Cricket South Africa
Former Proteas Test captain Graeme Smith is back with Cricket South Africa - this time to head up South Africa's new T20 League.
The new T20 League gets underway in January next year, and so seriously is CSA approaching the event that they opted to forfeit a 3-match ODI series away to Australia over the same time so that their Protea players could be involved in the tournament.
Smith was previously Director of Cricket at CSA but opted to walk away when his contract was not renewed.
Now he returns to oversee all aspects (both cricketing and non-cricketing) of the as-yet unnamed T20 League.
"I'm extremely honoured to be entrusted with leading this exciting new venture," said Smith.
"I'm excited by the opportunity to deliver the new league which I believe will be an extremely competitive product, one that can bring much-needed investment into the game and provide new opportunities for players around the world - and more importantly to our SA home grown talent."
Cricket South Africa CEO Pholetsi Moseki welcomed Smith's new role.
"I worked closely with Graeme during his role as Director of Cricket and believe he is the perfect candidate to lead this new chapter of South African cricket," Moseki said.
"His expert understanding of the local and international cricketing environment will ensure the League delivers a thrilling product that will change the face of South African cricket for the better."
Meanwhile, the six franchise owners for South Africa's new T20 League have been confirmed following a rigorous process over the past few months.
All six franchise owners currently own India Premier League Teams.
The stadium venues for the six successful bidders are Newlands in Cape Town, Kingsmead in Durban, St Georges Park in Gqeberha, the Wanderers in Johannesburg, Boland Park in Paarl and Supersport Park, Centurion.
The St Georges Park franchise has been bought by Sun TV Network which owns the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
