Sunday the 22nd July will go down as one of the greatest days in South African Sporting history. And it all happened close to the home of the 2012 Olympics where we hope to see much more of the same glory from South African sports stars. But for now the focus should really be on the 2 South African Heroes who brought twitter to a stand still today.
Hashim Amla has been a consistent batsmen for South Africa in a very consistent manner for the past few years. But yesterday, he turned consistent into incredible. For years the 274 record was just broken, 275 by Kirsten, 277 by Smith, 278 by de Villiers, but now the bearded wonder holds the record by quite a distance. His 311 was also the 4th highest score ever in England. I think the ultimate Testament of his innings was the minute long-standing ovation he received from the crowd. Jacques Kallis scored his own 5th highest test score with his incredible 182, but in comparison to #, it seemed pretty small!
And of course our attention quickly shifted from London to Lancashire as Ernie Els, starting 6 shots behind Adam Scott was on a quest to win his first major in a decade and the fourth of his career. He had stated earlier this weekend that he felt something special was to happen. And boy did it ever. Ernie went through the turn far back, but a fantastic final 9 holes saw him close to within 3 of Scott, with Adam Scott having 4 holes to play. The most likeable Aussie in the history of sport managed to do something very unaustralian, as he suffered what can simply be defined as a choke. Adam had played some phenomenal golf this weekend to hold the lead for almost 70 holes alone. But it was ultimately Ernie’s day. The video below is a great summary of the day by ESPN, which shows quite clearly that Ernie wasnt even considered by them up front.
To the two great men of South African sport, ngiyabonga for an amazing weekend! We salute you!