Why SA20 may be catalyst to help Proteas break white-ball trophy drought

It's not every day that you get your matric results in the morning before playing cricket in front of a sold-out Newlands alongside a batsman who has scored almost 20,000 international runs.

But that is the beauty of the SA20 League, as teenagers Kwena Maphaka and Lhuan-dre Pretorius played for the Paarl Royals alongside former England Test captain Joe Root against MI Cape Town on Monday evening.

After struggling to get a global T20 tournament off the ground for many years, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has finally found a successful recipe in the form of the SA20, which is now in its third season.

Former Test captain Graeme Smith was tasked to get this tournament off the ground together with some of the Indian Premier League franchises after a few failed attempts in the years before the Covid-19 pandemic. The first two editions of the SA20 have been a massive success on and off the field, breathing some much-needed life into domestic cricket in this country.

Like it or not, India rule the cricket world with their financial muscle. Financially, CSA wouldn't have been able to pull off a tournament of this magnitude without them. They needed help.

IPL has been a massive part of the cricket's global calendar for more than a decacde, with the best of the best getting handsomely rewarded for their efforts. South Africans are no strangers to the big bucks, with former Proteas all-rounder Chris Morris once bagging R32 million, while current middle-order basher Henrich Klaasen will earn a record R48 million for playing in this year's edition.

But while cricketers around the world have benefitted financially, India's cricket has become stronger, as their young players are sharing dressing rooms and playing with and against global stars week-in and week-out during the tournament. 

India's seem to be producing more quality young players than any other country. Recently they sent a so-called "B-team" to take on the Proteas in a T20 series, while another group of players headed to Australia to prepare for a Test series. India ended up thrashing the Proteas in that series, to showcase their unbelievable depth.

CSA is hoping that the SA20 tournament will have similar impact in South Africa. There certainly have been some signs that it's already having an impact. Last season's top run-scorer Ryan Rickelton has scored big in the Test arena over the last few months, finally transferring his talent into performances at the highest level.

Pretorius has also used his platform in the first two matches to show that he is on course for the big time. A couple of months after writing his final matric exams, he smashed a blistering 97 against the Sunrisers Eastern Cape's Proteas bowlers Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Ottniel Baartman.

Off the field, the tournament is also getting back fans back into the stadiums to watch domestic cricket.

The local product has become a bit stale over the last few years, mainly because the Proteas don't really feature for their provincial teams anymore. But in the SA20, all teams are packed with local and international stars, while the entertainment at the venues have been class.

The activations such as the Catch R2 million have been a massive hit, while the fan experience keeps evolving every season.

The league's popularity soared with 10 sold-out matches and 70% of all tickets sold across season two. According to the survey conducted with fans, the stadium experience continues to be a drawcard with 96% of the fans rating this as ‘very enjoyable’ and the competitive cricket also featuring as a key driver for fan’s interest in watching and attending matches.

Locally on SuperSport, the League recorded a 24% increase in viewership, drawing an audience that included a 46% female viewership.

All of these factors will surely bode well for the future of the Proteas, who haven't won an ICC event since the 1998 Champions Trophy. With the SA20 preparing the youngsters for the intensity of international cricket, and fans coming back to the sport, that trophy drought may be over sooner rather than later.

@JohnGoliath82