South Africa's return to cricket delayed as board considers readiness

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday confirmed that the Solidarity Cup which was slated to be played in the new format of '3TCricket' won't be going ahead on June 27.

The cricket board has said that more work is needed for going ahead with the competition, and as a result, it has been postponed.

"The operational teams behind the Solidarity match and event partners in collaboration with Cricket South Africa, 3TCricket and SuperSport met to consider the readiness to host the event on 27th June," CSA said in an official statement.

"Following this meeting, it has become clear that more work is needed in preparation including approval. A new date will be announced in due course," it added.

The teams were slated to compete for the inaugural Solidarity Cup on June 27 at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

The Solidarity Cup will be the showcase event for the brand-new cricket format which sees 24 of South Africa's top cricketers in three teams, playing two halves in one match.

The three teams competing in the Solidarity Cup are the Eagles captained by AB de Villiers, Kingfishers captained by Kagiso Rabada, and the Kites captained by Quinton de Kock.

This match was to be the first live sport in South Africa since the lockdown was announced in March 2020.

A game of 3TCricket will consist of 36 overs divided into two halves of 18 overs each. In the first half, each team will face 6 overs from one of their opponents. In the second half of the game, each team resumes batting, facing another 6 overs, but this time from their other opponents.

The result is an unrelenting and ever-changing contest that keeps captains and fans on a knife-edge as they strategise against two opponents at the same time.

With fewer players in each team and thus fewer fielders, every player is actively involved in the game from the first ball to the last.

Then there's the last man standing rule whereby the last remaining batter continues batting without a batting partner. But he can only trade in boundaries and twos since retaining the strike is non-negotiable.

The team with the most runs will win gold, the second team will win silver and the third will go home with bronze.