Betway SA20 will take centre stage of all the festive season entertainment when the world’s leading cricketers line up for Season 4 starting at Newlands in Cape Town on Boxing Day, 26 December.
League Commissioner Graeme Smith was joined by South African cricket royalty Aiden Markram (Durban’s Super Giants), Faf du Plessis (Joburg Super Kings), Kagiso Rabada (MI Cape Town), David Miller (Paarl Royals), Keshav Maharaj (Pretoria Capitals) and Tristan Stubbs (Sunrisers Eastern Cape) in Cape Town for the Captain’s Day press conference and media interaction.
Smith was inspired about the quality of international cricketers that have descended upon South Africa along with the development of the homegrown talent over the past three seasons.
“I’m very excited. I think from our perspective, it has been three great seasons building up to where we are now,” Smith said.
“We are really looking forward to a great summer of cricket. The players on my left and right, having spoken to them this morning, are also really looking forward to performing well over the next coming weeks.
“We're starting to see an influx of talent performing well. It's an incredible opportunity for those youngsters to be exposed to the quality of the game, to learn and to use the League as a platform for them.
“It’s not just the 15 players that play for South Africa in the year, but another 60-odd players that have developed.”
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After three successful seasons at Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Markram is looking forward to a new challenge at Durban’s Super Giants.
“It's exciting being with the new team,” Markram said. “The competition is such a great time of year in South Africa. I've said it now quite a few times, but guys really enjoy it. The fans love it.”
DEVELOPMENT OF HOMEGROWN TALENT
Betway SA20’s growth is best illustrated in the development of Gqeberha’s homegrown talent Stubbs, from a Rising Star in Season 1 to now the successor to Markram as the new captain of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
“I'm really excited and just keen to get going. We sort of followed a similar blueprint to the first year. A lot of the team is based around local boys who know PE, live in and around PE. Just being a PE boy brings that culture and that extra fight to play for the team in front of a home crowd,” Stubbs said.
The evergreen Du Plessis is also looking forward to changing of the guard at Joburg Super Kings with the infusion of fresh young talent around the experienced veterans.
“I feel there was a shift in his (Fleming) style when it comes to looking at younger players and backing younger players,” Du Plessis said.
“This year especially we have a very young squad. When I walked into the dressing room and I saw all the young faces, I was like, we need Imran (Tahir).
“That's the nature of the beast of SA20. Young guys will get an opportunity probably a little bit earlier than they would have in domestic cricket.”
Paarl Royals captain Miller continued the theme of the excitement around the young talent that is set to emerge in Season 4.
“There's going to be a lot of energy, enthusiasm from the youngsters and a lot of guys that are still wanting to achieve a lot in their careers. So that's going to be driving them and the team to do well,” Miller said.
“This is the month to enjoy the season and have a lot of fun and play extremely competitive cricket at the same time.”
Pretoria Capitals also have a new leader in Keshav Maharaj with the veteran spinner having moved from Kingsmead to Centurion.
“Every novel opens with a new chapter, so I’m really looking forward to it,” Maharaj said. “I’ve always wanted to test myself on the Highveld in my career and this is a wonderful opportunity.
“We’ll try to go one step ahead and look to put our best foot forward as a franchise.” Lastly, but certainly not least Rabada is fit and fresh and ready to fire up MI Cape Town’s title defence with the core of last year’s championship-winning squad.
Rabada attended the Captain’s Day as a stand in for captain Rashid Khan, who will only be arriving in South Africa on Wednesday.
“Familiarity is a key thing. You need to bond with your teammates,” Rabada said. “The synergy goes a long way. It’s proven to be a successful value for MI across the board.
“Super thrilled the strategy came to life and now we just have to put the finishing touches.”
The excitement for Season 4 from the fans has been sky-high with tickets for the opening matches across the country selling fast.
The opening match between MI Cape Town and Durban’s Super Giants on Friday is SOLD OUT, with only a limited number of tickets available at the ticket office at the stadium.
Tickets for all matches are available at www.SA20.co.za and the stadium ticket offices around the country.