Gun-wielding robbers raided the Newlands Cricket Ground just after midnight last Friday.

It is the third time since 2015 that the ground has been hit by robbers, but this time the men and a woman were armed, said a senior official of the Western Province Cricket Association.

The glass doors of about 25 suites were smashed. The robbers targeted the TVs, took some liquor and other items in the suites, while also vandalising some of the suites.

It started just after midnight when a woman approached security officials at Gate A and asked for directions to a church in the area. When she returned five minutes later to ask a similar question, three men jumped the security fences and were soon joined by more than 15 other men. Some of them had guns and forced the security officials to provide them with the keys to the President’s Suite.

Their raid took less than an hour and they packed the goods into three vehicles and left the scene.

‘The South African Police Services are busy with an extensive investigation into the event and we will also reassess our security measures, including the possibility of having more cameras installed,’ said a senior official of WPCA.