The Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals got underway with group draws and the opening ceremony on Sunday, 4 September 2016, at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The evening was a display of Sri Lankan culture with traditional song and dance to start the evening off. Red Bull Sri Lanka and tournament director Brendan Kuruppu welcomed the players before the group draws took place.

In accordance with tradition, the group draw was done by means of an activity that is unique to the host country. This year the captains took part in a game of Kana Muttiya, which involves the player attempting to break a pot while blindfolded. The captains each had to break a pot with a cricket stump and their group number was hidden inside. The group draws ended as follows:

Group A:

Bangladesh, Australia, England and South Africa

Group B:

United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India

Team South Africa's fixtures are as follows:

• Monday, 5 September at 14:00: SA vs England at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC)
• Tuesday, 6 September at 14:00: SA vs Australia at the Nondescripts Cricket Club
• Wednesday, 7 September at 14:00: SA vs Bangladesh at the SSC

The semi-finals and finals of the tournament will take place in Galle on 10 and 11 September 2016 respectively. The top two teams in each group will go through to the semi-finals.