The South African cricket team could win a massive $5-million (about R32,4-million) in an International Twenty20 match in November, Die Burger reported on Tuesday.
Captain Graeme Smith and his teammates will take on a West Indies X1 in Antigua with $5-million going to the winners.
If the South Africans should lose, they will not return home with empty pockets. The losers will apparently receive about $100 000 (R649 000) as a match fee.
The match is the brain-child of a local billionaire, Allan Stanton, in an attempt to whet the appetites of the West Indies’ supporters for next year’s Cricket World Cup to be held in their backyard.
Stanton is the chairperson of the Stanton financial group and made his money in Texas before becoming an Antiguan citizen.
The billionaire, who will pick the West Indies team for the match, is also the sponsor of the local Pro20 series.
Stanton has apparently spent more than $28-million (R181-million) on the Pro20 series, as well as upgrading the cricket infrastructure on the Islands.
Proteas coach Mickey Arthur has confirmed that a contract has been signed.
”The match is being planned to take place the week after the Champions Trophy final in India.”
Arthur said although they will only be in Antigua for three days, the match will give them an ideal opportunity to check on conditions before the World Cup.
”Antigua is just 20 minutes by air from St Kitts, where our base will be next year. We’ll go and look at the hotels and training facilities and so on.”
Die Burger has been told confidentially that if Smith and company should be successful, they will receive 35% of the prize money. The remaining 65% will be used for the United Cricket Board for South Africa’s development programme.
Even though the UCBSA will get the lion’s share, the Proteas could each make about R500 000 for three hours’ work, the paper reported. – Sapa