March 2006 in Sports - March 3, 2006 (Friday)

March 3, 2006 (Friday)

• Cricket: Australia in South Africa
  • Match two in the five match ODI series.
    • South Africa defeat Australia by 196 runs.
      • South Africa made 289/7 off their 50 overs, with Herschelle Gibbs top scoring with 66. In reply, Australia crumbled without Ricky Ponting or Andrew Symonds, both unavailable for the match, making just 93 runs. Makhaya Ntini picked up 6–22 off 9.3 overs, his best figures in an ODI.
• Baseball: The inaugural World Baseball Classic begins.
  • Pool A
    • Japan defeats China 18–2 (invoking the mercy rule)
    • Korea defeats Chinese Taipei 2–0
• Rugby union: Super 14, Round 4
  • Chiefs 35–17 Reds in Hamilton
    • The Chiefs got off to a good start in their home opener with a try in the first ten minutes. The Reds fought back, but the Chiefs ran away with the game in the second half, with Stephen Donald scoring 20 points. The Chiefs picked up a bonus point with four tries.
  • Brumbies 28–7 Cats in Canberra.
    • The Brumbies had their first win at home this season, scoring 3 tries in their win. However, the Brumbies missed out on a bonus point, kicking the ball away twice in injury time. The loss was the Cats second in a row.
• NCAA Men's College Basketball
  • Penn becomes the first team to clinch a berth to this year's NCAA tournament. Their 57–55 win over Yale, combined with a 61–46 Brown defeat of Princeton, gives the Quakers the Ivy League title with two games to play. Penn qualifies as regular-season champion, as the Ivy League is the only Division I conference that does not conduct a postseason tournament.