No trophies, but SA cricket is winning
● That South African cricket concludes the year with a sigh — not of anguish, but regret — is a sign of progress.
The sport had been dominated for too long by Chris Nenzani, Thabang Moroe, forensic audits, interim boards and SJN hearings. In 2023 cricket was finally about the cricketers again.
The Proteas’ style of batting, the lack of Test cricket, stumbling into the last automatic qualifying spot for the World Cup, Shabnim Ismail’s aggression, Tazmin Brits’ catching and Laura Wolvaardt’s cover driving meant the sport’s focus was dominated by matters on the field.
The change in the discourse started with the SA20. The tournament, said former Proteas captain Graeme Smith, the League’s commissioner, was about creating something that would draw supporters back to stadiums. It worked.
It revitalised the sport, despite creating challenges for Cricket SA in terms of the Proteas ’ schedule, something that will again occur in the second edition which coincides with a two-match Test series in New Zealand.
In addition the unexpected R34m the tournament added to CSA’s coffers offered a taste of future riches it may provide, which will be critical to securing the organisation’s future, allowing it to fund various development initiatives.
One of those is the women’s game, which received a major shot in the arm as the Proteas, who’d come into the tournament under a cloud because of the controversial omission of Dane van Niekerk, made it all the way to the final of the T20 World Cup.
In front of a sold out Newlands, Wolvaardt, who’d just purchased a new house down the road from the storied venue, kept her team in the final against Australia with a fluent innings of 61 that included plenty of stunning stroke play. It wasn’t enough to earn her side a win though, with Australia asserting their dominance of the women ’ s game, but the fillip it gave provided the impetus for the establishment of a professional women’s league.
The appointment of Shukri Conrad as Test coach and Rob Walter as T20 and ODI mentor saw the national men’s team enter a new era, with a new coaching system and renewed energy for a side that had been weighed down by all the administrative drama that had enveloped the sport.
Temba Bavuma was made Test and ODI captain, and importantly given a greater say in selection. The extra responsibility and trust shown in Bavuma saw him grow as a leader and his performances with the bat, which included a second Test hundred, was indicative of a player thriving in an environment that treated him as a captain should be.
Naturally then, he would also be judged harshly when his team ultimately came up short at the major event on the calendar, the ODI World Cup in India. Bavuma had a poor tournament, averaging 18, but as he rightly pointed out, his team’s performance was the best at a World Cup since 1999.
That the Proteas exceeded pre-tournament expectations was forgotten in the disappointment of another semifinal exit, but it served as an important indication that South Africa had left behind the off-field drama of the last four years.
While 2023 didn’t bring silverware for any of the national teams, the fact that the Proteas — both men and women — went further than forecast in their respective marquee events, was a step in the right direction for a sport that desperately needed some good news.