The 2017–18 CSA Women's Provincial League was the 23rd edition of South Africa's provincial one-day cricket tournament. It ran from October 2017 to April 2018, with 16 provincial teams taking part. Western Province beat Gauteng in the final to win their eighth one-day title.
Competition format The 16 teams were divided into three divisions: a top division named "Top 6", and two lower divisions, Pools A and B. Teams played each other team in their group once in a round-robin format, with matches played using a one day format with 50 overs per side.
All six teams in the Top 6 group progressed to a further round of groups, joined by the winners of Pools A and B. The eight teams were divided into two groups, playing each other team in their group once. The top four teams from this stage progressed to the semi-finals, whilst the bottom four teams played in a series of placing matches. The top six placed sides in these matches qualified for the next season's Top 6 league.
The tournament ran concurrently with the 2017–18 CSA Women's Provincial T20 Competition, with matches played either the day before or day after the corresponding encounter between two teams in the T20 tournament. To maintain this link for the following season, promotion and relegation in the Provincial T20 Competition was determined by standings in the Provincial League.
The groups worked on a points system with positions being based on the total points. Points were awarded as follows:
Win: 4 points Tie: 3 points Loss: 0 points. Abandoned/No Result: 2 points. Bonus Point: 1 bonus point available per match.
Teams Top 6BorderFree StateGautengNorthernsNorth WestWestern Province Pool ABolandEastern ProvinceNorthern CapeKeiSouth Western Districts Pool BEasternsKwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-Natal InlandLimpopoMpumalanga
Group stages
First round
Top 6 TeamNortherns5 4 1 0 0 0 3 19 +1.243North West5 4 1 0 0 0 3 19 +1.215Gauteng5 3 2 0 0 0 3 15 +0.203Western Province5 2 3 0 0 0 2 10 +0.668 Free State5 2 3 0 0 0 1 9 –0.417Border5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 –2.917
Pool A TeamBoland (Q)4 4 0 0 0 0 3 19 +2.120South Western Districts4 3 1 0 0 0 2 14 +1.110Eastern Province4 2 2 0 0 0 2 10 +0.657Northern Cape4 1 3 0 0 0 1 5 –0.273Kei4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 –3.824
Pool B TeamEasterns (Q)4 4 0 0 0 0 4 20 +3.366KwaZulu-Natal4 2 1 0 0 1 2 12 +0.077Mpumalanga4 2 2 0 0 0 2 10 +0.722KwaZulu-Natal Inland4 1 2 0 0 1 1 7 –1.228Limpopo4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 –2.994
Advanced to the second round group stages, joining the Top 6 teams
Second round
Week Pool A TeamWestern Province (Q)3 2 1 0 0 0 2 10 +1.090North West (Q)3 1 0 0 2 0 1 9 +1.380Boland3 1 1 0 1 0 0 7 –0.642Free State3 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 –0.871
Week Pool B TeamGauteng (Q)3 2 0 0 0 1 2 12 +2.553Northerns (Q)3 1 1 0 0 1 1 7 +0.071Border3 1 1 0 0 1 1 7 –0.524Easterns3 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 –1.492
Advanced to the semi-finals
Knockout stages
Semi-finals
Final
Final placings In addition to the semi-finals and final, a number of placing matches took place at the University of the Free State on 7 and 8 April 2018. The top six finishers qualified for the Top 6 league in the following season's tournament. Both the third and fifth-place play-offs were abandoned due to rain. Final placings of the top eight teams were as follows: Position Team1stWestern Province2ndGauteng3rd=Northerns3rd=North West5th=Boland5th=Border7thEasterns8thFree State
References