India will meet South Africa in their Super Eights clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 22 (Image credit: Agencies)

When India face South Africa in their Super Eights clash of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 22, few supporters will feel more divided than Mariana Morkel.From her home in Pretoria, Mariana will find herself torn. Her elder son, Albie Morkel, represented South Africa in one Test, 58 ODIs and 50 T20Is and is now serving as a consultant coach with the Proteas in the ongoing tournament. Her younger son, Morne Morkel, who played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs and 44 T20Is for South Africa, is India’s bowling coach.

Speaking ahead of South Africa’s Group D match against the UAE at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Albie was asked if he had exchanged notes with Morne. “No, we don’t talk to each other. I think my mother, she’s more worried than us. She doesn’t know who to support, India or South Africa.”With the Proteas already through to the Super Eights, Albie stressed that the bigger challenge lies ahead.“I think the World Cup really starts now, even though we had a tough group. Now you face India, possibly Australia or Zimbabwe and the West Indies in our group. So it’s really tough. It’s going to be all good games. Yes, there will be more pressure on those games because as you move later towards the playoffs.“But I feel we’ve got a very experienced group of bowlers and batting is better so guys that have been exposed to that whether it’s an IPL or other leagues or in international cricket is a little bit different. But guys that can handle that pressure – they actually will thrive in those circumstances where there’s a bit more pressure on the games – so not too worried,” he added.Cautious about raising expectations after a runners-up finish in 2024, he said, “I don’t like to make statements about it. I think we were in a very tough group. That game against Afghanistan still gives me nightmares and it could have gone anyway.“So now I guess the first box is ticked – getting through to the next stage. To me, the World Cup starts now. Every game will be a tough game, and luckily we’ll be in Ahmedabad again where we sort of are used to the conditions now – so, let’s see.”Brought into the South African setup specifically for this tournament, Albie previously worked as Namibia’s assistant coach and as Bangladesh’s power-hitting coach. Reflecting on his current role, he said, “It’s been an interesting term, a specialist consultant. I had to figure it out myself a little bit. But I guess it’s anything it takes to help the team do well in the World Cup. So do a bit of both, batting, and fielding, mostly focus around the bowling for now and do some work with the lower order batters, around their swing and stuff like that.”Now viewing the game from the sidelines, he also spoke about shaping his coaching philosophy, influenced heavily by Stephen Fleming during his stint with Chennai Super Kings.“Initially when I started my coaching career, you still coach as a player. If you want to make a difference, but you can’t be on the field and you have to accept that fact and work out ways because players are under pressure anyway. If you as a coach want to make a difference in their games all the time, that doesn’t help anyway.“So it’s sort of finding that middle ground where you try to help, but you’re also not, as a coach, put pressure on players as they know what they’re doing. If it’s real technical things, then you can work at it, but not during tournament.“My philosophy is once you hit a World Cup like this and you start to tinker with technical stuff, that’s when you confuse players or players can get confused. So it’s more like how can I actually take pressure off guys, make them believe in themselves, and stuff like that? Stephen has been a big influence on that.“He’s one of the only coaches, or maybe the only coach in the world who’s been at a franchise for 17 years. That’s unheard of and it must mean he does something right. I’ll certainly learn a lot from him, yes,” he concluded.

After meeting as students in Belfast, Michaela and John married in on 30 December 2010.

However, tragedy would strike just 12 days later when she visited the couple’s room in a luxury resort in Mauritius on her own after lunch, and she was discovered by John who raised the alarm.

In the aftermath, John, now 41, said there was shock, but there was also “anger” at how the authorities dealt with her death, and the lack of convictions that followed.

“I’ve never asked the question of, ‘why did this happen to me?’, I’ve always just felt so sorry for Michaela,” he said.

“It’s only now that I’m able to talk about it quite logically. There’s still a hell of a lot of pain associated with it, but I accept that it’s always going to be the case.

“I know how intense it is to live with that pain, so I’ve been able to find a way to manage it.”

McAreavey, who featured for Down’s senior football panel and won an All-Ireland Intermediate title with his club Tullylish in 2010, admits that “moving on is a term that has never been comfortable for me”.

“I’ve said before about moving forward, and that just changes the reference around it.

“You’ll never move on from something like that, you can’t just let that be. You have to find a way to move forward.

“I’m still heavily involved for trying to find justice for Michaela so it’s still a very active part of my life.”

Without wishing to get too ahead of himself, Ryan Garcia has named one matchup he would be ‘really interested’ in pursuing after his next fight.

The 27-year-old must first take care of business against Mario Barrios – which is no foregone conclusion – this Saturday, when the two welterweights collide at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Entering their showdown as the defending WBC world champion, Barrios comes off back-to-back draws – against Abel Ramos and Manny Pacquiao – while having previously lost to Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman.

