why won’t Trump bring them back?

DHS accuses judge of ‘stranding’ officers in east Africa while legal battle plays out over South Sudan deportations, but he never ordered them there.

Events

64 h. ago Cutting off rhinos' horns is a contentious last resort to stop poaching. A new study found it works

A study published in the academic journal Science has found that cutting off the horns of rhinos in Africa leads to a reduction in poaching of the endangered species

Politics

68 h. ago Brit, 73, is ambushed and strangled to death with his own belt outside his South Africa home as he's robbed for his phone for fourth time in six months

The killer is said to have used Karl's scarf to silence him by jamming it in his mouth to stop his screams then wrapped the belt round his neck and choked him to death.

Events

69 h. ago Oscar Pistorius competes in Durban triathlon 12 years after murdering girlfriend

Pistorius was released on parole in January 2024, 12 years after the murder of Steenkamp

Events

2 d. ago Bikes, the Bean and Black Panthers in Chicago: Wembley to Soweto initiative 2025

After the huge success of projects across Europe, southern Africa, South America, the Middle East and the UK, the Wembley to Soweto Foundation started its US rollout in 2022. Focusing on young people affected by gangs, the charity uses photography as a catalyst to improve participants’ self-esteem and confidence and teach life skills to help disadvantaged youth into employment and tertiary educationThe backdrop of sport has been a constant in the Wembley to Soweto Foundation’s projects, and the foundation has encouraged the young photographers to reflect how their communities are shaped by football, rugby, athletics, cricket, boxing and the like.Since the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa, the charity has worked alongside the Premier League, the FA, the Olympic Games, the Cricket World Cup, the RFU and now the MLS in North America. Ultimately the US cohorts will be given the opportunity to photograph at the US Soccer World Cup in 2026 and the 2028 LA Olympics.Quiet Reflection – Th...

Politics

4 d. ago The Spin | Why neutrals should back South Africa against Australia in WTC final

Wealth of Big Three is skewing Test cricket and a big win for Australia at Lord’s would only emphasise this gulfOn a recent episode of The Grade Cricketer podcast, the hosts, Sam Perry and Ian Higgins, tore lumps out of South Africa in a foul-mouthed tirade about the World Test Championship final against Australia. Perry predicted a finish “inside three days” and Higgins, practically thumping the table, said: “If I don’t look at a scorecard and South Africa are three for spit my TV is going through the window.” Cue big alpha chuckles and main-character knee slaps.I know they were joking, skewering Australian arrogance as much as South African frailty, and that they have built a formidable brand that runs on side-mouthed jibes and hyperbolic bluster. Still, the lizard part of my brain lit up in protest. How dare they dismiss my countrymen? I wasn’t alone in taking offence. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Wiegman optimistic Lauren James will be fit for Lionesses’ squad at Euro 2025

Forward sidelined since April with hamstring injuryEngland squad for tournament named on ThursdaySarina Wiegman spoke positively about Lauren James’s chances of being fit enough to play at this summer’s European Championship, as she prepares to name her final squad of 23 players for the tournament on Thursday.The Chelsea forward has been sidelined since sustaining a hamstring injury in April during a victory for England at home to Belgium at Ashton Gate, and her involvement in July’s Euros in Switzerland has been in doubt, but on Tuesday night Wiegman appeared more than optimistic. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Morocco reveals ambitious £887m plan to host African F1 race

South Africa and Rwanda are keen on hosting a race but Morocco has also joined the list of interested parties

Economics

4 d. ago I'm A Celebrity winner Scarlett Moffatt 'signs up for second series of All Stars'

I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! All Stars is coming back next year in South Africa as famous faces from past series battle it out to be crowned the ultimate champion

Politics

5 d. ago South Africa seek Stuart Broad help in bid to beat Australia in World Test Championship final

England bowling icon to spend brief stint as coaching consultant for the Proteas at Lord’s next week

Sport

6 d. ago Stuart Broad to work with South Africa ahead of World Test Championship final

This will be Broad’s first coaching role, with the 38-year-old having been a television pundit for Sky Sports since retiring from playing.

Sport

6 d. ago Scientists are baffled as measurements reveal South Africa is RISING out of the ocean

Scientists have been baffled to discover that South Africa is rising out of the ocean by as much as two millimetres per year.

Politics

6 d. ago South Africa tap into Stuart Broad’s secrets before World Test Championship final with Australia

No Test bowler knows more about taking Australian wickets than Stuart Broad

Sport

8 d. ago Jewish organizers are increasingly confronting Trump: ‘The repression is growing, but so is the resistance’

As the administration continues to exploit antisemitism to arrest protesters and curb academic freedoms, more American Jews are saying ‘not in my name’On the morning of Columbia University’s commencement last week, an intergenerational group of Jewish alumni gathered in the rain outside the Manhattan campus’s heavily policed gates, wearing keffiyehs and shirts emblazoned with the words “not in our name”. Two had graduated more than 60 years earlier, and one spoke of having fled the Nazis to the US as a child. Others recalled participating in Columbia protests of the past, including those that led the university to divest from apartheid South Africa.They spoke as alumni and as Jews to condemn the university’s investments in Israel, its repression of pro-Palestinian speech, and its capitulation to the Trump administration’s assault on academic freedom in the name of fighting antisemitism on campus. They had planned to burn their Columbia diplomas in protest, but the rain got in their ...

Politics