A Twenty20 warm-up match in Christchurch has been added to South Africa’s tour of New Zealand.
The Proteas will meet the Canterbury Wizards on Wednesday 15 February at Hagley Oval before the first Twenty20 International in Wellington on Friday 17 February.
The additional match follows a request from Cricket South Africa to New Zealand Cricket asking for a warm-up match to be added to the schedule.
Canterbury Cricket Association Chief Executive Lee Germon said they jumped at the chance to host the match.
“The tour by South Africa is being eagerly anticipated by the public and the match at Hagley Oval will whet the appetite for what promises to be an exciting series," Germon said.
“The chance to play against a high quality international side will be welcomed by the Wizards and the Canterbury cricket fans.”
“It’s a real bonus for the Canterbury region after the damaged AMI Stadium meant we didn’t have a suitable venue to host a BLACKCAPS international match this year.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Christchurch City Council. With both AMI Stadium and QE2 Park unavailable, they realise how important it is to get events of this calibre for the region and acted quickly to give consent and offered their full support.”
“One of our major strategic partners, Robbies Bar & Bistros, has also come on board to enable us to host this match.”
Following the warm-up fixture South Africa will play three Twenty20 Internationals, three One Day Internationals and three Test matches in their seven week tour of New Zealand.
