Varsity Cricket to break boundaries of T20 rules
Varsity Cricket forms part of the Varsity Sports group and the tournament and begins on February 3.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) said at the launch of the Varsity Cricket tournament that they are confident the competition will be a great success with plenty of exciting prospects as it prepares to launch its inaugural season.
Varsity Cricket forms part of the Varsity Sports group and the tournament, which begins on February 3, will feature South Africa’s top eight universities.
CSA and Varsity Cricket will be working together to provide a platform for students to showcase their cricketing prowess during the six-day jamboree in Potchefstroom. All of the players who feature in the competition will hail from the universities involved.
Francois Pienaar, founder of Varsity Sports, is excited about the brand Varsity Sports is adding to its repertoire.
“This is yet another fantastic opportunity for Varsity Sports to extend its footprint in the South African sporting landscape. I’m very excited to see what the competition dishes up and about the opportunities that this tournament will offer to our young cricketers from the country’s top universities,” Pienaar said.
Backed by Samsung as the main sponsor, the teams will slog it out for the honour to represent the country at the prestigious Red Bull Campus Cricket World Final, which will take place in India in the latter part of the year.
The universities taking part are the University of Pretoria (Tuks), University of Stellenbosch (Maties), North-West University (Pukke), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), University of Cape Town (UCT), University of the Free State (Kovsies), University of Western Cape (UWC) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
The matches will be played across three venues with the Puk Oval, Ibbies Oval and Senwes Park all playing host to the Varsity Cricket competition.
The action will hot up from the get-go, with a mammoth clash between Tuks and NMMU headlining the day at the Senwes Park at 19:00. As the current Red Bull Campus Cricket World T20 champions, this offers yet another opportunity for Tuks to showcase what makes them one of the strongest teams in South Africa.
The tournament climaxes on February 8 with a bumper day of semi-finals and the finals, all to take place on the Sunday.
The all-student affair is something CSA finds exciting, especially so close to the Cricket World Cup.
“We are confident that this tournament will offer a new platform to unearth young and exciting talent alongside the star players who would already be on show with some of our u.19 World Cup winning stars a part of the University Teams,” said CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.
“There is also an opportunity to add new fans to the game. With the Proteas currently ranked number one in the world and soon on their way to the World Cup in Australasia, it’s important for us to rally and grow our fan base. The Varsity Cricket format offers the perfect opportunity to do so,” added Lorgat.
Duitser Bosman, CEO of Varsity Sports, echoed these sentiments and added that it’s another opportunity to grow university competitions in the country.
“The inaugural Varsity Cricket competition promises to be full of excitement. The Varsity Sports brand continues to grow and the focus on university competitions is becoming very important.”
“We have seen these competitions be really successful in cricket-loving countries like India, Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and it offers potential future stars exposure they would not have had before,” Bosman added.
“There are likely to be a few scouts keeping a keen eye on the tournament, which could become the platform for a future career for some of the players.”
Off the field, DJs, cheerleaders and dedicated entertainment areas will ensure that for the week that Varsity Cricket is in town, the partying in Potch never stops.
