Hopes that domestic cricket would be in full swing by October seem to have been knocked to the curb by Cricket South Africa (CSA) but they are hoping to have international cricket back as early as August.
While it was fortunate that the Covid-19 pandemic only struck South Africa when the cricket season was just about over, the effects look set to ironically have an even greater impact on the 2020/21 domestic campaigns, with CSA chief executive Jacques Faul admitting on Thursday that only “half a season” was likely.
“It depends on the government levels of lockdown and we are hoping to meet with the minister of sport, arts and culture to make a case for us to start playing cricket again earlier,” Faul said in a teleconference.
“Our initial plan was to start next season as normal, but that seems unlikely now. Our second plan was to have half a season and that is now more likely, with the Mzansi Super League at the start in November/December.
“There are factors like getting permission for domestic travel and the costs. There will be risk involved in playing domestically and I don’t think we can afford the cost of the bio-bubbles for that, with our broadcast deals not so much focused on domestic cricket. But we can probably start with the Mzansi Super League in November or December, even with restricted capacities in stadiums.
“The good news is we have had a teleconference with India and we are encouraged by their willingness to still play three T20s in August, although maybe a bit later in August.
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