Ram Slam certainly fits the bill ... with dollops of glam

ike it or not — and that is both the format and this weekend’s product — the first round of the Ram Slam T20 was a notable success.

St George’s Park was well attended on Friday evening for the Warriors match against the Knights and the people of Centurion were entrusted with the responsibility of making the double-header concept work.

Once again they delivered with several thousand in the stadium to see the Dolphins thrash a wobbly Cobras outfit before their own Titans thumped the Lions.

Not only were the “big names” all there, they rose to the occasion with AB de Villiers and David Miller to the fore.

The often forgotten consequence of playing domestic cricket with the best international cricketers present is the effect they have on “lesser” teammates and the opposition. Although there was plenty of early tournament rust evident, there was no shortage of intensity.

Early indications are that the Ram Slam will continue to grow in popularity this season and by the end of it the fans might even have forgotten about the embarrassing failure of the Global League. They might even ask themselves what the Global League might have given them that this domestic league did not.

The players, however, will not be forgetting the Global League anytime soon.

This weekend might have been spectacularly different had Cricket SA’s board of directors not ratified a last-minute agreement to a process of mediation to resolve the outstanding issue of compensation for the 144 players who were drafted.

It’s hard to say whether they would have had the fortitude to follow through once the cameras went live and the umpires called “play”, but there had been intensely serious talk among the players last week about public protest action unless Cricket SA showed some progress – or willingness to progress.

You wouldn’t have thought it by their body language on TV, but half the country’s professional cricketers are still, as the Australians say, filthy about the tournament’s cancellation and a long way from coming to peace with it, having been offered no explanation or apology.

As far as they are concerned, the plane is still missing at sea. Along with their possessions.

For Ram Couriers the decision to return to cricket, and the cost, may just prove to be a stroke of genius. They only agreed to reattach themselves to the tournament nine days

Lbefore the first match, having been badly stung by the Gulam Bodi spot-fixing scandal of two years ago.

It was hard to spot the silver lining back then but now that the exhaustive investigation and sentencing procedure has run its course, it’s almost certainly true to say that the Ram Slam is the cleanest domestic league in the world — for now.

Having been soiled in a messy and embarrassing way, Ram handed the baby back to its mother.

Now it has been returned, fresh and smelling of powder.

Cricket SA won’t make any money from the sponsorship but it will be saving several million rand.

The deal basically covers the running costs of the tournament, meaning the governing body will have a bit more loose change to put towards the Global compensation bill.

Technically liable for around $10m at full contract, it will be extremely lucky to get away with 50% which, added to all the other costs incurred, means it is at least R100m short of start-up capital for the intended 2018 Global League.

There is no Sugar Daddy broadcaster willing to pay the $30m on which the Global League blueprint was based.

Huge downscaling and cutbacks will be needed to make it feasible and viable.

So, no big name, international superstars – bye bye Gayle, Bravo, McCullum and KP. And no $100k pay packets for our Protea superstars. Scale back on the stadia refurbishments and those floodlights.

And maybe cut the franchises from eight to six. And what does the Global League become?

The Ram Slam – but with De Villiers, Rabada, Du Plessis and Amla in it.

Oh, hang on. That means a five-week window in primecricket time every year in which Cricket SA forego the chance of earning valuable forex with an incoming tour.

Or travelling overseas to beat Australia in a Test series, which is what happened this time last year.

So perhaps we just have the Proteas available for the last couple of weeks?

Which is exactly the sort of half-baked compromise which led to the franchise tournament being so lukewarm in the first place. Vicious circle.