Next year, it will stage soccer’s World Cup. This year, it is host to a tour by the British and Irish Lions rugby team, the game’s biggest event other than a World Cup. This weekend, the Cricket World Cup qualifiers come to their conclusion, while South Africa has recently seen a head-to-head contest for the de facto world championship of the sport as its team failed to displace Australia from the top of the International Cricket Council’s rankings.
All of these are scheduled events, planned well in advance. But the bonus comes over the next few weeks as South Africa stages the 2009 edition of cricket’s Indian Premier League, which starts on Saturday in Cape Town.
The eight team, 59-match tournament has been transferred from India following the inability of the cricket authorities there to agree on a schedule with the national government, fearful of the security implications of staging a major sporting event at the same time as a general election.
Source:
India Sends Its Cricket Riches to South Africa
The New York Times
April 18, 2009
