NEIL MANTHORP: SA20 player auction may have given SA cricket a huge boost

Last weekend was one of the more invigorating and inspiring in recent memory for SA cricket and it’s hard not to believe it had something, perhaps even a lot, to do with the recent SA20 player auction.    

Now, local cricketers have a tangible, potentially life-changing target to aim for, a goal within their grasp rather than one merely to dream about. And thanks to the excellent live-streaming provided by Pitchvision, there is a window of clear glass through which to watch their exploits.    

And people are watching. Important people who have influence over substantial, Indian franchise chequebooks.    

In 2021 the SA under-19 team was introduced in the Cricket SA domestic T20 competition for the first time. It was a calculated gamble and one that paid no dividends though it was not a complete failure. They looked like boys against men, which is largely what they were.    

This last weekend their three matches had much the same look about them — with the roles reversed. The Under-19s romped to victory in all three of their matches against the Tuskers, Eastern Storm and the Mpumalanga Rhinos, two of them with a bonus point. They may be Division Two teams but it would have been far easier to scoff and be dismissive if there were only scorecards to read rather than footage to watch. There was fine, high-quality T20 cricket on display.    

Under-19 opening batter Meeka-eel Prince top scored over the weekend with 143 runs at a strike rate of 140. He looks to be a dasher, an entertainer with the ability to find the middle of the bat more often than not. And where will the next Keshav Maharaj come from? Look no further than left-arm spinner Liam Alder who claimed seven wickets while conceding runs at just 5.25 per over.    

Everybody who knows cricket appreciates the value, and rarity, of a left-arm fast bowler. Just look at the impact Marco Jansen has had on international cricket. You thought Jansen was young at 22 years old? Try 16-year-old Kwena Maphaka, who returned the best figures of the weekend, 4-0-18-4. Back-of-the-hand slower ball bouncer? No problem. Remember the name.    

How about an opening bowler good enough not just to bat at No 3 or 4 but who strikes at more than 200? Look no further than Matthew Boast who did exactly that for the Under-19s finishing with six wickets at an economy rate of 6.0 runs per over and scoring 108 runs at a strike rate of 212. This included an over of 30 against the unfortunate off-spinner Blake Schraader, whom he struck for three fours and three sixes.    

Perhaps this is just “one of those years” when the cricketing stars align to produce a small galaxy of talent at the same time. After all, in recent years the “Baby Proteas” have produced little to cheer about while 2021’s team was dominated by the emergence of Dewald Brevis who is now a global superstar despite never featuring in a senior SA squad.    

More of the same can be expected from perhaps even many from this generation, the majority of whom have never played a senior game — never mind a first-class one. It is further confirmation of the direction not in which the game is heading, but has already headed, irreversibly. It will require an exceptional and unlikely change of circumstances for most of this new generation to dream of playing Test cricket when the possibility of a multimillion-rand deal in the SA20 is on their doorstep.    

If Cricket SA can find a way to organise the administration of its playing affairs, it might even be able to forge a mutually beneficial relationship with the SA20 franchises, which would allow these young players to turn out for the national team. On loan, obviously.    

Meanwhile, things weren’t going so well in Guwahati, India. The senior team scored 221/3, David Miller scored an outrageous, unbeaten 106 from 47 balls and shared a third-wicket stand of 174 with Quinton de Kock who apologised to him afterwards for not contributing more than 69 from 48 balls. They lost by 16 runs.    

The Proteas four specialist seamers all conceded more than 12 runs per over bowling a stream of full-tosses with a sweaty ball they were obviously struggling to grip and the last four overs of India’s innings yielded 66 runs. In the run-chase, with 12 an over required from the outset, SA reached 21/2 in the first four overs. The captain has now scored no runs from 11 deliveries in two games.    

Conditions will be different when the T20 World Cup begins in Australia in a couple of weeks’ time, of course, but for now — last weekend — it was easier and less stressful to have the next generation to get excited about .