From the beginning When the first game of the 2005/6 Standard Bank Cup was played in November 2005, the occasion marked the 25th year of day/night cricket in South Africa. It's hard to believe that the South African night sky flooded by cricket lights, and filled with braai smoke, has been around for so long…. The association between Standard Bank and limited overs cricket began in 1997 when the sponsorship of the successful day night series by Benson & Hedges came to an end. The success of day night cricket in the late 1980s and early 1990s can be attributed to the way in which the events were positioned as both cricket as entertainment and cricket as an experience. For the last nine years, Standard Bank has contributed to the unique experience of summer-time cricket with its exclusive sponsorship of one-day domestic cricket. The Standard Bank Cup - and now the Standard Bank Pro20 Series - have become excellent platforms for developing and showcasing local cricket talent, and as such entertainment platforms. And with the introduction of a strength-versus-strength format through the establishment of six cricket franchises in South Africa in the 2004/5 season, solid and sensational cricket in both versions of the limited overs game has been the result.