First SA20 is a game changer, reaping riches and pulling in the crowds

Graeme Smith during the SA20 Player Auction at Cape Town International Convention Centre on 19 September 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)

By Craig Ray

12 Feb 2023

The competition has exceeded all expectations, laying a strong foundation for the future.

Sometimes mission statements can feel like contrived corporate mumbo jumbo, an extension of someone in leadership’s ego rather than a realistic goal.

Before the start of the inaugural SA20 competition, which comes to an end with the final between the Pretoria Capitals and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the organisation stated the rather lofty goal that it aims to be the second-best T20 cricket tournament after the Indian Premier League (IPL).

When you consider that the Australian Big Bash league (BBL) was more than a decade old before a ball was bowled in the SA20, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is heading for its seventh edition next month and the Caribbean Super League is also in double figures, it was an imposing ambition.

But after a competition that crammed 33 matches into 32 days (which included a week-long break when the Proteas played England in a previously confirmed ODI series), in front of full stadiums, the league’s aspirations are not unfounded.

It’s the first T20 league outside India to have IPL owners of local franchises. The time zone is perfect for an Indian audience and there is already a lucrative international broadcast deal in place with Indian broadcaster Viacom18 worth $30-million a year (R530-million) for the next 10 years. That includes the rights to other cricket as well, including the Proteas.

Throw in an R80-million-a-year headline SA20 sponsorship from Betway for the next three years and a R70-million prize fund from the same company, and it’s obvious this tournament is reviving and bolstering South Africa’s domestic cricket scene. Several more commercial deals are set to be concluded before the second edition.

When you consider the Proteas men have not had a headline sponsor for more than two years, it’s quite a statement of trust in the league from backers.

Long-term security

In addition, the SA20 league is locked down for the next decade, as each of the six founding teams committed themselves to a 10-year deal. The January/February time-slot is attractive, the tournament is short, the quality of the cricket is high and the pedigree of the wide array of international players on view is impressive.

The 2023 edition of the tournament exceeded all financial and viewership expectations and the league alone already has close to $400-million (R7-billion) committed income from commercial partnerships and contracts over the next decade.

When SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith, who deserves most of the credit for putting the tournament together under extreme time constraints, said it could help save South African cricket, he wasn’t joking.

Graeme Smith during the SA20 Player Auction at Cape Town International Convention Centre on 19 September 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)

Cricket South Africa (CSA) will gain massive economic benefits from a tournament that takes little more than a month.

The governing body has played a small role in its success, but it’s been Smith and former England Cricket Board CEO Tom Harrison (who starts as Six Nations CEO next month), who have driven it.

Smith has obviously had to do a lot of learning on the job. Fortunately, the IPL clubs that bought into the league have provided expertise on how to run a competition of this nature and mentors such as Harrison have been perfect sounding boards.

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From a CSA perspective, the success of the tournament lightens the financial burden and helps with player retention. The SA20 provides huge wages to a large group of South African players, easing the pressure on provincial unions, which almost all exist purely on funding from CSA.

It’s not a silver bullet that will take away all financial stress, but it’s a massive tonic for the ailing industry.

“We needed to diversify our income stream and the SA20 is an important part of that,” CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki told Daily Maverick.

“We gave the SA20 league five years to break even, but it’s already done that and more in year one.”

About 60 South African players are earning great wages for little more than a month’s work.

Hard-hitting Tristan Stubbs was the highest seller at auction, for R9.2-million, and Donovan Ferreira, who was in semi-retirement a year ago, was picked up by the Joburg Super Kings for R5.5-million.

Fast bowler Sisanda Magala was signed for R5.4-million by the Gqeberha outfit Sunrisers Eastern Cape. His performances have been superb, meaning he will be sought after in SA20 II’s auction later this year.

Even Proteas white-ball captain Temba Bavuma, who was snubbed at the inaugural auction, was picked up for the latter part of the campaign by the Sunrisers.

“I’ve played in all the T20 leagues around the world and I’m very happy to say that the SA20 is right up there behind the IPL,” Joburg Super Kings skipper Faf du Plessis told Daily Maverick.

“This tournament has surprised a lot of people, but if you look at the pedigree of the players, with a great list of internationals participating, it means the standard of competition has been really high.

“The IPL ownership has also had a hugely positive impact because it comes with a lot of know-how and professionalism in terms of running a big tournament like this.

“Personally, I never thought I’d play cricket in South Africa again, so I’ve loved it. It’s been amazing to see big crowds at domestic cricket again.”

Building on the foundation

The tournament has managed to revive fan interest in domestic cricket and the sight of thousands at stadiums around the country, despite the austere times, has shown there is an appetite for the sport.

More importantly, it’s been well run because the process is streamlined. SA20 has a board, which doesn’t interfere on an operational level, and a staff of about 80 people under Smith, working out of a temporary office in Newlands.

There are no committees and subcommittees, or a need for board approval at every turn. In short, there is very little red tape. There is a lesson in that for CSA and all the federations in the country.

The streamlined nature of the SA20 and its rapid success proves that the privatisation of cricket (and it could be true of other sports such as rugby) might be necessary for financial success.

One drawback is that the momentum that the SA20 has quickly built will end abruptly after the final and fans will have to wait 11 months for it to happen again.

But, in a broader context, the focus that the SA20 has brought to cricket can be used to draw fans and sponsors to the rest of the professional cricket landscape.

“The SA20 has been bigger than we expected, with the kind of support we were only hoping for from year two onwards,” said Moseki.

“We want to use the momentum created and carry that over into the rest of the season. There is a lot of cricket to come this summer.

“Obviously our budgets are lower, but we will work on using the momentum for other competitions.

“We have to keep fans interested in cricket and not only once a year through January. Fan engagement is key, and we’ve learnt a lot from the SA20.” DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.

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Long-term security

Building on the foundation