Times Media - February 25, 2013
TELFORD VICE, Port Elizabeth
St George’s Park’s gain was Kingsmead’s loss when Cricket SA (CSA) announced the national team’s fixtures until next January.
Graeme Smith’s team will play this year’s Boxing Day test, which was back in Durban this season after its absence from the KwaZulu-Natal city last summer following grumbling over the loss of a “tradition” that is only 16 matches old, in Port Elizabeth.
Like Kingsmead, the Wanderers is also out in the cold as a test venue next summer.
“I’m pleased for PE and pleased for EP cricket that, after a long time of trying to get recognition and trying to convince people that we can stage test matches here, it’s finally happening,” former Eastern Province Cricket Board chief executive Dave Emslie said yesterday.
Emslie spoke a day after SA surged to a rousing 231-run win in Port Elizabeth to level their series against Australia heading into the third test at Newlands, starting on Saturday.
More than 37000 spectators clicked through the Kingsmead turnstiles over five days to see SA play India in December. At St George’s Park, 25800 turned up in the four days last week’s match lasted.
However, Emslie said numbers weren’t everything: “Even with a crowd of only 6000 (at St George’s Park), with the band playing and the atmosphere at the ground, you can mask the effect of not having that many people there in a way that bigger grounds that have more concrete can’t do.”
For KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union chief executive Jesse Chellan, the news was “a disappointment”.
“From all accounts, the last test at Kingsmead was a success,” Chellan said. “We are going to be engaging with CSA to unpack the issues and understand the reasons for this decision.”
The Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) would also be knocking on CSA’s door.
“We are not happy and our board will be sending a response to CSA,” GCB president Thabang Moroe said. “The Wanderers needs tests.”
On top of the lack of a test, the GCB is staring at a massive loss for hosting the second T20 on January 11 and the second one-day international a week later.
January is the toughest month for consumers, and Johannesburgers are likely to choose which of those matches to attend rather than budget for both - which they would have been more inclined to do had they been scheduled further apart.
SA played India in the first ODI at the Wanderers on December 5, and the teams were back there for the first test on December 18. The GCB incurred losses of more than R1-million for the two games.
Newlands is in the same boat, what with the third test ending on January 6 and the first T20 slated three days later.
CSA said SA would play two tests in Sri Lanka in July and another in Zimbabwe in August.
A schedule featuring up to 24 ODIs - including a triangular tournament involving Australia and Zimbabwe, and games in New Zealand and Australia - will give SA ample opportunity to ensure their readiness for next year’s World Cup in Australasia.
SA’s away fixtures have yet to be finalised.
Fixtures:
West Indies tour:
December 10-12: v SA Invitation XI, Benoni
December 17-21: First test, Centurion
December 26-30: Second test, St George’s Park
January 2-6: Third test, Newlands
January 9: First T20, Newlands
January 11: Second T20, Wanderers
January 16: First ODI, Kingsmead
January 18: Second ODI, Wanderers
January 21: Third ODI, Buffalo Park
January 25: Fourth ODI, St George’s Park
January 28: Fifth ODI, Centurion
SA 2015 World Cup fixtures:
February 15: v Zimbabwe, Hamilton
February 22: v India, Melbourne
February 27: v West Indies, Sydney
March 3: v Ireland, Canberra
March 7: v Pakistan, Auckland
March 12: v United Arab Emirates, Wellington
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