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South Africa and Afghanistan are poised to clash in a historic three-match One-Day International (ODI) series in Sharjah between September 18 and 22. Cricket South Africa (CSA) anno🌃unced this development in a media release ♛on July 31.
Historical context and previous encounters
This series marks the first-ever bilateral series between the two sides, though they have previously met in the 50-over World Cups of 2019 and 2023, with South Africa winning both encounters. Their most recent meeting was in the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final in Trinidaꦕd, where South Africa triumphed by nine wickets to reach their first-ever World Cup final, ultimately falling short agains🌱t India. Overall, South Africa and Afghanistan have played three T20 Internationals (T20Is), with South Africa emerging victorious in all three. The forthcoming ODI series will be a significant milestone in the cricketing relations between the two nations.
CSA Chairman Lawson Naidoo expressed excitement about the series, acknowledging Afghanistan’s competitive spirit demonstrated in recent ICC tournaments. “We are excited to embark on this historic ODI series with Afghanistan, who have become a very competitive all-round team as evidenced by their recent performances in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and most recently at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. This is a significant milestone in our cricketing relations, and we look forward to a competitive and entertaining series,” Naidoo was quoted as saying by the Cricbuzz.
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Negotiations and schedule adjustments
Originally not part of the Future Tours Program (FTP), the series was arranged following productive negotiations between the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and Cricket South Africa. ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf expressed his delight in hosting South Africa, highlighting the productive negotiations that led to this arrangement. “These fixtures were not initially part of our FTP. Still, based on our productive negotiations with our counterparts at Cricket South Africa, we concluded that we will host the Proteas for an ODI series in September. They are an excellent team, and we are eagerly looking forward to hosting them and playing them regularly in the future,” Ashraf stated.
Additional fixtures
This series adds to South Africa’s busy schedule in September and October. Following the ODI series against Afghanistan, South Africa are set to play three T20Is and as many ODIs against Ireland in Abu Dhabi, starting September 27. Prior to this, South Africa will be engaged in two Tests and three T20Is against the West Indies in the Caribbean, beginning on August 7. For Afghanistan, the series against South Africa provides an opportunity to showcase their skills against a Test-playing nation, shortly after their potential historic Test match against New Zealand in Greater Noida, India, from September 9 to 13.
ODI series schedule: South Africa vs Afghanistan
The fixtures for the Afghanistan & South Africꦺa tour of UAE, 2024, are as follows:
- 1st ODI: Wednesday, September 18, Sharjah
- 2nd ODI: Friday, September 20, Sharjah
- 3rd ODI: Sunday, September 22, Sharjah
