Excited to get back on field: Pretorius ahead of 3TCricket match

Johannesburg

South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has conceded that he is still coming to terms with the rules which would be in place at the inaugural 3TeamCricket to be held on Saturday in Centurion.

The 3TC match is contested between three teams of eight players each. The match is played over 36 overs in two halves of 18 overs with a break at halftime. In the second half, teams bat in order of the highest scores in the first half. If scores are tied, the first half order is reversed.

The match will see three teams -- the Eagles captained by AB de Villiers, Kingfishers captained by Kagiso Rabada and the Kites captained by Quinton de Kock -- competing for the Solidarity Cup.

"What I do know is there's three teams, I know they'll each face 12 overs and I know the one with the most runs wins," Kites all-rounder Pretorius was quoted as saying by Cricket South Africa.

"There's obviously six fielders and the last batsman stands. It's fun being a part of something new and fresh, the learning is half the fun of it all. I'm sure in the training match on Thursday we'll see practically exactly how everything works."

The match, which takes place on Nelson Mandela International Day this Saturday, is the first time that the players will be returning to the playing field in live cricket action since the middle of March when the coronavirus forced most of the world into lockdown.

"We're very excited to get back onto the field," Pretorius said. "After such a long time off it, everyone is just really excited to be back.

"In a way it is a little bit bitter-sweet because after this we don't know when we'll be back again, but for now we're just looking forward to this opportunity," he added.