Cricket SA CEO Pholetsi Moseki has stressed that the Proteas’ Test tour to New Zealand next year will “under no circumstances” be cancelled due to the pending clash with SA20.
The Proteas will tour New Zealand for two Tests, with a warm-up match starting on 29 January and the two-Test series concluding on 17 February .
The tour, though, falls directly in the window that has been allocated for the SA20 which ran from January 10 until February 12 last year.
Proteas Test tour to New Zealand and SA20 set for a head-on collisionhttps://t.co/GkiOkwRfVv
— IOL Sport (@IOLsport) July 19, 2023
Cricket SA withdrew from their ODI series against hosts Australia last year in order for the national team players to play in the SA20.
And while the next instalment’s fixtures are yet to be released, it can only potentially start after the conclusion of the home New Year Test against India that is due to run until January 7.
This will once again leave CSA with a major dilemma as the six SA20 franchises - all affiliated to the Indian Premier League - have a commitment from them that the national team players will be available for the duration of the SA20.
Moseki, though, tells IOL: “Under no circumstances are we considering that [withdrawing from the NZ series]...”
South Africa could send a second-string to NZ, with Moseki saying: “We still have a few months before we need to make any hard decisions. The auction for the SA20 is scheduled for the end of September. So based on that, then we’ll obviously need to see like, okay, what is the impact on like, you know, the like the actual players that will be going on the New Zealand tour?”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za