T20 Global League to halt SA first-class cricket for 2 months

South Africa’s scheduling of the inaugural T20 Global League had already raised problems because of their clash with the Bangladesh Premier League. The Proteas domestic schedule, too, has been interrupted within the 2o17-18 season.

2 months window given for the cash rich league

To accommodate for the privately-owned glamour tournament, there will be no domestic cricket for almost two months, between October 26 and December 20, while the T20 Global League is played. In that time, all South Africa’s national players will be available, but their likelihood of featuring for their franchises has been reduced by a packed international calendar that sees them hosting Bangladesh, India and Australia.

The domestic season begins with its first round of first-class fixtures which start on September 19, nine days before the Test series against Bangladesh begins on September 28. Four more rounds of first-class cricket will be played before the format takes an extended break until February 8. This means that the South African cricketers will be without immediate long-form practice before the Test series against India. Dates are yet to be confirmed but that series is expected to start in January 2018.

Busy times ahead for Cricket South Africa

The CSA have to deal with another problem of considering other opponents to fill in for Boxing Day because India will not be able to reach in time after they finish a series against Sri Lanka at home. India are expected to have atleast two practice matches before the series, which could delay the traditional New Year’s Test, but will provide an opportunity for some South African players to get back into the red-ball mindset after six weeks of T20 cricket.

The T20 Global League will be played from November 3 until December 16, after which the domestic one-day cup will kick off. It will run from December 20 until February 4 and will follow the usual format of a league round, semi-finals and a final.

According to Cricinfo, the second round of the first-class competition, after the extended break, will be played between February 8 and March 11, by which time South Africa will be involved in a four-Test series against Australia which will also coincide with the franchise T20 tournament. From March 14 to April 15, the six franchises will compete in two sets of round-robin matches against each other, semi-finals and a final.