Johannesburg: South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris and ace pacer Kagiso Rabada are set to miss the 3TeamCricket (3TC) Solidarity Cup, which is slated to be held on Saturday, July 18.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Wednesday confirmed three changes to the team line-ups for the match inaugural match.
Rabada and Sisanda Magala have had to pull out of the match due to the tragic deaths of immediate family members while Morris was unfortunately unavailable for the match.
"Their respective replacements are Thando Ntini (OUTsurance Kingfishers), Bjorn Fortuin (Takealot Eagles) and Gerald Coetzee (OUTsurance Kingfishers). The new captain of the Kingfishers is Heinrich Klaasen," CSA said in a statement.
The updated squads for 3TC are:
Mr D Food Kites: Quinton De Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Jon-Jon Smuts, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Anrich Nortje. Coach: Wandile Gwavu.
OUTsurance Kingfishers: Heinrich Klaasen (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Faf du Plessis, Thando Ntini, Gerald Coetzee, Glenton Stuurman, Tabraiz Shamsi. Coach: Mignon du Preez.
Takealot Eagles: AB de Villiers (captain), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Junior Dala, Lungi Ngidi. Coach: Geoffrey Toyana.
The Solidarity Cup will be the showcase event for the brand-new cricket format which sees 24 of South Africa's top cricketers in three teams, playing two halves in one match.
This match will be the first live sport in South Africa since the lockdown was announced in March 2020. A game of 3TCricket will consist of 36 overs divided into two halves of 18 overs each.
In the first half, each team will face 6 overs from one of their opponents. In the second half of the game, each team resumes batting, facing another 6 overs, but this time from their other opponents.
The result will be an unrelenting and ever-changing contest that keeps captains and fans on a knife-edge as they strategise against two opponents at the same time.
With fewer players in each team and thus fewer fielders, every player is actively involved in the game from the first ball to the last. Then there's the last man standing rule whereby the last remaining batter continues batting without a batting partner.
But he can only trade in boundaries and twos since retaining the strike is non-negotiable. The team with the most runs will win gold, the second team will win silver and the third will go home with bronze.
