Former South Africa Captain in, his debut column discusses his ambitions for SA20 League. Check out the excerpts from his column below:

Right now, I’m very excited for Season 2 of SA20, which started this week. As Commissioner, I’ve been involved right from the infancy and can tell you that a lot of work has gone into formulating the platform and the teams are looking extremely strong across the board. 

We wanted to avoid an exhibition-style tournament and have really focused on making sure the cricketers are the best on show. There’s a quality group of young South African players and some outstanding international stars so, from a cricket perspective, it’s going to be very competitive.

We have huge ambitions to be the biggest cricket league outside of India and the No. 1 sporting entertainment brand in South Africa. We’ve got some incredible stadiums, a strong cricketing culture and a vibrant fanbase having a great time in the stands during the South African summer. 

The six IPL franchises that we’ve been able to attract really do set us up well. They are the most successful franchises in the world game and bring an extreme amount of experience – not only on the commercial side, but also with top coaches, physios and medical staff – that will benefit South African cricket down the line.

SA20 CAN RAISE STANDARDS ACROSS THE GAME

The clash with South Africa’s tour of New Zealand isn’t ideal, but scheduling is a challenge for everyone in the game and I expect that every year we’ll get better at it. 

Test cricket is a format that we all love. I played 116 Tests myself, so I want to see it protected. I’m part of the MCC Committee and, after our previous meeting at Lord’s, we came out and said we believed the ICC needs to create a fund to protect it for the six or seven nations that play it.

However, T20 cricket is the future. It’s a format that has huge potential to grow into new markets. Look at the strength of the IPL, moving into the US with Major League Cricket and its inclusion in the LA Olympics in 2028.

Cricket South Africa has shown real intent that SA20 needs to be built and given the best chance of success. By elevating 70-80 South African players every season and challenging them in front of big crowds, international broadcasters and top players around the world, we can ensure that the amount of talent to select from around our national teams gets better and better. 

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