Chennai: The league match between South Africa-A and Australia-A in the ongoing Tri Series cricket tournament slated for tomorrow has been postponed to Wednesday, August 12 and India-A would cross with Australia-A in the final match of the league phase on August 13.
The final between the top two teams amongst these three would be held on August 14, according to a WhatsApp message at 10.25 pm today from Dr Baba, media officer of BCCI in southern India.
The message also stated that “All the South African players since having been discharged from hospital requested for one day’s rest tomorrow”.
The South Africa-A match against Australia-A has now been postponed for the second time.
The changes in match schedule would mean that tomorrow would be a ‘rest day’ and there would not be cricket activity in respect of Tri-Series.
Around noon today, all the ten Proteas players have been since discharged from hospital, there was an official communication by Dr Baba that South Africa-A would be playing Australia-A tomorrow.
However, Dr Baba told PTI that the latest development of extending a day’s rest tomorrow was based on the South African team’s request as they were discharged around noon today”.
The South African team was to play Australia today but due to the hospitalisation of the players due to “food poisoning”, India A played against Australia and the latter won the game by three wickets.
Ten South Africa A players have been hospitalised due to “food poisoning”, including four today after playing their tri-series cricket match against India A here on Sunday.
Opener Quinton de Kock, who hit 108 in his side’s eight-wicket loss, was rushed to a city hospital after the game, while three others were also hospitalised during the course of the match.
“With half of the squad going down ill overnight South Africa was forced to play (against India A today) an ill-balanced starting XI that had only four frontline bowlers with the likes of Dean Elgar and Khaya Zondo to make up the rest of the overs,” the Cricket South Africa said in a release yesterday.
In their game against India-A yesterday, the plight of the South African side was understandable when India A team’s 12th man Mandeep Singh came in to field after de Kock suffered a hamstring pull.
Even before that South Africa A’s video analyst Hendrikus Coertzen was seen fielding in place of left-arm seamer Mthokozisi Shezi, who fell ill.