SA20 2024: Tournament's second edition to begin on January 10, final scheduled for February 10

The second edition of South Africa’s premier T20 competition, SA20 is all set to begin on January 10, with defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape taking on Joburg Super Kings in Gqeberha. The month-long tournament will get a winner on February 10 as Cricket South Africa have also changed the format of the competition.

The top two teams at the end of the league stage will play Qualifier 1 while the teams finishing third and fourth will be playing the Eliminator. The winner of the first Qualifier will move to the finals of the competition while the loser will have another opportunity as they will face the winner of the Eliminator in the second Qualifier of the playoffs. The winner of that match will qualify for the finals.

The governing council also confirmed that the double headers will only take place on Sundays. It will start at 3 pm local time in order to allow fans to attend the games with less difficulty. On the other hand, the auction is slated to take place on September 27. All six teams have already submitted their list of retained players and the scouting process has already begun.

Get ready for an action-packed season of #Betway #SA20 cricket like never before. With 4 knockout games and an intense eliminator match in the mix, the competition is going to be fierce! 🏆 Let the countdown begin!
🔗https://t.co/AiBBHcwc8e pic.twitter.com/DTQFCRW3Pj

— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) August 15, 2023

New Zealand’s tour to South Africa in jeopardy

Just like last year, SA20 will once again clash with South Africa’s international schedule. Their Test series against New Zealand are slated to begin on February 4 while the final of the tournament will be played on February 10. A few weeks ago, Cricket South Africa confirmed that they will have a word with New Zealand about postponing the series but nothing has been confirmed as of now.

The Black Caps previously made it clear that it will be problematic for them to change the dates as they already have a packed schedule. Notably, last year, the tournament was stopped for a few days in order to felicitate three ODI matches against England but this time around, the league hasn’t made any such room and hence, it will be interesting to see how everything pans out and whether or not ICC interferes in it.