The Weekender 27/12/2000

Other than Christmas (which was a great time incidentally), a few good things have happened in sport in the last week or so.

In the Womens Cricket world cup, Australia beat SA to make the final. SA got 180-8 and Australia won by 9 wickets in 31.2 overs. NZ also had a 9 wicket win over India to make the final. India were dismissed for 117 and NZ needed just 26.5 overs to get there. And if the semis were disappointing, the final made up for it! NZ made 185 which never looked enough but they managed to dismiss Australia in the final over to take the cup. This must have been particularly disappointing for the Australians who obviously (arrogantly!!) expected to win and had already planned their home-coming victory!

The NZ Maxi Shockwave has pulled out of the Sydney-Hobart race while in the lead because the boat wasn't fully tested in storm conditions as they are beginning to experience in the race. As is typical for this race the weather is BAD, there is a full storm warning in place & they are even expecting snow!

In the one off test between NZ & Zimbabwe NZ are at 368/5 mid afternoon on the second day (check www.cricinfo.co.nz for the latest!).
In soccer the Football Kingz lost to Parramatta at Ericsson Stadium on Saturday. Parramatta scored a lucky goal in the first half.
The Boxing Day annual Mt Maunganui Race was won by local 19 yr old Glenn Hughes in 20mins. You all know "the Mount", run to the top & then back down! It was a humid day to boot. The Queen of the Mountain was Megan Edhouse of Kawerau who finished in 22min 9s.

And in real news...
Three people died in a plane accident during a sightseeing trip near Hanmer Springs.
Wellington airport is (again) trying to expand but it might mean higher fees (& fares).
A man on Stewart Island was arrested by the armed offenders squad (AOS) for threatening people with a sword. The islands sole police officer wasn't at home (go figure - the only time of the year he was actually needed!!) so they flew the AOS over from Invercargill. Perhaps the guy was getting into the spirit of Lord of the Rings??!!!
A few houses, sheds & cars have been destroyed by fires in the Marlborough region. There were several fires burning out of control.

That's it, have a great day.