Proteas batsmen Pieter Malan and Janneman Malan will reportedly join Boland for South Africa’s 2021-22 domestic season.
The Malan brothers’ exits from Western Province and the Cape Cobras is according to Netwerk24, as South Africa’s domestic cricket reverts to provincial rather than franchise competition.
Former Proteas batsman Stiaan van Zyl, reportedly, will also join Boland. Van Zyl played a dozen Tests from 2014 to 2016 before pursuing a career in English county cricket with Sussex.
Meanwhile, Proteas all-rounders Dwaine Pretorius and Senuran Muthusamy will reportedly join North West from the Lions and Dolphins, respectively.
North West and Boland are among the eight teams named in the top tier of the country’s new first-class cricket structure.
The rest of the eight-team top tier comprises Western Province, Eastern Province, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal Coastal and Northerns.
The new system will start later this year and effectively replace franchise cricket, which was instated in 2003-04.
Cricket South Africa confirmed the new structure will exist for two seasons before a promotion and relegation system will commence.
Division 1
- Western Province
- Boland
- Eastern Province
- Free State
- Central Gauteng Lions
- KwaZulu-Natal Coastal
- North West
- Northerns
Division 2
- Mpumalanga
- KwaZulu-Natal Inland
- South Western Districts
- Northern Cape
- Easterns
- Border
- Limpopo
“We would like to thank independent evaluation committee chairman Dave Richardson and his task team for all their hard work and efforts to help us get to this point,” said CSA members’ council acting president Rihan Richards.
“I would like to congratulate those teams that have made it into the two divisions. Today is the culmination of a process that started back in 2016, when it became apparent that in order for CSA to maintain its position as a powerhouse in world cricket, it needed to create a strong pool of players reflective of our society.
“It was imperative that we reviewed our domestic structure to deliver on these goals. We have worked hard to get here and we believe this new structure will go a long way towards helping us achieve some of the goals laid down at the outset.”