England are all set to tour South Africa for three T20Is and as many ODIs after the conclusion of the ongoing Indian T20 League.
The series was given a go-ahead by the South African government and will commence on November 27 until December 9. Due to the pandemic protocols, the England team will arrive in South Africa in mid-November, and the game will be played in just two venues; Western Cape, Newlands in Cape Town, and Boland Park in Paarl.
"This is a wonderful boost for cricket," Kugandrie Govender, CSA Acting Chief Executive, said. "And, although all the matches will have to be played behind closed doors, I am sure that our Proteas fans will rally behind South Africa's favourite team as they always do, but just on alternative digital and social media platforms."
As per CricInfo, the England squad will arrive some 10 odd days before the first game - i.e on November 17 - and will play a few inter-squad warm-up games before being joined by the South African team. The South Africa government, in fact, eased their pandemic protocol for England. If not for that, the England players would have been asked to quarantine themselves for at least a week before the series and that obligation would have probably been rejected by the England Cricket Board (ECB).
The team will still be in quarantine, but they will be allowed to train.
"We are looking forward to touring South Africa," said Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive. "I would like to personally thank Cricket South Africa for their efforts in ensuring this tour goes ahead and their diligent work to create an environment that is safe for our players and staff. They are working tirelessly to pull together a bio-secure plan in Cape Town and Paarl.
"We owe it to the sport that we do everything we can to keep international competition progressing during this pandemic.
"Series against the Proteas are always exciting and intense. We saw that earlier this year in South Africa and we can expect the same this time around," Harrison added.
This will be the first international action for the South African Men's cricket team since their tour of India in March.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Christiaan Kotze
