There is good news on the cards for cricket lovers in Bloemfontein and the Free State and it’s just icing on the cake as the ITEC Knights continue celebrating their return back up to Division 1 next season.

Bloemfontein has been selected as one of the host cities for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup that will be played in South Africa.

The Mangaung Oval will be one of eight grounds where the flagship event of 50-over cricket will be played, while Buffalo Park in East London also cracked the nod.

In 2003 Bloemfontein also hosted numerous games when the Cricket World Cup was played in South Africa for the first time. Since then it was also a host for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup on two occasions, with the most recent being in 2024.

During the 2003 World Cup, five matches were played in Bloemfontein, including the Proteas 10-wicket win against Bangladesh. On the day, Makhaya Ntini took 4/24 in 7.1 overs as Bangladesh were bowled out for 108-run, while Gary Kirsten scored 52* and Herschelle Gibbs scored 49* as the Proteas chased down the target in just 12 overs.

The CEO of Free State Cricket, Johan van Heerden, told OFM Sport the welcome news caps off a what has been a good and successful domestic season.

“We are extremely proud that we hosted the U19 Men's Cricket World Cup here in January, and we were the only venue out of all of the host cities that has a clear audit from Cricket South Africa,” said Van Heerden.

“On the back of that Cricket South Africa along with the International Cricket Council had visits to the stadium a year back and the readiness was already determined then.

“So, yes, we will be hosting games in the 2027 men's 50-over World Cup in South Africa, and Bloemfontein will be one of those venues. It's such great news for us going forward.”

The other six venues that will be hosting games in the 2027 World Cup in South Africa been Boland Park (Paarl), Kingsmead (Durban), Newlands (Cape Town), St George's Park (Gqeberha), SuperSport Park (Pretoria) and the Wanderers (Johannesburg).

While the ICC is yet to confirm the dates and fixtures, the World Cup is set to be played in September of 2027. Namibia and Zimbabwe will also be hosting some games during the tournament.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport