When Twenty20 cricket started it was nothing more than a “silly game”. Kevin Pietersen even referred to it in those very words.
The Indians certainly wanted nothing to do with it. Not least because how broadcasters were going to squeeze a 100 overs of advertising revenue garnered from an ODI into 40 overs of a T20. But yet here we are almost 20 years on and it’s the biggest money spinner in world cricket.
“KP” has also been long converted and is now a mouthpiece for the shortest format.
That brings me to the SA20. Where does it sit in the eco-system of South African cricket?
Firstly, it should never be viewed to be in competition with international cricket.
The Proteas are a world renowned brand. And when they are doing well like the men’s Test side are currently, having qualified for the World Test Championship at Lord’s later this year, national patriotism trumps everything else.
But South African cricket needs SA20. The interest in domestic cricket has dwindled to the point of virtual extinction over the past decade.
Even the local T20 Challenge does not attract the audience and media interest that it previously did. This has caused the provincial unions to be a financial burden on Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) shoulders.
And this is what makes SA20 so crucial to the future of the game in this country.
Its profits are pivotal to CSA’s bottom line – as was illustrated at last year’s Annual General Meeting with SA20 handing over R54 million to its majority shareholder. This financial windfall goes directly into CSA’s various development projects from first-class cricket all the way to grassroots level.
Away from the seriousness of it all, SA20 is a whole lot of fun, too. It’s a wild roller-coaster ride that stops at six venues all around the country showing off some of the world’s best players alongside some of the hottest young local talent.
“SA20 is not faultless and it knows it ... But right now it’s doing a helluva lot of things right and cricket in this country is stronger for it.”
It knows it cannot be viewed as an elitist product that only serves the minority. But right now it’s doing a helluva lot of things right and cricket in this country is stronger for it.
It also puts cricket at the forefront of everyone’s mind for 30 straight days. And that alone is worth marketing and public relations gold. The game needs South Africans – especially youngsters and women – to be talking about cricket. It’s the only way it’s going to survive.
SA20 did not produce Lhuan-dre Pretorius. That distinction belongs to the various Cricket SA systems that have developed the teenager up to this point.
SA20 provided Pretorius with a global platform to showcase his talent and tap into the vast knowledge and experience of former England captain Joe Root which will hopefully fast track his development. One of my personal favourite SA20 moments occurred recently at breakfast at one of the team hotels.
A young boy – probably seven or eight years old - dressed in a Sunrisers Eastern Cape shirt walked up to Quinton de Kock with his autograph bat.
“Do you play cricket, sir?”
In De Kock’s unique manner, he replied “I used to”.
Without hesitation the boy responded: “Did you play with Tristan Stubbs?”
That’s what SA20 does superbly. It creates new heroes. And Stubbs certainly is the poster boy of the tournament.
SA20 is not faultless and it knows it. It’s why it worked so hard to put together a deal with the SABC to try and take the game to the masses.
It knows it cannot be viewed as an elitist product that only serves the minority. But right now it’s doing a helluva lot of things right and cricket in this country is stronger for it.