The six Mzansi Super League (MSL) T20 tournament teams, their names and official logos were announced at the Cricket SA (CSA) offices, in Johannesburg, on Monday.
The competing teams (and their home venues) are: Cape Town Blitz (Newlands), Durban Heat (Kingsmead), Jozi Stars (Wanderers), Nelson Mandela Bay Giants (St George’s Park), Paarl Rocks (Boland Park), Tshwane Spartans (Supersport Park Centurion)
3) Paarl Rocks
4) Cape Town Blitz
5)Tshwane Spartans
6) Nelson Mandela Bay Giants
All the best guys! @MSL_T20 pic.twitter.com/u4TqDrFugS
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) October 15, 2018
The MSL T20 will run from November 16 to December 16 with the 32-match competition fixtures and tickets set to be announced soon.
“It was a thorough and well-audited process that led to the six winning bids from our members as well as the collective contribution from all stakeholders involved that led to the final names and logos which we also had to make sure met our objectives for this event,” said CSA Chief Executive Thabang Moroe.
“What was clear throughout this definitive process was that these are completely new entities and names that will operate separately from the current franchise teams. We welcome the six new additions to the South African and international cricket family.”
A player draft that will be held at the Monte Casino Ballroom in Fourways, Johannesburg, on Wednesday at 10am.
The teams heading into this American sports-styled player draft will have a pick of:
Six SA players: Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir.
Six marquee players: Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy and Dawid Malan (all England), Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo (both the West Indies) and Rashid Khan (Afghanistan).
“We have been receiving applications from over 200 top international players who expressed interest in playing in this inaugural tournament and will have their names in the hat ahead of the layer draft process on Wednesday,” Moroe added.
“There were expected challenges in the process, of course, with some players available for a particular period because of other cricket commitment clashes elsewhere, including our Standard Bank Proteas, who also have to fulfil our tour to Australia for a One-Day International series.”