Two former SA legends Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis to play cricket on snow
"I don't know what to expect but I am really excited to play in a beautiful part of the world. I hope the event is a huge success." - Graeme Smith.
While the South African team has begun with their penultimate preparation to host India in an all-important series, two former Protea cricketers seem to have taken on a unique challenge. South African legends Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis have confirmed play in the inaugural St. Moritz Ice Cricket tournament in Switzerland from February 8-9. For the first time ever in the history of the sport, renowned international legends will compete on snow in two Twenty20 matches.
The South African pair will join other big international stars including the likes of Virender Sehwag, Michael Hussey, Mahela Jayawardene, Daniel Vettori, Shoaib Akhtar, Lasith Malinga and Shahid Afridi.
The pitch that has been laid out for the tournament consists of a state of the art artificial turf carpet spread out on the snowfield in St. Moritz, a high Alpine resort in the Engadine. The two teams that will compete in the two-day extravaganza have been named as-Royals & Badrutt’s. Royals consist of players from England, Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand, while the Badrutt’s Palace Diamonds team comprises players from India, Sri Lanka, Australia and West Indies.
Smith, who is widely regarded as South Africa’s most successful captain with 117 Test caps, 197 ODIs, and 33 T20Is looks extremely upbeat at the opportunity.
Speaking about the upcoming endeavour, Graeme Smith was quoted saying to Sport24, “I don’t know what to expect but I am really excited to play in a beautiful part of the world. I hope the event is a huge success.”
Teams so far:
Royals
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Grant Elliot (New Zealand), Nathan McCullum (New Zealand), Monty Panesar (England), Owais Shah (England), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Graeme Smith (South Africa) and Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan), Abdul Razzaq (Pakistan),
Badrutt’s Palace Diamonds
Virender Sehwag (India), Michael Hussey (Australia), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) and Mohammad Kaif (India), Dwayne Bravo (West Indies)
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