Cricket: Scottish Super10 tournament which had been set for Aberdeen not going ahead

The Scottish Super10 franchise cricket tournament – which was to be held in Aberdeen – won’t go ahead, the Press and Journal understands.

The 10-over men’s and women’s competitions were announced in March and scheduled from August 16-31 with Mannofield chosen as the host venue.

However, sources have indicated to the P&J the Super10 will not take place, with tournament owners and organisers Star333 Sports unable to obtain sanction from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Other franchise cricket tournaments operate around the world without ICC approval.

However, the event would still have required sanctioning from Cricket Scotland, the governing body for the game in this country.

Had Star333 Sports decided to press on without ICC sanction, it’s likely many of the international players who were meant to be involved would have pulled out, resulting in a lower-profile competition.

What was the Scottish Super10?

When it was announced, the organisers said the men’s Super10 would feature six franchises – owned and operated by major private corporate houses from around the world – representing Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The squads were to be made up of top Scottish talent as well as international stars from around the world.

English batter Alex Hales, New Zealand pace bowler Finn Allen, Pakistan star Naseem Shah, Afghanistan internationals Rashid Khan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikander Raza were among the players announced as taking part.

However, since then there has been little in the way of player announcements with no finalised squads announced.

The women’s tournament was set to feature two teams with squads of 15, made up Scotland internationals and selected stars from elsewhere.

Those franchises had been scheduled to go head-to-head on the opening weekend of the competition.

It is unclear whether the tournament will be staged in the future.

The P&J have contacted Abhishek Shah, the chairman of the Scottish Super10 and director of Star333 Sports, on multiple occasions for comment, but he has failed to respond.

As it is not their tournament, Cricket Scotland were unable to comment.