What is the CSA Four Day Series in cricket?

South Africa has had a rich cricketing history. The sport has been played in the region since the 1880s. Cricket South Africa’s most prestigious first class tournament, the CSA 4-day Domestic Series finds its roots in the Currie Cup. World Wars, political upheavals, apartheid contributed significantly to the evolution of the Currie Cup.

The Currie Cup saw several changes in its format, branding, governance and organization. In recent history, it is crucial to know that South Africa’s domestic cricket peaked between 1970s to 1990s. Provincial teams battled for the title of the Castle Cup (formerly Currie Cup) which was later renamed to the SuperSport Series. The tournament’s rebranding saw the division of teams based on franchises. However, this era came to an end in 2020-21 season and the traditional provincial system was reinstated.

As of 2023, the CSA 4-day Test series features a total of 15 provincial teams. Nine provinces have more than one team. The tournament is played in the test cricket format where a match lasts four days. Teams earn 16 points for an outright win. A tie is worth 8 points for each side and a draw means each side gets 6 points. No points are deducted for a washed out match or one that did not have any results.

In addition to the usual point allocation, teams also get bonus points based on their performances in the first 100 overs of each team’s first innings. A batting bonus of 1 point is added if 150 runs are scored, and 0.02 points are added for every run scored after. A bowling of 1 point is added for 3 wickets and then 1 point for every 2 wickets that fall after that.

The tournament follows a single round-robin format where each team in a division plays the other once. Starting from the 2023-24 season, based on their performances, teams will follow a promotion-relegation format.

Graeme Pollock is the leading run-getter of this prestigious tournament, having score over 12,000 runs. Vincent van der Bijl is the leading wicker-taker with 572 scalps to his name. The Gauteng province, formerly called Transvaal, is the most successful team with 25 titles to their name. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© Copyright 2024 Betting Dog