Time to wake up and smell the (T20) cricket - live on SS

Mid-afternoon start times make the looming T20 series against India make ideal TV watching for South African viewers.

All five matches, beginning on Thursday, will be broadcast live on SuperSport from 3.20pm on June 9, 12, 14, 17 and 19.

For both teams, the series will serve as ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.

The Proteas, led by Temba Bavuma, have a good T20 record on the Indian sub-continent, having won 2-0 in 2015 and drawn 1-1 three years ago.

Curiously, India are resting frontline players Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah while the Proteas look mean and muscular with Quinton de Kock, IPL hero David Miller and Kagiso Rabada all in harness for the series.

A further bunch, among them Anrich Nortje and Tristan Stubbs, will be comfortable in the conditions given their recent exposure to the IPL.

Despite this, number one-ranked India are the form team and on a run of 12 T20 wins with local conditions sure to further bolster their ambitions.

Thursday’s action takes place in New Delhi with other matches to follow in Cuttack, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot and Bengaluru.

The tour will include full broadcast buildups from SuperSport, plus the return of the popular “Wake up and Smell the Cricket” studio programme.

Commentary will be in English (world feed), plus isiXhosa and Afrikaans.