South Africa: home and away
Helen Bendell
helen.bendell@william-reed.co.uk
Manchester United were the first European club to be invited to join South African sides, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, for the Vodacom Challenge back in 2006.
Last year Spurs travelled to South Africa for the pre-season tournament — and won it. On United's visit, they met the Kaizer Chiefs in the final but lost out on penalties. Sir Alex Ferguson will be keen for his newly-crowned Premier League champions to take revenge.
Saturday's action takes place at Newlands Stadium, in Cape Town, with a kick-off time of 2.15pm, while the match against Orlando Pirates is on Tuesday evening. Setanta1 is showing both games .
On the cricket front the First Test against South Africa started promisingly with two great batting performances from Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell. But England failed to capitalise on their early promise. They were left high and dry by a determined South African rearguard action that forced a draw.
Andrew Flintoff is in the line-up for the Second Test, having been confined to bowling in the nets for the First Test. Ian Bell strengthened his case for a place with a stunning 199 at Lord's , but leading bowler Ryan Sidebottom was struggling after the weekend with a stiff back.
The teams have met in Leeds on 11 previous occasions, with England winning six of those, losing two and drawing three. In 2003, England lost by a decisive 191 runs.
This week's top game: Saturday, 2.00pm
Football: Kaizer Chiefs v Manchester United (Setanta1)
Will he or won't he? Who knows whether Ronaldo will be donning a white shirt instead of a red shirt next season. If the player — who's been on duty for Portugal then resting since United's Champions League win at the end of May — does decamp to Real Madrid, his absence will be virtually the only change to Sir Alex Ferguson's squad. The manager is only looking to make one signing over the summer, content to continue relying on veteran campaigners like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Edwin van der Sar, below.
