A venue that is laced with history, culture and pride, the Kingsmead Stadium will be the home of Durban’s Super Giants in SA20.

Located next to the Indian Ocean, the Kingsmead Stadium is integral to Durban’s three main attractions - sun, sand and cricket.

The iconic ground has played host to many historic matches since staging its first fixture back in 1923.

From the timeless Test to six sixes in an over and the T20 World Cup to the Indian Premier League, Kingsmead has been a witness to some of the biggest moments in cricketing history.

The first cricket match after South Africa returned to international cricket was played at the Kingsmead in 1923.

It also hosted the memorable Timeless Test between South Africa and England that lasted a whopping 12 days. The unusually long Test could not produce a winner because the English team had to catch a boat to reach home.

Another highlight in the storied past of Kingsmead includes the iconic six consecutive sixes in an over that came from the bat of Yuvraj Singh at the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.

Yuvraj Singh became the first batter to smack six sixes in an over in T20 Internationals and scored the fastest half-century in any format of the game, reaching the milestone in 12 balls.

While the average first innings score here is 148 in T20 Internationals, the number drops down to 132 while chasing.

Cricketing folklore suggests that bowling at the Kingsmead has its advantages and the low-scoring trend at the venue is because of the Indian Ocean.

Legend says that since the pitch is laid a little lower than the mean sea level, pace bowlers get unusual swing when the water in the adjacent ocean rises in the evening.

Whether it is a batting heaven or a bowler’s paradise, we will leave it to the players to decide.

But one thing is certain. The 25,000 spectators that can fit in the stands and traditional grass banks at Kingsmead will be up for some high-quality entertainment during SA20.

Durban’s Super Giants will open their SA20 2023 campaign against Joburg Super Kings on January 12 at Kingsmead.