Temba Bavuma was 12 years old when South Africa last hosted the World Cup in 2003, but he still remembers the mascot known as “Dazzler”.
“I had one of those little bats with a zebra [Dazzler] on it,” Bavuma laughed.
Kagiso Rabada has no memories of 2003. He was only eight, and sport became important the year afterwards.
“My memories of 2003 were recollected over the years watching videos,” said Rabada. “I remember [Ricky] Ponting’s 100 in the final, Brian Lara’s 100 against South Africa and Shoaib Akhtar bowling 160km/h. Brett Lee was on fire, and we lost ‘to’ Duckworth/Lewis.”
Neither attended matches 23 years ago. That will be very different next year.
Thursday night saw the International Cricket Council (ICC) officially launch the 2027 World Cup, which will be hosted in 12 cities in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
South Africa, with eight venues, including KuGompo City (formerly East London) and Bloemfontein, will host most of the 57 matches in the tournament in October and November next year.
It is the third men’s World Cup tournament to take place in South Africa, which shared hosting rights for the ODI tournament 24 years ago with Zimbabwe and Kenya. In 2007 South Africa also hosted the inaugural T20 World Cup.
For Proteas ODI captain Bavuma, next year’s tournament offers an opportunity to add to a glittering CV that already includes a World Test Championship mace and a Test series victory in India.
“Meeting people in the street, many don’t know we are hosting this tournament, so hopefully with the tournament being launched, it gives a proper opportunity to get people around it and for them to understand what the World Cup is about,” said Bavuma.
“For us as players, the goosebumps will get going. There’ll be a lot more serious conversations about conditions, how we want to get there and of course the anxiety about whether individuals will be there or not.”
It is a proper opportunity for us to put on a spectacle from a sporting point of view and showcase Africa in a beautiful way
— Temba Bavuma
Rabada, for one, isn’t counting any chickens. “Hopefully I can make the team,” he chirped.
Both players hoped the country could take advantage of being on the world stage and looked beyond their personal ambitions towards the broader meaning of hosting the event.
“It is a proper opportunity for us to put on a spectacle from a sporting point of view and showcase Africa in a beautiful way,” said Bavuma.
“We need to get people to find joy and revel in what Africa is about. There is a lot to the tournament from the perspective of a fan and a player, and then from an investor point of view, people must continue to get money back into the game.
“The ball is in our court. As South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, we’ve wanted something like this — and now it’s up to us to produce and show we can put on a world-class event.”
“Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world,” said Rabada. “I want the supporters to have fun and for people coming to South Africa to enjoy it and not only go to Cape Town. There is much more to South Africa than just going to Cape Town.”
Asked to name a place besides Cape Town for visitors to enjoy, Rabada replied: “They should go to Mpumalanga and look at ‘God’s Window’.”
Next year’s tournament will start with 14 teams, but lose two of the three lowest-ranked sides in the first week in a new addition to the competition’s format, which the ICC is calling a “Super Series”.
Thereafter the remaining 12 teams will be divided into two groups of six, with the top three sides from each group and the best fourth-place team qualifying for the “Super Sevens”, after which the semifinals and final will be played.
The ICC will release the official schedule for the tournament in September.
TimesLIVE
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