New cricket ventures a concern on both sides of the world
When the England Cricket Board (ECB) finally begin their highly contentious, citybased T20 tournament in 2020 they will be rendering over half of the country’s professional players unemployed for more than six weeks of prime-time summer. Or would have been, until it was pointed out that there were labour law issues in doing so.
The ECB’s hierarchy — and their marketing people — decided eight teams was optimum and the tournament would be contested over 100 balls per innings, not 20 overs. The 40 fewer deliveries meant it could be packed into three hours and be more appealing for free-to-air broadcasters.
For the first two or three months after news of “The Hundred” broke, the disdain and ridicule was relentless. It was a gimmick too far. A well intentioned but prostituted sellout to the demands of television. In the past two months the ECB has stopped referring to “The Hundred” and has reverted to “the new T20 tournament”.
One aspect that will not change is their commitment to having eight teams, mimicking the IPL. So when 18 counties are squeezed into eight teams, a lot of players miss out. So the ECB announced that the domestic 50-over tournament would proceed concurrently, despite the fact that some first-division counties would have no more than a handful of their squad available while other, less fashionable second-division counties would be virtually at full strength.
There were legitimate concerns in SA, too, when the eight-team Global League was rebuilt into the six-team Mzansi Super League. Would the influx of overseas and Kolpak players have a detrimental effect on the most talented fringe players?
The availability of all of the Proteas, too, would mean less opportunity for young, bright lights to shine? It appears not.
If there is one, happy conclusion to be drawn from the player draft, it is that domestic coaches and their local assistants are in touch with the domestic game well enough to ensure there is universal agreement that the best players — young and old — have been snapped up. The highest-profile, uncontracted player entered in the draft was Wayne Parnell, who set his base price too high and priced himself out of the market.
The perceived value of players is extremely interesting, as is the value of the international marquee players. In all six teams the Protea marquee player is earning considerably more than the overseas star. In four out of six, the first-draft local player will also be paid more than the internationals. It should come as no surprise, either to us or Eoin Morgan, that AB de Villiers will be paid more than R1m more than the England ODI captain.
Television sales and rights are a guarded secret — by which we can confidently know that nobody in the rest of the world has paid a cent for anything yet. But if (and, hopefully, when) a few last-minute deals are done, they will owe a great deal more to the presence and participation of De Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Kagiso Rabada than Dawid Malan, Jason Roy and Morgan. Which is why the former trio will be the highestpaid in the competition.
There are some fascinating stories, too — some that warm the heart. Sinethemba Qeshile (Jozi Stars) and Marco Marais (Nelson Mandela Bay Giants) and several who appear “left field” but who owe a great deal to contacts and relationships established years ago among coaches and players who trust their instincts. Aussie Michael Klinger (NM Giants) and Englishman Ben Duckett (Paarl Rocks) have been pulled out of a discarded hat for someone’s good reason. Relationships are everything in the brave new world of global, domestic T20.
As they are in the commentary box.
Some familiar faces, as well as some new ones, will be presenting the new tournament. Cricket SA have invested hundreds of millions of rands in creating this event and they have done an extraordinary job in an absurdly short period. They, and the rest of us, need this tournament to succeed. A great deal of attention has been paid to some important details.
One large detail that has received minimal attention — or at least gravely disrespectful attention — is the respect afforded to the people who will actually deliver the tournament. Some of the best cameramen in the world have been offered pitiful fees. With a few days to go, presenters still have no idea if they will be working.
Much can and will go wrong. But we must support this tournament. Please.
R1m plus is the amount AB de Villiers is to earn more than England ODI captain Eoin Morgan at the forthcoming Mzansi Super League