Smith thanks West Indies cricket as Proteas tour fixtures revealed
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has finally confirmed the Proteas tour to the West Indies for two Tests and five Twenty20s next month.
CSA‚ who finalised the details of this tour after months of engagements with Cricket West Indies (CWI)‚ said the two Tests would be played at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia and the T20s at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada.
This will be the South Africans’ first bilateral tour to the Caribbean since 2010. That was followed by a tri-series in 2016 which also featured Australia. The matches will be played from June 10 to July 3.
CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith is delighted the team is returning to the Caribbean and expressed his gratitude to CWI and the governments of St Lucia and Grenada for their helpfulness in ensuring the tour takes place.
“We are extremely pleased to have the men’s team tour to the West Indies officially confirmed,” Smith said.
“Covid-19 has played havoc with the ICC Future Tours Programme and we are thankful to Cricket West Indies and the governments of St Lucia and Grenada for ensuring that the tour goes ahead as planned.
“The hosting nations‚ in particular‚ came to the party at very short notice and Cricket South Africa would like to extend its immense gratitude to them for their enthusiasm and willingness to host us.
“Tours to the West Indies are always one of the most highly anticipated tours of them all‚ not only because of the beauty of the venues‚ but the quality and competitiveness of the cricket.
“We are looking forward to explosive displays of cricket and entertainment on our screens for fans around the world to consume as the two evenly-matched countries come together for both Test and T20 cricket.”
The Proteas are scheduled to arrive in St Lucia on June 1.
Tour fixtures
June 10-14: 1st Test (Daren Sammy Cricket
Ground)
June 18-22: 2nd Test (Daren Sammy Cricket
Ground)
June 26: 1st T20 (National Cricket Stadium)
June 27: 2nd T20 (National Cricket Stadium)
June 29: 3rd T20 (National Cricket Stadium)
July 1: 4th T20 (National Cricket Stadium)
July 3: 5th T20 (National Cricket Stadium)