Big-name players and much fanfare kick off SA20
A damp opening game only briefly held back the SA20’s momentum and it has quickly confirmed that last year’s wonderful attendance figures were the result of a lot more than the novelty value of the new tournament.
The importance of all of the “big-name” players has also been evident with David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen and Rassie van der Dussen piling on the runs ,while Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi also illustrated the edge that international cricketers have in domestic competitions.
Fan engagement is an important aspect of the tournament and, though not all of the DJ stadium announcers get the balance right between “rah rah” and “shh”, their music choices seem to have hit the right note more often than not. Betway’s “Catch R2m” is so popular it may be in danger of becoming a distraction from the main event.
The employment of 17 commentators and presenters was an eyebrow-raiser but several of them earned their money when the start of Joburg Super Kings match against MI Cape Town was delayed by an hour. Live interviews with families and children are notoriously tricky and prone to producing moments of “cringe”. But they worked well at the Wanderers on Saturday.
GRIPE
One small gripe. A commentary team including plenty of big names is understandable. It’ sa big tournament with lofty ambitions; having a diverse spread of former players adding to the excellent camera work makes sense. It would be even better if they did a little homework before arriving in the commentary box.
The aforementioned national players are given a lot of airtime. So much that there isn’t space for the lesser-known players. Miller enjoyed a magnificent, unbeaten partnership of 141 with Mitchell van Buuren for the Paarl Royals against the Pretoria Capitals but a blind person might have wondered whether Miller was batting alone.
It may come as a surprise to some South Africans to discover just how difficult it is for most people around the world to pronounce “Theunis de Bruyn” correctly, or even “Van der Dussen” or “Van Buuren”. But there really shouldn’t be any excuse for being as far wide of the mark as some of the visiting voices have been.
There should be a bit more to commentary than describing what is clearly visible and cheering for members of the crowd to catch a six. But it takes time, even perhaps an hour of reading before each game. Who is Connor Esterhuizen and how did he make the MI Cape Town team? Who else went to St John’s College? Coming from a visitor, such nuggets would provide credibility and enhance the viewing experience.
But still, it is a tournament for SA cricket lovers to be proud of and perhaps the point of having international presentation personnel is to make it more likely that viewers from around the world can be engaged.
RELOCATED
There is another tournament about to start which South Africans should be equally proud of. The ICC Under-19 World Cup was relocated to SA at short notice after the suspension of Sri Lanka by the global governing body. The Sri Lankan government has compromised the ICC constitution which stipulates the governing boards of its constituent members should be independent and autonomous, specifically with regard to team selection.
There is a certain irony, then, that the tournament was moved to SA where the home team’s captain was removed from his post a week before the rescheduled tournament was due to start. David Teeger was said to have been the target of “threats” after his comments in support of Israeli soldiers.
Those in charge of security for the event are said to be “unaware of any specific threats to him.” Teeger was retained in the squad. Cricket SA said his removal from the leadership of the team was “in the best interests of all the players, the SA U19 team and David himself.”
It was, of course, untenable for the SA government to have a national sports captain, even a junior one, describing Israeli soldiers as “rising stars” when it was taking Israel to the International Court of Justice on a charge of genocide for the war in Gaza. It should be unpalatable for most people, though his comments were made before Israel’s invasion and the deaths of more than 23,000 people.
The cricket, however, will carry on. That’s what it’s there for, to distract us from the horrors and reality of the real world. Catch that six. Rah.