The Cricket South Africa T20 knockout series kicks off in Gqeberha at the historic St Georges Park on Monday. Spectators will also make a welcome return to the stands and a maximum of 2000 vaccinated fans will be allowed in the stadium.
Two T20 games will be played per day. The games will also be televised. The participating teams will still be subjected to bio-bubbles.
The home side, the Warriors, will play the Titans in the opener.
Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Eugene Johnson, says the city has been starved of top-flight cricket.
“The city is more than ready. The city has been waiting for this. Our officials and staff and EP cricket worked on it for a long time. They are more than ready to host the tournament. All protocols regulations in place, we are more than ready for the tournament.”
Meanwhile, the Deputy President of Cricket South Africa, Donovan May says the decision to take the tournament to St Georges Park was an easy one.
“The reason for ST Georges receiving games is that there has no been cricket over the last two years. St Georges Park did get international games, only four days games were played here. A lot of the games have been played either in Cape Town or Paarl because of the bio-bubble. They’re 60 km apart from one another.”
