MSL takes off after many teething problems
The Mzansi Super League train is fully boarded and ready to leave the station but, as we discovered last year when the T20 Global League was cancelled after the player draft, there could yet be technical problems that derail the whole venture. Let’s hope not.
Realistically, the inaugural MSL tournament is just a glorified franchise T20 league with a couple more international players involved. Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo are T20 legends but they have both played locally before, and only Rashid Khan and Eoin Morgan of the rest are really high-profile international players.
And, to make matters worse, only Morgan of the marquee internationals will be staying put for the entire tournament, which is why the Tshwane Spartans were so keen to sign him.
But the draft was an exciting, generally well-run affair and one of the most interesting aspects of it was how players who are very strongly identified with their franchises will find themselves stationed elsewhere for the month of the tournament.
The most surprising “refugee” from his own home city is Albie Morkel, who the Durban Heat were absolutely delighted to snap up, given his experience and his key role in leading the Titans to a hat-trick of local T20 titles.
The Tshwane Spartans, having chosen Robbie Frylinck as their second pick – and he is a quality all-rounder – then selected a very similar player in Rory Kleinveldt ahead of Morkel. Kleinveldt is an integral part of the Cape Cobras team and there has been no love lost between them and the Titans in recent years, so it’s going to be a very interesting changeroom dynamic at SuperSport Park, where the Titans coaching and management team are in charge of the Spartans.
Not choosing their franchise T20 captain was part of a surprising trend with the Spartans, who only picked two Titans in their first 10 drafts – fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and top-order batsman Theunis de Bruyn. Given the uncertainty over how popular the MSL is going to be and how little time there is to properly market the event, I’d have gone for as many “big names” that are associated with the highly successful Titans brand at SuperSport Park. Sure, the locals will come to see marquee placement AB de Villiers and Ngidi, but will they come flocking to see the rest? I think a lot of Centurion spectators will be wondering why their stalwart Morkel is not playing for them.
Most of the other teams made a point of using as many of their own players as they could – the Durban Heat have eight Dolphins representatives, the Jozi Stars nine players from the Highveld Lions and the Cape Town Blitz nine Western Cape products.
But the success of the draft made up for the rather hick logos and uninspired team names: are Spartans going to resonate with a local audience?
What remains to be resolved is the underlying tension within the league. Cricket South Africa have centralised control, but are making the venues bear the costs of all operations. Each franchise has been given a budget from which all expenses must come, which could encourage mediocrity because in order to make a profit, the stadiums will have to skimp on something. Spare a thought for the staff, of both the teams and Cricket South Africa, who are now expected to do two jobs without any extra pay.
The hosting venues are not being empowered or motivated to really go out and make a success of their teams. But at least the players are all excited and keen on this new competition.
The same old faces are going to be hogging the limelight though and many people are going to be disappointed by the lack of opportunity for up-and-coming players. But the seeds are in the ground, and now the MSL just needs to become rooted in the South African and global cricket consciousness.