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MUMBAI:
Ten Sports, the most watched sports channel of the sub-continent,
will help reveal the secret of South Africa’s success in the
limited overs format of the game when it telecasts the MTN Domestic
Championship, the premier one-day tournament of the country.
The
MTN Domestic Championship starts on Wednesday, 6 February with the
inaugural match between Warriors and Eagles. The tournament lasts
more than a month, with the semi-finals scheduled for 14 and 16
March, while the final will be a day-night affair on 19 March.
The
seven teams taking part in 2007-08 are: Cape Cobras from Cape Town;
Dolphins from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Eagles from Bloemfontein; Lions
from Potchefstroom; Gauteng Titans from Centurion; Gauteng Warriors
from Port Elizabeth and Zimbabwe.
Among
the MTN Domestic Championship matches being telecast live in February
on Ten Sports are: Warriors v Eagles on 6 February; Cobras v Lions
on February 13; Eagles v Dolphins on February 15; Eagles v Titans
on February 17 and Titans v Dolphins on February 29.
All
the matches start at 7:10 pm IST, except for February 17 where the
match starts 1:25 pm IST.
They
play each other twice home and away, between February and March.
The top four teams progress to the semi-finals and the final stage.
There
are five points on offer for each win, three points for ties, no
results or abandoned matches and nil for losses. One bonus point
is awarded if the run rate is higher than one run per over that
of the opposition.
The
talking point of this year’s MTN Championship is the participation
of Zimbabwe – a step taken by the South African Cricket Board
in accordance with the ICC request to all full member countries
to assist Zimbabwe in the development of their cricket. Because
of the close geographical proximity, South Africa feels a special
responsibility in this regard, and hence the invitation to play
in their domestic events.
Zimbabwe
have been included in the 45-overs competition and the Standard
Bank Pro20, to be played in March and April. They are expected to
field their strongest team and will need to perform well against
franchise teams in order to prove they are good enough for a step
up at the international level.
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