Big cricket back in the township

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Johannesburg

Big cricket will return to the township next summer when England’s second string, the Lions, tour SA.

The tour will start on January 5 with a three-day match against a SA Invitation XI at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Oval.

The Lions’ next stop is Paarl, where they will take on SA A over four days at Boland Park - which is in a historically coloured neighbourhood - from January 11.

On February 2, SA A play the England Lions in Mamelodi in the fourth of five one-day matches.

Boland Park has hosted 10 one-day internationals, the most recent of them on January 19 last year when SA took on New Zealand.

However, the Proteas have yet to play a fully-fledged international match in a black African area despite cricket in SA having unified across racial lines in 1991.

The reciprocal agreement between Cricket SA (CSA) and the England Cricket Board makes provision for SA A to tour England in 2017, a visit that will coincide with the senior SA team’s tour to the same country.

“England is always an out-of-season tour for us and it will help a lot to know that our back-up players are match fit in case of need,” a CSA statement quoted their general manager for cricket, Corrie van Zyl, as saying.

England Lions itinerary:

January 5-7: SA Invitation XI v England Lions, Soweto

January 11-14: 1^st four-day match, SA A v England Lions, Paarl

January 18-21: 2^nd four-day, SA A v England Lions, Bloemfontein

January 25: 1^st one-day match (day), SA A v England Lions, Bloemfontein

January 28: 2^nd one-day match (day/night), SA A v England Lions, Kimberley

January 31: 3^rd one-day match (day), SA A v England Lions, Potchefstroom

February 2: 4^th one-day match (day), SA A v England Lions, Mamelodi

February 5: 5^th one-day match (day/night), SA A v England Lions, Benoni