South Africa vs England ODI series in balance due to new ‘SA20’ tournament launch

Will Macpherson1 September 2022

England’s ODI series in South Africa in January is hanging by a thread due to the arrival of the hosts’ new T20 tournament, SA20.

England are scheduled to return to South Africa to fulfil three ODIs they refused to play in November 2020 due to concerns over Covid-19.

But whether those matches now happen is in the balance (despite both boards privately saying they expect it to proceed), with South Africa set to launch its new tournament, including England players like Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone, which may leave little time to hold the series.

When dates were drafted earlier this year, England were due to arrive on January 17, with warm-ups on the 21st and 23rd before playing three ODIs between January 27 and February 1. That schedule seems unworkable now, with the tournament reported to begin on January 23.

England are due to travel to South Africa for three rescheduled ODI matches in January 2023
AFP via Getty Images

If the England series does take place, it would likely need to be pushed earlier in January in order to ensure that South Africa players do not miss the T20 series.

It was also planned that the series would be based in Johannesburg, with matches at The Wanderers and Centurion. But if the series is to go ahead it is likely to take place in Bloemfontein and Kimberley, venues South Africa have not played at since before the pandemic and that do not host teams in the SA20.

South Africa have already pulled out of an ODI series in Australia to accommodate the new tournament. This is slightly different, however, as it is part of their home broadcast deal, meaning broadcasters SuperSport may hold the cards.

The England matches are part of the ODI Super League, but South Africa appear resigned to having to reach next year’s World Cup through the ICC’s Qualifier event, as they are already too far adrift in the Super League.

Equally, there is unlikely to be great desire from England to play the games, which form part of a winter in which they travel to Pakistan (twice), Australia (for a World Cup and bilateral games), New Zealand and Bangladesh.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in