Following the latest SA20 league clash which saw the Paarl Royals lose to the Pretoria Capitals at Centurion on Tuesday, the fixtures for the knockout stages are now confirmed.
Needing 227 to win, the Royals quickly opted to focus on the 163 needed that would see them keep their fourth-place spot on the record thanks to a superior net run rate over the Durban Super Giants.
Thanks to a fine of 70 from Jos Buttler, the Royals finished with a mark of 167/9, losing by 59 runs but securing their qualifying spot.
On Wednesday, in the first semifinal of the competition, they will do it again when they face the top of the table Capitals, but this time at the Wanderers in Johannesburg (starting at 5:30 p.m.).
Then on Thursday the second semi-final will see Joburg Super Kings take on Sunrisers Eastern Cape at SuperSport Park in Centurion (starting at 17:30).
Speaking earlier on Tuesday, SA20 League commissioner Graeme Smith said the tournament’s current semi-final structure was kept intact so that it maintains its integrity, despite the fact that the top two teams will play their semi-finals at “outside” venues. .
Smith said the league not only took over for the semifinals, but teams assured him they were happy with the way the playoff scenarios played out.
Playoff venues were announced early, with Newlands, Boland Park and St George’s Park unavailable due to the T20 Women’s World Cup which begins on Friday.
“The league takes over running the knockout games, although the franchises run the round-robin games,” Smith said.
“The league takes charge of protecting the integrity of playoff games to manage bias and pitch modification.
“Ours is to make sure the knockout standard reaches a high level, and you’ll see that mark become the final,” Smith said.
