Faul expects a very entertaining summer for the fans of South Africa

Cricket South Africa (CSA) have released their home tour schedule for the 2012-2013 season.

South Africa, are looking at a very packed summer as they face New Zealand and Pakistan in all three formats of the game at home, while also touring Australia in November and early December for a Test series.

CSA Acting CEO Jacques Faul, said: “It should be another bumper summer for our fans, We will be playing five Test matches, eight ODIs and five T20s at home. This will allow us to continue our policy of rotating limited overs fixtures among all our affiliates.”

Faul, also noted that he expected a lot of buzz when South Africa play in East London and Paarl, and said: “This was a huge success last season when East London and Paarl, who had been off the international roster for some time, attracted more than 25 000 spectators for the two ODIs that they hosted. These two provinces are also very strong growth areas for the game to fulfil our mandate of making cricket a truly national sport.”

Talking about the New Zealand and Pakistan squads, Faul stated that both teams were always tough competitors, and that both nations had the talent to make the series against South Africa a highly entertaining one.

“New Zealand have always been tough opponents to beat while Pakistan showed in their recent series against England that they are capable of competing with and beating the best in the world. We have made one other important change this season with the New Zealand tour starting with three T20 International matches to be played over the Christmas period instead of the normal Test match. The Test series will now start with the New Year’s game at Sahara Park Newlands,” he said.

“The Pakistan tour will run from the end of January to the second half of March, starting with the three Test matches followed by the two limited overs segments,” Faul added.