SA20 shifts start to avoid clash with England ODI tour

By Stuart Hess

Cricket South Africa will avoid any controversy over a calendar clash by moving the start of the SA20 by one week when England tour the country next summer.

Instead of its traditional start in the second week of January, SA20’s organisers hope the tournament will be able to start on the third weekend of January 2027.

That follows protracted talks between CSA and the England Cricket Board (ECB) over the three-match ODI series. CSA had hoped to postpone it, but the ECB insisted the ODIs had to take place, as England wanted to get in some preparation for the 50-over World Cup being hosted in South Africa next year.

England will face South Africa in three ODIs, starting in Paarl on January 10, with the remaining two matches taking place in Bloemfontein on January 12 and 15. That will cause a logistical challenge for the SA20, but one the league hopes it and CSA can resolve in the coming months.

The SA20 usually starts a few days after the New Year’s Test, and the league had hoped for a January 9 start next season, with five weeks set aside, to give the tournament some “breathing room”. But that is unlikely to occur now, as the competition looks set to take place over four weeks, with the final scheduled for February 17.

The Proteas men’s team will have a busy schedule next summer that includes Test and white-ball fixtures against England, Australia and Bangladesh.

After an absence of three years, the Wanderers will host two Tests; the first against Bangladesh starting on November 19 and the opening match of the three-Test series against England on December 17.

Newlands and SuperSport Park will also host two Tests each. The Cape Town venue will host the last Test of the Australia series from October 31 and then the traditional New Year’s Test against the English. The Centurion venue, as has become tradition, gets the Boxing Day Test against England and the second Test with Bangladesh.

The Australians will also play Tests in Durban and Gqeberha, two venues where spinners thrive, and it is likely Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj will have big roles to play in that series.

Like England, Australia will also play three ODIs, with an eye on their preparation for the World Cup; while in addition to the two Tests, the Bangladeshis will also play three ODIs and three T20 Internationals.

England were scheduled to play T20s too, but that series will take place at a later date.

The Kimberley Oval is scheduled to host the first T20 with Bangladesh on October 10. That venue came under scrutiny last week when CSA removed one of the T20 matches between the South Africa and Pakistan women’s teams after concerns the ground may lose its international status because it had been sanctioned twice by the ICC in the last three years.

The pitch, outfield and general upkeep of the ground had been allowed to lapse due to poor administration. However, CSA said on Monday that maintenance and repairs would take place to allow the venue to host international games again.