Tours in south africa

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will travel to South Africa in December to play a two-test series, a local media report said on Sunday, marking their return to international cricket after a 10-month gap due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since hosting West Indies for a limited-overs series in February, Sri Lanka cricketers have seen a number of fixtures, including test matches against England and a limited-overs series against India, postponed because of the pandemic. The team under Dimuth Karunaratne will play a two-test series beginning on Dec. 26 though venues have not been finalised yet, the Island newspaper reported, quoting Sri Lanka Cricket officials. The first match is set be played in Durban or Port Elizabeth, with Cape Town the likely venue for the New Year test. Sri Lanka last toured South Africa in 2019, becoming the first Asian team to win a test series there. Most of Karunaratne's team-mates will be seen in action in the Lanka Premier League Twenty20 competition beginning on … [Read more...] about Sri Lanka to tour South Africa for two-test series – report

CAPE TOWN: England will travel to South Africa for a four-match limited overs tour starting in late November, with all matches to be played without spectators in Cape Town and nearby Paarl, Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed on Wednesday. CSA has received government approval for the tour, which will consist of three One-Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals between Nov. 27 and Dec. 9, with the players to first face a 10-day quarantine period. CSA acting chief executive Kugandrie Govender said the governing body had drawn on the experience of England, who recently hosted Ireland, the West Indies, Pakistan and Australia in bio-bubble environments, to develop their own plans. "This is a first for us and we commit to learn quickly and with great responsiveness as we have an action-packed international season ahead of us," Govender said in a media release from CSA on Wednesday. "The fact that England are the current (ODI) World Cup champions will add tremendously … [Read more...] about England to play limited-overs series in South Africa

CAPE TOWN: Cricket South Africa (CSA) is confident in its COVID-19 protocols despite the postponement of the One-Day International series against England, with interim board chairman Zak Yacoob describing the tourists as having a negative attitude. Yacoob said the postponement of the three match series, at England's request, had caused CSA reputational damage and warned the body would defend itself against "lies" as to the reasons behind the cancellation. The ECB said in a joint statement with CSA on Monday that the decision to postpone the tour was over concerns about the "physical and mental wellbeing" of the touring party. An unnamed South Africa player and two hotel staff members contracted COVID-19 inside the bio-secure environment. Two members of the England touring party initially returned positive test results as well, but these were later cleared as negative. "The fact is that they (the England team) were very negative," Yacoob told reporters on Thursday, … [Read more...] about Cricket-South Africa has faith in COVID-19 protocols despite ‘negative’ England

CAPE TOWN: South Africa will tour Pakistan next month for the first time in 13 years to play two tests and three Twenty20 Internationals, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The five-day matches form part of the ICC Test Championship and will be staged in Karachi (Jan. 26-30) and Rawalpindi (Feb. 4-8), before T20 fixtures at the same venues and Lahore, ending on Feb. 14. International cricket has returned to Pakistan in the past 15 months following a militant attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009 that killed six policemen and two civilians. The country has hosted Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe since September 2019, while England recently announced a short two-match 20-over series in October next year in the build-up to the T20 World Cup in India. "It’s pleasing to see so many countries making a return to Pakistan – a proud, cricket-loving nation," South Africa’s director of cricket, Graeme Smith, said in a statement. "I would like to thank the Pakistan … [Read more...] about South Africa to make historic Pakistan return for test, T20 series

CAPE TOWN: England’s One-Day International series against South Africa has been postponed amid concerns over the mental and physical health of the players, Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a joint statement on Monday. The anouncement comes after the players were subjected to a number of COVID-19 scares with potentially five cases inside the teams' bio-secure environment in Cape Town, with one South Africa player and two hotel staff confirmed as positive. Two members of the England tour party also have "unconfirmed positive results" that require further investigation, the ECB said on Sunday. "The decision (to postpone the series) was taken jointly by the two Boards to ensure the mental and physical health and welfare of players from both teams," the statement added. "The CSA and ECB will now work together to determine when the three-match series, which forms part of the ICC Cricket Men’s Super League, can take place in the … [Read more...] about England ODI series in South Africa postponed over mental health fears