CSA puts 3TeamCricket tournament on hold

Following sports minister Nathi Mthethwa’s announcement on Friday that the 3TeamCricket tournament was not given the government thumbs-up‚ Cricket South Africa have postponed the innovative venture until further notice.

The tournament‚ featuring three teams of eight players each‚ was going to take place on Saturday at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

Centurion is reportedly an area significantly affected by the coronavirus.

At Friday’s parliamentary sports portfolio committee meeting when CSA briefed the ministry and the committee‚ Mthethwa said they had not given CSA the go-ahead‚ and that they were still processing their request and had not approved it.

In a statement‚ CSA said: “It has become clear that more work is needed in preparation, including approval.”

When the level 3 lockdown regulations were announced‚ non-contact sports were given the green light to return to training and playing.

Cricket falls under that umbrella‚ but it is clear that for a tournament to take place‚ there needs to be more light at the end of the tunnel from a health and safety perspective.

CSA’s acting CEO Jacques Faul said they understood the decision-making behind the postponement of the tournament.

Had it been given the goahead‚ it would have been SA’s first form of cricket since the March lockdown that affected the tail-end of the domestic season.

“We’ll never host a game if we don’t get permission from the minister.

“We weren’t going to play under level 3‚” Faul said.

“We were going to play under level 1‚ so if we have to wait a little bit to get the protocols approved‚ then it’s fine.

“We only thought we were going to play under level 1.

“It is confusing sometimes as the president will announce something‚ then the minister will do likewise, from where things are gazetted.

“When that process happens‚ you have to provide your protocols and you have to go through all of the processes.