The Eastern Cape Iinyathi have been drawn to face SA cricket powerhouses the Lions, Dolphins, Warriors and North West Dragons in the new Pro20, which includes division one and two teams.
Buffalo Park will witness the first official derby domestic match between the Iinyathi and Warriors in October.
It will also see the Dolphins and Dragons, who have Proteas personnel, visiting KuGompo City.
The Iinyathi players will play at the iconic Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg against the Lions on October 13.
This was revealed when Cricket SA launched the 2026/2027 season on Thursday.
That Warriors-Iinyathi match will be a day game on October 24.
It will be the first time since Border rebranded its men’s team to the Eastern Cape Iinyathi about five years ago that they will play the Warriors in an official match.
They have previously played in friendlies like the Ngumbela Cup.
With the amalgamation of the T20 Challenge and T20 Knockout competitions under one unified premier T20 brand, the Pro20 Cup, the Iinyathi players will be able to test themselves against the best.
That includes potentially facing Proteas stars like Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj, among others.
While the Warriors game is the highlight, it will be the Iinyathi’s final fixture of the shortest format tournament.
They will start their campaign at the Kimberley Oval where they face the Northern Cape Heat on September 26.
Then they will welcome the Dragons at home (September 28) and on October 1 take on the Garden Route Badgers in Oudtshoorn.
It will be the Dolphins on October 8, and then the Lions, followed by the Limpopo Impalas on October 16, and lastly the Warriors.
In the revamp, CSA also revealed that Iinyathi and fellow division 2 teams would compete in the 1st Class Shield (3-Day Series) and the Pro 50 Shield (1-Day).
The red ball and 50-over campaigns start in the second week of September, with the Iinyathi travelling to the Limpopo Impalas and Eastern Storm in Benoni, where the players will reunite with their ex-coach, Tumelo Bodibe, for the first time since his departure a few months back.
After those two matches, they will focus on the T20s and will return to first-class cricket in November until April in 2027.
The promotion-relegation structure would continue over two years, excluding the Pro20 competition, CSA said.
Iinyathi missed out on promotion last season after finishing second on the combined log.
Daily Dispatch
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