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AFRICA T20 CUP KICKS OFF THIS WEEKEND

August 23, 2017March 17, 2026

The third edition of the Africa T20 Cup kicks off this weekend, officially raising the curtain on the new cricket season.

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.

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.

Sahara Park Willowmoore in Benoni is the first stop from Friday to 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.

Pool C is next in focus with Kimberley’s Diamond Oval and home union Northern Cape, the stage for KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Kenya on the weekend of September 8-10.

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.

The Diamond Oval in Kimberley has been pre-allocated the semifinals and final weekend of September 24 and 25. Only pool winners qualify for the knock-out round.

“The Africa T20 Cup has come a long way since the first edition in 2015/16,” said Cricket South Africa (CSA) General Manager: Cricket, Corrie van Zyl.

“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.

“So we’re excited about the weekend. It will also launch the 2017/18 season and everyone is looking forward to it.”

The format 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.

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DE VILLIERS STEERS TITANS TO VICTORY

March 22, 2017March 17, 2026

The Multiply Titans and Warriors go head to head in a Momentum One-Day Cup ‘final before the final’ clash with high stakes on the line for the winner at Sahara Park Willowmoore in Benoni on Tuesday.

The two are second and third respectively going into the penultimate round-robin match of the competition, which is a day game on Human Rights Day.

The victorious side are set to claim top spot from the Hollywoodbets Dolphins heading to the final set of games on Thursday.

Whoever tops the league phase of the tournament is guaranteed a home final and winning the clash on the East Rand tomorrow will go a long way towards deciding who that side will be.

“It’s like a final,” Titans coach Mark Boucher said. “Even though we don’t want to look too far ahead, if we can win tomorrow we can still effectively get a home final.

“So it’s a very big game for us and the boys are treating it accordingly. It will be a third game back-to-back and hopefully we can finish well.”

There is also significant team news for the home side ahead of the game. One of the biggest limited-over stars in the world and Standard Bank Proteas captain AB de Villiers is available. So too is South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris, meaning one of the strongest teams in the competition will be even stronger.

“We got some fresh faces in AB and Chris Morris, two not too bad players to be able to add to your squad,” Boucher added. “So we’ll be ready.”

The T20 Challenge champions have had some close run-ins with the Warriors in the recent past and Boucher conceded this will be no different. “Everyone knows the Warriors and the fight they play with,” the Titans boss concluded. “So we know exactly what to expect. We are well aware that rocking up and playing at 70 percent will not cut it. We have to be at our best.”

For Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa, it is about time an important match against the same opponents went their way – but for effort rather than luck. “We feel that every time we play against them we do it very well because we know how good they are,” he said. “In close games, the rub of the green sometimes hasn’t gone or way.

“But we believe that through our hard work, it finally will go our way. Not because it’s our turn (for luck to turn or anything).

“The harder you work, the closer you will get to your opponent and we’ve worked really hard to get that result tomorrow.”

Despite the result going some way towards deciding where March 31 final will be played, Maketa was not at all interested in looking that far ahead. “We don’t look at permutations and those sorts of things,” he added. “We leave that to our supporters.

“We just want to go out there and do the job required.”