Diamond Oval set for Africa T20 Cup action
THE THIRD edition of the Africa T20 Cup kicks off this weekend, officially raising the curtain on the new cricket season, with action returning to Kimberley in a fortnight’s time, from September 8-10, with teams in Pool C clashing at the Diamond Oval.
The month-long tournament is the beginning of an exciting 2017/18 domestic campaign, with plenty of fresh talent expected to come to the fore.
The participating teams in Pool C, that will feature in two matches per day in the City are Free State, Northern Cape, Kenya and KwaZulu-Natal.
The Diamond Oval has already been pre-allocated the semi-finals and final weekend of September 2425, with only pool winners qualifying for the knockout rounds.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) General Manager: Cricket, Corrie van Zyl lauded the development of the tournament.“The Africa T20 Cup has come a long way since the first edition in 2015/16,” he said. “We have seen so many players play in the tournament who have gone on to play franchise cricket more regularly, while some have even made the bigger step-up to the Proteas.”
Over the past two seasons, the likes of Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi and Andile Phehlukwayo have all played in the competition and gone on to represent the Standard Bank Proteas. Others like Senuran Muthusamy, Patrick Kruger and Solo Nqweni have used the platform to become more regular players in franchise cricket.
The format of this year’s tournament is the same as in the previous two editions with the 12 CSA provincial members being joined by KwaZulu-Natal Inland and three African nations – Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya.
Sahara Park Willowmoore in Benoni is the first stop from today till Sunday (August 25-27) where
Pool A will be played.
Easterns are the host union for round one with the group also including Western Province, South Western Districts and Namibia.
The competition will then move to Senwes Park in Potchefstroom from September 1-3 when defending champions Eastern Province will begin the defence of their title by playing host union North West, Northerns and Gauteng in Pool B.
The initial stage of the tournament then concludes from September 15-17 at Buffalo Park in East London where Border will host KZN Inland, Zimbabwe and Boland.
CEO of Northern Cape Cricket, Eugene Jacobs told the DFA that it is a really big deal to kick off the local cricket season with such a prestigious tournament.
“It is indeed a great privilege and honour for Northern Cape Cricket to host the Africa T20 Cup in Kimberley from September 8-10. It is going to a weekend of great fun and the full list of fixtures will be advertised shortly.
“We are also proud that all the upgrades presently being done at the stadium will be completed for both the Africa T20 Cup as well as the ODI between the Proteas and Bangladesh in October.”
Jacobs added that NC Cricket was looking forward to welcoming back old and new fans to the stadium to create the unique Kimberley atmosphere at the Oval: “I would like to appeal to the public to come out and support the various teams playing in the Africa Cup … bring your families along to enjoy a fun-filled weekend.”