Cape Town - The much-anticipated SA20 blasts off with an exciting Western Cape derby between MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals at Newlands on Tuesday, 10 January.
The full schedule of 33 matches to be played at six venues across South Africa was announced on Tuesday, with only two months to go until the start of the SA20.
MI Cape Town will look to captivate the Newlands faithful with their star-studded line-up that includes Proteas spearhead Kagiso Rabada, Afghanistan spin maestro Rashid Khan, England’s six-hitting specialist Liam Livingstone, and teenage sensation Dewald Brevis, among others.
The Royals have assembled an equally impressive squad that is headlined by England white-ball captain Jos Buttler, along with his 2019 World Cup-winning teammates Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan. They will be joined by Proteas trio David Miller, Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi, who are under the guidance of former Proteas all-rounder JP Duminy as coach.
All matches will be broadcast exclusively live on SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Viacom18 Sports to India’s cricket-loving fans.
“Releasing fixtures for the opening season is a milestone for us all at SA20," league commissioner Graeme Smith said. “It’s all getting very real, we certainly can’t wait to watch the world’s best go head t -head. Fans can look forward to the blockbuster schedule kicking off with the popular local derby between MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals on 10 January.
“Fans will be able to watch the best local and international T20 stars live in action at prime viewing times for the afternoon and evening matches. This is also an ideal broadcasting slot ensuring viewers around the world can also keep up with the enthralling entertainment.”
The action will be relentless with the SA20 being played around SA for two weeks, with at least one game every day until Thursday, 24 January. Each team will play five home and five away matches, with fans finally getting a taste of what the IPL-owned teams will be bringing to SA.
Among these matches is five visits to St George’s Park where the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and their 12th man, the famous brass band, will ensure every visit to Gqeberha is a memorable one.
The first Highveld derby between the Joburg Super Kings and Pretoria Capitals is set for the Wanderers on Tuesday, 17 January. The JSK squad is brimmed with speed merchants Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, West Indian Alzarri Joseph and England’s George Garton, who are all set to steam in at“ The Bullring”. The Capitals will be equally up to the challenge, with Proteas speedsters Anrich Nortje and Wayne Parnell leading alongside Ireland’s Josh Little.
Everyone will be able to catch their breath for a week towards the end of January when the tournament takes a break for the three-match one-day international Series between the Proteas and England.
The action resumes at Kingsmead for the clash between hosts Durban's Super Giants and MI Cape Town on Thursday, 2 February.
Lance Klusener’s men will look to make their home-ground advantage count as this will be the first of only two matches played at Kingsmead in the second half of schedule with the remainder of the games all taking place at the Wanderers and Centurion due to the Women’s T20 World Cup to be hosted in SA in February.
The final will be staged at the Wanderers on Saturday, 11 February, where the first-ever SA20 champions will be crowned.
“The Wanderers has hosted many memorable finals throughout the years, we expect a full house in attendance to watch the first-ever SA20 champions lifting the trophy. We are thankful to have the buy-in from all six franchises to make this season a success and we look forward to making this inaugural season of the SA20 something special for the fans,” Smith said.
IOL Sport