The 2016–17 CSA Women's Provincial League was the 22nd edition of South Africa's provincial one-day cricket tournament. It ran from October 2016 to April 2017, with 16 provincial teams taking part. North West beat Gauteng in the final to win their first one-day title.[1][2]
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 best-placed team across Pool A and B. The seven 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 three teams were joined by the other Pool stage group winner in a series of placing matches. The top six placed sides in these matches qualified for the next season's Top 6 league.[1]
The tournament ran concurrently with the 2016–17 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.[3]
The groups worked on a points system with positions being based on the total points. Points were awarded as follows:[4]
Win: 4 points Tie: 3 points Loss: 0 points. Abandoned/No Result: 2 points. Bonus Point: 1 bonus point available per match.
In addition to the semi-finals and final, a number of placing matches took place at the University of the Free State between 1 and 3 April 2017. The top six finishers qualified for the Top 6 league in the following season's tournament.[5] Final placings of the top eight teams were as follows:[1]
