Blast from the past : Boxer Adams goes from champ to gallows

1947 — Captain Alan Melville, who had made his Test debut in 1938, scores an unbeaten 183 on the first day of South Africa’s first cricket Test in eight years against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Dudley Nourse made 149. 

1980 — Cameron Adams wins the vacant Transvaal middleweight title when he knocks out Samson Mohloai in the fifth round of their scheduled 10-rounder in Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg. That earned him a crack at the vacant national title against Bruce McIntyre in a rematch of their 1979 thriller that was named Fight of the Year. But the return never materialised. Adams, facing a murder charge, was shot three times in an attempted hit by a member of the Fast Guns gang in Westbury in December 1980. He survived and in February 1981 shot dead a man. Three days later Adams’ older brother Richard was gunned down outside his flat. Adams scuppered the case against his own attackers as he told the court he had been under the influence of drugs when he had implicated them. In August 1981 Adams, accompanied by a member of the Spaldings gang, shot dead a second victim. Adams was eventually convicted of both murders and sentenced to death. His claim that his actions were necessitated by a kill-or-be-killed lifestyle of gangs in the townships reserved for coloureds in Johannesburg was dismissed. Adams was 28 when he was hanged in November 1984.

2000 — Bafana Bafana are beaten 2-4 by Mexico in a four-nations tournament at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Down 0-2 at the break, South Africa reduced the deficit by one when Benni McCarthy struck in the 52nd minute. But two late Mexican goals had them down 1-4 before Thabo Mngomeni pulled one back in the 89th minute.

2003 — Scotland outscore the Springboks three tries to two, but South Africa win the first Test in Durban 29-25. Flyhalf Louis Koen kicked five penalties and two conversions.

2008 — Kagisho Dikgacoi scores twice as Bafana Bafana beat Equatorial Guinea 4-1 in an African Nations’ Cup qualifier in Atteridgeville. Surprise Moriri and Thembinkosi Fanteni also netted.

2008 — The Springboks run in four tries to beat Wales 43-17 in Bloemfontein for a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

2009 — AB de Villiers scores 79 off 34 balls to help the Proteas make 211/5 to beat Scotland by 130 runs in a T20 World match at the Oval. Only two Scotsmen made double figures.

2016 — Kagiso Rabada takes three wickets as the Proteas bowl out Australia for 142 to win their triangular ODI by 47 runs in Providence. Farhaan Behardien top-scored with 62 in South Africa's 189/9. Wayne Parnell, Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso took two wickets each as eight of the Australian batsmen failed to push their scores beyond single figures. 

2017 — Pakistan beat the Proteas by 19 runs on Duckworth-Lewis in an ICC Champions Trophy group match in Birmingham. South Africa scored 219/8, with David Miller making 75 not out. Pakistan were 119/3 after 27 overs when the rain halted play, placing them well ahead of the revised 101 target.

2019 — Bafana Bafana, made up of U-23 players, win the Cosafa Cup Plate competition for the third year in a row when they beat Malawi 5-4 on penalties after a goalless match at Moses Mabhida Stadium.