AIRTEL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE T20 SET TO THRILL IN SOUTH AFRICA

The much awaited Airtel Champions League T20 tournament is set to kick off in South Africa on Friday 10 September 2010 when South Africa's Standard Bank Pro20 runners-up the Highveld Lions take on India's Mumbai Indians.  The Chevrolet Warriors' home base of Port Elizabeth will host its first match on Saturday 11 September when the Chevrolet Warriors take on Sri Lanka's Wayamba Elevens at Axxess DSL St. George's. 

The ten teams taking part in the tournament are the top domestic league teams from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.  The Airtel Champions League T20 tournament is aimed at giving these teams from across the cricketing community the opportunity to compete at the highest level in the shorter format of the game.                                                  

After winning the Standard Bank Pro20 tournament earlier this year, the Chevrolet Warriors have been pooled into a strong Group A that includes the DLF Indian Premier League Champions 2010 Chennai Super Kings, Sri Lankan Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Cup winners the Wayamba Elevens, Australia's KFC Twenty20 Big Bash champions the Victorian Bushrangers, and the HRV Cup Twenty20 winners the Central Stags from New Zealand.

In Group B, the Standard Bank Pro20 runners-up the Highveld Lions will take on the Mumbai Indians (DLF IPL runners-up), the South Australian Redbacks (KFC Twenty20 Big Bash runners-up), the Royal Challengers Bangalore (DLF IPL 3^rd place), and the winner of the West-Indies' Caribbean T20 tournament which will be decided in late July.

During the tournament's round-robin section, the Chevrolet Warriors will come up against each of the Group A teams on their four respective match days, all of which will take place in Port Elizabeth at Axxess DSL St. George's.  The winner of Group A will then take on the second placed team in Group B in the first Semi-Final on 24 September, while the winner of Group B will play against the second placed team in Group A in Semi-Final 2 on 25 September.  The final will be decided on Sunday 26 September at the Wanderers in Johannesburg starting at 17:30.

The Chevrolet Warriors' matches for the tournament are as follows:

Date                Time    Match                                                 Venue

Sat 11 Sep       13:30   Warriors vs. Wayamba Elevens          Port Elizabeth

Mon 13 Sep     17:30   Warriors vs. Victorian Bushrangers   Port Elizabeth

Sat 18 Sep       13:30   Warriors vs. Central Stags                  Port Elizabeth

Wed 22 Sep     17:30   Chennai Super Kings vs. Warriors      Port Elizabeth

*Please note that due to naming rights for the Airtel Champions League T20 tournament, the Chevrolet Warriors will be referred to as the "Warriors" for the duration of the tournament.