South African cricket and SA20 are learning to co-exist

It worked as an experiment in season one. It worked again as an event in season two. And now in its third season, the SA20 is a regular feature of the South African summer, so much so that this is the first time it won't clash with the national team's matches.

South Africa's home international matches ended on Monday with a victory over Pakistan during the New Year's testand will resume on February 10 in Pakistan where they will play in a short ODI tri-series ahead of the Champions Trophy. The SA20 final will have taken place just two days earlier. Some players can feature in both the final and the first ODI after SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith confirmed that the league and the national team have learned to coexist. “We worked with Cricket South Africa on that,” he said. 'Those involved in the [SA20] knockout stages will take part in the tri-series in Pakistan. They will all be available for the first game.”

Perhaps the next challenge will be to see if and how the SA20 will impact the national team, perhaps not as soon as the Champions Trophy, but in the coming years. Just as the IPL in India created a level of professionalism and opportunities for cricketers (and ultimately contributed to the success of a T20 World Cup trophy in 2024, albeit 16 years after the first edition), the SA20 sees itself as the bridge between a domestic system that may yet undergo an overhaul and a national team that has achieved unprecedented success, qualifying for their first T20 World Cup final last year.

“From the start we were very open and honest and felt we needed to bridge the gap between domestic cricket in South Africa and the standard of international cricket,” Smith said. “We have six franchises that are competitive, they go to the best medical staff, top physios, good coaches, and the players also play at a high level, with the best players in the world and against the best players in the world.”

South Africa's 15-team provincial domestic system is costing CSA more than it can afford, even with SA20 profits and the higher prize money from ICC events. On Monday, as the Test concluded, the trialists from the provinces met for a discussion on the sustainability of cricket in the country, which is another way of saying they came together to explore the possibility of cost savings. Although nothing concrete has emerged from these conversations, serious consideration is being given to reducing the number of teams. That could mean a smaller number of professional players, but more games for fewer teams; essentially a quality over quantity argument that will, in theory, strengthen the player pool.

That's also where the SA20 comes into the picture. As an intensive and competitive four-week event, also featuring some of the leading global names, it hopes to provide entertainment and position itself as a feeder for the national side. The biggest success story came last year, then Ottneil Baartmanthe leading bowler until he was surpassed by his teammate Marco Jansen in the final, did enough to earn a place in the South African T20 World Cup squad. Baartman played in five of South Africa's nine matches and was their most economical bowler at the World Cup and one of 12 to concede less than five runs per over. He is one of the players who benefited from being exposed to bright lights at a domestic tournament before having to perform on the international stage. “So many domestic young cricketers coming up have never experienced such a level of TV production and buzz,” Smith said. “Hopefully [with that exposure]more and more players will compete for places in the Proteas.”

This season, there are under 19 stars among the younger players to keep an eye on Lhuan-dre Pretorius And You are the cats (both Paarl Royals), Steve Stolk (Pretoria Capitals) and recently white-ball international Andile Simelane (Sunrisers Eastern Cape). They all belong to a group that could shape the future of the national side. They will collaborate with Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi, among others.

Only two players from South Africa's most recent ODI squad… Temba Bavuma And Tony de Zorzi – will not be part of the SA20, but both have been part of the tournament in the past. Bavuma was initially unsold in season one but was given a deal with Sunrisers after a century in an ODI against England. He has since been released. De Zorzi played for Durban's Super Giants in season two. Neither was picked up at this season's auctionand Bavuma in particular is still criticized for his white ball form.

With no other cricket taking place in South Africa during the SA20, Bavuma, the Zorzi and several others who did not get SA20 deals will spend part of the peak summer period inactive. This is something CSA may need to address in the future, especially if players who need playing time are unable to do so due to scheduling. For now, that seems like a minor problem amid the many solutions that CSA has already found.

The SA20 has made a profit since its first year and CSA benefits from being a majority shareholder. It is popular in stadiums as well as on screens: last year, 70% of all available tickets sold out and worldwide viewership increased by 21% between the first and second seasons. At a time of year when people are tightening their belts and making New Year's resolutions, it has convinced them to still go to the country's top six sites, take a shot at winning a share of millions of Rands with one hand and to enjoy an experience that borders on gimmicky, but still retains the ethos of cricket watching. After the failed Global League T20 and Mzansi Super League, the SA20 has worked, and now the entire South African cricket ecosystem is embracing partnership with it.