The third season of the SA20 was won by MI Cape Town. Photo: Sportzpics
In a thrilling third season, the SA20 league dazzled cricket fans with electrifying matches, international stars, and newfound opportunities for young talent, but it also poses questions about representation and longevity in South African cricket.
Here, we look at what the tournament continues to do right and what it needs to improve on in future season.
From a media perspective, the team managing information about the SA20 league from news, updates to player statistics made reporting on the games a breeze. The SA20 website was extremely informative and structured, making it easy to navigate and extract information.
Player stats, top performers, MVP’s etc, the manner in which the league presented its information was classy yet simple. Post-match interviews, videos and all round transmission of the games were spot on, every time.
The SA20 league entertained from the get-go, and added a touch of spice for the fans with the one-handed catch competition. It was unfortunate for young fans though, as you had to be 18-years-old to win anywhere from R250 000 to R500 000 for a one-handed catch.
The introduction of international T20 stars like Kane Williamson, Ramanullah Gurbaz and Noor Ahmad brought a sense of flair to the game, and added another dimension to South African T20 cricket.
Without a doubt, one of the biggest things the league got right was providing a stepping stone for young talent to come up the ranks and be recognised faster. Brand Ambassador AB de Villiers acknowledged this at the start and even named a couple young guns he thought would earn their stripes. One of them being Dewald Brevis, who won the league with Cape Town.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius' performance throughout the tournament is sure to inspire other youngsters in the game of cricket. At 19, Pretorius looked at peace, thrashing some of the best bowlers in the world.
To be fair, it is South Africa and the lack of black players on the field was noticeable. Perhaps in the future, there will be an increased level of black representation in the league. That being said, black players should not be given an opportunity based on skin colour but merit.
The league was a hell of a lot of fun and would have been even more if it continued for longer. But there are other commitments and tournaments in the cricket calender so maybe balancing a longer format league would be a challenge.
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