By Denis Musali
The cricket cranes had chosen to skip participation in the expanded version of the Africa T20 Cup due to a tight schedule ahead of the Div 3 WCL Qualifiers due in November.
However, a late withdraw by new comers Ghana meant there was a void to fill which the cricket cranes will take up. The tournament is set to take place in September with the preliminary round on 14-16 September followed by the finals' weekend on 23-24 September.
The Cranes national team will substitute Ghana in Pool A, joining KwaZulu-Natal Inland, Easterns, Western Province and KwaZulu-Natal Coastal.
The exciting T20 action will take place in 4 coastal venues in Pietermaritzburg, Oudtshoorn, East London and Paarl featuring 12 CSA Affiliates, 3 Associate Members and 5 ICC Africa teams taking place over two thrilling weekends of T20 cricket.
ICC Africa Development Officer Justine Ligyalingi confirmed the participation of the cricket cranes
“It is disappointing that Ghana had to pull out of the competition, As it was going to be their debut at this tournament, it would have been a great experience for their national team, but we are glad to confirm the involvement of another debutant in Uganda. This will provide the ideal opportunity for them to test themselves against some of the best young cricketers on the continent, particularly ahead of their appearance in the upcoming WCL Division Three tournament in November". Uganda will be ready to compete, and we are excited as we wait for the highly anticipated competition to get underway.”
As part of their preparations for the WCL Division three competition, both Kenya and Uganda will remain in South Africa following the conclusion of the Africa T20 Cup to play 50-over warm-up matches against KwaZulu-Natal Inland and the South African Academy respectively.
The updated four AfricaT20 pools are as listed below:
Pool A - Pietermaritzburg : KwaZulu-Natal Inland, Easterns, KwaZulu-Natal Coastal, Uganda and Western Province;
Pool B – Oudtshoorn : South Western Districts, Free State, Gauteng, Northerns and Zimbabwe;
Pool C – East London : Border, Eastern Province, Kenya, Mpumalanga and Namibia; and
Pool D – Paarl : Boland, Limpopo, Nigeria, Northern Cape and North West.