{ "id": "110066", "author": "26", "cnmid": null, "title": "South Africa To Prioritize ODI Series Against England Over T20", "lang": "en", "series": "1", "cup_year": "2022", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "Fixtures for the SA20 league were announced by Cricket South Africa on Tuesday.\r\n\r\n", "subtype": null, "editor1": "

South Africa will be at full strength for a crucial one-day international series against world champions England early next year despite the series being scheduled in the same time period as the country's new Twenty20 league.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Fixtures for the SA20 league were announced by Cricket South Africa on Tuesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The schedule includes an eight-day break to accommodate the one-day series, which is part of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) World Cup Super League.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

South Africa are languishing in 11th place in the league.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

They need to win the majority of their remaining fixtures -– three against England and two against the Netherlands –- in order to become one of the eight automatic qualifiers for the Cricket World Cup in India in October and November next year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The series against England will be played in Bloemfontein and Kimberley between January 27 and February 1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The gap in the T20 fixtures will also enable England players involved in the SA20, including white-ball captain Jos Buttler, to represent their country.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

England are second in the Super League table.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Other prominent English players signed by SA20 franchises include Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran and Harry Brook.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The SA20 will start on January 10 and there will be matches every day until January 24 before a pause until February 2.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The final will be at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on February 11.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Six teams, all owned by Indian Premier League franchise owners, will play in the SA20 which Cricket South Africa hopes will bring much-needed revenue to the local game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Tournament commissioner Graeme Smith last week announced that an Indian company had signed a ten-year deal to broadcast the matches to Indian television viewers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"This long-term partnership is a catalyst that supports our ambitions to build the world’s second-biggest league," said Smith.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

South Africa's hopes of climbing the World Cup Super League table were dented when a scheduled series in Australia in January 2023 was cancelled to enable all the country's players to be available for the SA20.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Also Read: <\/strong> Cricket Tales<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

The points were forfeited to Australia.
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