JOHANNESBURG – Cricket South Africa has been forced to revise the schedule for the Momentum One-Day Cup because of the restrictions on movement brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The original schedule for the competition was already reduced with the six franchise teams split into two pools of three each, but that schedule has been reduced still further, with the round of cross pool matches no longer occurring.
Instead, the tournament will be played at one venue, Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, over the course of two periods; the first running from January 9 to 16 and the second from January 29 to February 5. The matches will be hosted in a bio-secure environment at Senwes Park with the teams staying at the North West University Sports Village, which is within walking distance of the ground.
The hotel famously hosted Spain during their 2010 Football World Cup.
“It is unfortunate that we have to reduce the number of matches being played and move the entire competition to one venue, but the restrictions need to be put in place to ensure the tournament goes ahead in a safe environment in accordance with Government regulations,” said Cricket SA’s Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith.
The Dolphins, Knights and Titans, will form Pool A and will head into the ‘bubble’ on Monday to begin preparations for their round of matches. The Cape Cobras, the Lions and the Warriors, make up Pool B and will be in Potchefstroom in the last week of January ahead of their round fixtures. Each team plays the other twice, with the top two teams from each Pool qualifying for the semifinals.
Those semifinals will also be played in Potchefstroom on the 11th and 12th of February with the final scheduled for February 14.
All the matches will be televised by SuperSport.
South African cricket has taken a number of blows because of the pandemic losing the One-Day matches against England in November, seeing the Domestic Four-Day competition postponed with one match in that competition, also being postponed after a player tested positive for Covid-19 on the first day of the game.
IOL Sport