CSA's unique 3TC Solidarity Cup match rescheduled after failing to get government nod

Cricket South Africa's (CSA) ambitious, and quite bizarre, 3TC exhibition match has been rescheduled and will now take place on 18th July--also celebrated as Nelson Mandela International Day.

The Solidarity Cup match was set to be played on the 27th of June at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. However, CSA didn't receive any government clearance for the resumption of sporting activities and consequently, the dates for the 3TC tournament had to be pushed back. Nonetheless, the line-ups and playing conditions will remain completely unaltered.

#BreakingNews CSA is pleased to announce Nelson Mandela International Day (18 July 2020) as the revised date for the @3TCricket match presented by RAIN where 3 teams of 8 will play in a single match, competing for the inaugural #SolidarityCup. More: https://t.co/g6FAr2nZix pic.twitter.com/Ysv8MzJhSN

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) July 1, 2020

CSA's acting Chief Executive Jacques Faul seemed happy that the exhibition match was taking place on South Africa's anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader Nelson Mandela's birthday.

"I can't think of a more appropriate day on which to hold this game than Nelson Mandela Day, when its prime objective is to raise funds for those who have been badly affected by the coronavirus. It is still nearly three weeks away, so it also gives our players more time to prepare properly and to minimize the chance of injuries," said Jacques Faul.

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The bizarre rules of 3TC Cup

The three teams for the match will be consisting of eight players each. The teams will be led by South African superstars Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, and AB de Villiers.

The three teams competing for the Solidarity Cup are the Eagles captained by AB de Villiers and sponsored by Takealot, Kingfishers captained by Kagiso Rabada and sponsored by OUTsurance and the Kites captained by Quinton de Kock and sponsored by Mr D Food. pic.twitter.com/wGAilkpVIw

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) July 1, 2020

The three teams will look to outscore each other in a single game while getting to bat a dozen overs each.

The team that scores the most runs wins Gold in the 3TC tournament.. If 2 teams tie with the most runs, a super over decides who will win the Gold; if all 3 teams tie, all get Gold; and, in a tie for second, Silver is shared.

Cricket is already highly inundated with numbers, statistics and rules and therefore it needs to be seen if the audience is able to keep up with the pace of the game.

One glance at these rules and we can surely conclude that 3TC has replaced the ECB's "The Hundred" as the most complicated format of the game.