South Africa, England’s second opponents in a month of white-ball matches, are struggling to qualify for next year’s World Cup after dumping crucial international fixtures to launch a new Twenty20 tournament.
The Proteas face Jos Buttler's team in Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, days after forfeiting a series in Australia next January to allow their premier players to feature in a six-team competition bankrolled by broadcasters SuperSport, and intended to be second only to the Indian Premier League, instead.
Such prioritising has arguably provided a vision of the future global landscape, with Cricket South Africa, and other boards around the world, chasing huge financial rewards over bilateral country v country series.