The cricket match between South Africa and Australia is going ahead at Newlands next week despite being on the same day as Yom Kippur.
The teams are meeting in an ODI on Wednesday, October 12, and the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) has tried to get the date changed because of the Jewish holiday.
Last week there was confusion over who sets the dates for tour fixtures, with the International Cricket Council (ICC) telling the Daily Voice it had nothing to do with scheduling.
Yesterday WPCA CEO Nabeal Dien said he’s now confirmed that Cricket South Africa (CSA) had set the date and that it won’t be changed.
“It’s unfortunate that because of logistics, the date will not be changed,” says Dien.
He adds: “The match is going ahead but we have now flagged the issue with CSA that in the future there needs to be a greater sensitivity with regards to religious days.”
Dien says that Jewish cricket fans including Arnold Bloch, the former Province Cricket President, and Benny Rabinowitz raised the issue with him.
The match date was set by the two countries’ boards and Dien says at Newlands they want to make sure that all cricket fans can enjoy match days.
“I’ve been told that in India they have had cricket matches on Christmas Day but SA is a diverse country and we must be mindful of all religious days,” he adds.