Covid restricts South African domestic competition

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s major domestic one-day cricket competition will be played at a single venue with a reduced programme to minimise the spread of Covid-19, Cricket South Africa announced on Sunday.

The six-franchise Momentum Cup teams will stay in a bio-secure base in Potchefstroom. They will be split into two groups, each playing a single round of pool matches, followed by semi-finals and a final. The pools will be contested at different times so that there are no more than three teams at a time in the ‘bubble’.

There will be a total of 15 matches, nine fewer than the original schedule which included matches at 14 different venues. The tournament will start on January 8 and finish on February 12.

South Africa is currently experiencing a surge in Covid infections, with 17,710 new cases, a record for a single day, reported on December 31. Stricter restrictions on movement and activities came into effect on December 29.

CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith said: “It is unfortunate that we have to reduce the number of matches and move the entire competition to one venue, but the restrictions need to be put in place to ensure the tournament goes ahead in a safe environment in accordance with government regulations.”