Rain has final say in SA20 opener in Gqeberha

The opening game of season two of the Betway SA20 was a non-started as consistent showers over St George’s Park saw the match between defending champions the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and the Joburg Super Kings being called off without a ball being bowled on Wednesday.

Originally scheduled to start at 5:30pm, scattered showers fell in Gqeberha for much of the morning and afternoon, leading to the announcement of the delayed toss at 5pm.

Despite this, hopeful cricket fans continued to pour into the stadium in their numbers while the band had the crowd dancing to their tunes.

Grammy-award-winning artist @ZakesBantwiniSA ate and left no crumbs with his performance at the #Betway #SA20 Party Zone. 😎#WelcomeToIncredible pic.twitter.com/ApgAPJAyCY

— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) January 10, 2024

There was a bit of movement as the ground staff began to remove the covers while the players stretched their legs on the wet outfield, however, the match was eventually abandoned shortly after 8pm without a ball being bowled.

News just in: Sadly, today’s match has been abandoned due to rain. If less than 7 overs are bowled Ticket holders are entitled to a refund. pic.twitter.com/u0t1NoAH5K

— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) January 10, 2024

Match two in the competition sees the Durban Super Giants clash with MI Cape Town in Durban on Thursday, where more rain is expected to fall, while Friday sees the Paarl Royals host 2023 runners-up Pretoria Capitals at Boland Park.

The JSK take on MICT for their first home game in Saturday's early game while the Sunrisers take on the DSG in the late game in Gqeberha.