His reign as a champion at 147lbs has therefore been somewhat underwhelming, with many even believing that Pacquiao, aged 46, deserved to edge their encounter in July.

But while he is yet to cement himself as the best in his division, who most would consider to be Devin Haney, Barrios is nonetheless an all-action volume puncher who typically fights at a ferocious pace.

Garcia, meanwhile, is also a man with a point to prove, especially after suffering a points defeat to Rolando Romero in May.

At the same time, though, the American appears eager to mix it with the very best in his sport, naming pound-for-pound star Shakur Stevenson as a potential opponent after his clash with Barrios.

Garcia expressed this desire during an interview with Nightcap, while also acknowledging that it would take a career-best performance to defeat Stevenson.

“I’m really interested in the Shakur fight – it gets me going – and those are the type of fights that [will bring] the best out of me.

“Definitely, he’s somebody I wanna look into after this fight [with Barrios].”

Stevenson became a four-division world champion after dethroning Teofimo Lopez last month and, since then, has insisted that any fighter wishing to face him at 147lbs would need to accept a rehydration clause. Garcia, however, claims he can make a catchweight of 144lbs, something that may have to be seen to be believed.

When the WSL enters its March international break, Liverpool captain Grace Fisk will be available for selection for England’s matches against Ukraine and Iceland. The Lionesses will take the pitch in their Women’s World Cup Qualifiers ahead of the tournament kick-off in Brazil in 2027.

Fisk received her first call-up back in 2020 for the She Believes Cup under Phil Neville, with the English defender having recently returned to football in the UK after a spell in the US.

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Prior to 2020 she had extensive experience with the English development teams, first appearing for her country at the U17 level.

She has yet to achieve her first senior cap, however, and will hope to feature in the build-up to the 2027 competition and the tournament itself.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. 

The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags.

The athletes would be “treated like [those from] any other country,” the IPC told AFP. 

This contrasts with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) requiring the limited number of Russians and Belarussians at the main Winter Olympics to compete under a neutral flag.

Why do Russia and Belarus face restrictions on participation?

Russia and Belarus’ Olympics teams were excluded from competiton by both the IOC and the IPC in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

This was conducted using Belarussian territory for military movements, giving Russia’s troops the shortest possible approach to Kyiv, in an original and failed attempt to rapidly seize the capital.

At the last Winter Games, taking place in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, the two countries were subject to a blanket ban.

Amid pushback and legal challenges from Russia, the IOC later relented somewhat and started to allow individual athletes to compete on a case-by-case basis.

However, they were obliged to compete under the AIN or Individual Neutral Athletes flag and anthem, rather than being part of a formal Russian or Belarussian team or contributing to those countries’ medal tallies. Thirteen Russians and seven Belarussians are competing under these terms at the current Winter Olympics.

The IPC, meanwhile, elected to lift its suspension on Russian and Belarussian athletes at its general assembly last September, leading to Tuesday’s confirmation of the flags’ usage. 

Russia has been granted places in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding — split evenly among men and women — while Belarus’ four spots are all in cross-country skiing. 

Sports bodies split on how to handle Russia

Several other sporting bodies took decisions similar to the IOC after the invasion of Ukraine, but have been struggling to maintain them amid legal, political and public pressure. 

Russia’s Olympic Committee chief has said that the Milan-Cortina Winter Games should be the last Olympics without a full Russian team, suggesting a return for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles was on the cards. 

In football, Russia is banned from the World Cup and European Championship qualification processes. However, the head of the world governing body, Gianni Infantino, has called on European federation UEFA to lift the ban, a move UEFA is currently resisting. 

Ice hockey retains a ban, but Moscow has said it plans to appeal. 

Attempts to ban Russian and Belarussian tennis stars from certain events, like Wimbledon 2022, proved the short-lived exception not the rule. In the end only restrictions on Davis Cup team competition endured. 

World Atheltics canceled its ban on Russia and Belarus in 2023 and the international chess federation lifted its restrictions on Russian teams late last year.

Debate over politicization of sports, fairness of punishing athletes

The age-old debate over the “politicization” of sports came into sharp media focus last week at the Winter Olympics, but with a focus on Ukraine more than Russia. 

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladislav Heraskevych was excluded from the Games after he refused to stop wearing a commemorative helmet carrying images of people killed during Russia’s invasion.

The IOC had asked him not to wear it to honor restrictions over making political statements or protests during sporting competition proper. The IOC’s decision to insist on this rule led to considerable public backlash from Ukraine and elsewhere. 

The debate over whether professional sports should, or even can remain apolitical in nature is years old, as are discussions over whether it is fair to punish professional athletes — with their short-lived careers and limited opportunities for success — for the actions of their governments. 

Edited by: Louis Oelofse