Standard Bank Cup heads for exciting finish

Standard Bank, the leading sponsors of limited overs cricket in South Africa, could not have scripted a better finale to the 2002-03 Standard Bank Cup as it heads for an exciting finish, with only Border, winning a home semi-final match, and Boland, not sure of a home semi-final, the first qualifiers to go through to the final four.

In Pool-B, Boland will be waiting for the Free State vs. Eastern Province clash on Friday 3rd January. A win will see Free State through with Boland gaining the home ground spot while a Free State win with a Bonus Point will take it to Net Run Rates as to who qualifies for the top spot. A Free State loss will see Western Province going through with Boland playing at home.

In Pool-A the permutations are too many to list, suffice to say that KwaZulu-Natal, Easterns and Griqualand West can all still qualify with Border who have already captured the home ground spot. The team winning with a Bonus Point in the final round should qualify for the other spot.

First priority for Easterns and Griqualand West is that they have to win to stay in contention. If Easterns beat Northerns then Griqualand West, with a negative Net Run Rate will have to beat KwaZulu-Natal with a Bonus Point. While if KwaZulu-Natal gain the Bonus Point then all is lost for the other two teams.

KwaZulu-Natal and Griqualand West have the advantage of playing the final match and by that stage will know exactly what is required.

Remaining fixtures:

Friday 3rd January 2003

Northerns vs. Easterns at SuperSport Park (D/N) start 15:45
Eastern Province vs. Free State at St Georges Park (D/N) start 15:45

Sunday 5th January 2003

KwaZulu-Natal vs. Griqualand West at The Oval (Pietermaritzburg) (Day) start 10:00
Gauteng vs. Namibia at The Wanderers (Day) start 10:00

Friday 10th January 2003

First Semi-Final Border vs (Boland/Free State/Western Province) at Buffalo Park (D/N) start 15:45

Second Semi-Final (Boland/Free State) vs. (KwaZulu-Natal/Easterns/Griqualand West) at (Paarl/Bloemfontein) (D/N) start 15:45

Wednesday 15th January 2003

Final (D/N) start 15:45