Many more players will want to share in SA20 riches now

So, what are you going to do with R35m? 

The biggest prize in SA cricket went the way of Aiden Markram and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Sunday and all he wanted was a beer.  

Well, there was enough money for a couple of those. But that figure — and the R17.5m that went to Pretoria Capitals, the runners-up in the Betway SA20 — was another aspect of the tournament that spoke to the importance of the competition to the game in this country: the aspirational element. 

“Even for guys coming in, the bonus might end up being more than their salary,” said Wayne Parnell, the Capitals captain.

He had spoken eloquently last week about SA players who had watched the SA20 from home because they weren’t picked in the auction and how it would have motivated them to want to be a part of the tournament next year. 

Markram reiterated Parnell’s point after leading his side to victory at a packed Wanderers on Sunday. 

“The guys who unfortunately didn’t play in this competition but play domestic cricket professionally in SA are going to be chomping at the bit to be involved in a tournament like this and I think that is huge for cricket in SA,” he said.

“Guys are going to upskill, work harder, they will put performances in and from there get looked at for a tournament like this. It’s exciting and will be great for SA cricket, because they are going to want to try to get into this competition.”

Sharing R52m for making the final is a heck of a motivation for domestic players, as is playing in front of the kinds of crowds that have filled stadiums to watch the SA20 in the past five weeks. 

The Wanderers on Sunday provided one last look this season at how the tournament has transformed the local game. It wasn’t — sadly for the competition — a final that lived up to expectations in terms of providing a tense last-over finish. That didn’t prevent the crowd from wanting a tight ending, with more enthusiastic cheers for every Capitals wicket and stop in the field as the Sunrisers stumbled late in their chase.

The final did produce high-quality strategic changes and execution from the winners, with Markram and player of the match Roelof van der Merwe squeezing through the middle overs and then Adam Rossington producing a stunning assault to snuff out any nerves in the chase. 

However, as Parnell explained, his side didn’t score enough to make sure that even with the kind of innings Rossington produced, his Capitals team would still be able to create pressure.

“If we could have got to 160, that means we extend the game and then, who knows, we can keep creating pressure,” he said.

Though it might not have been the best spectacle on the field, in the stands they were having a fabulous time. That so many turned out throughout the tournament, said Van der Merwe, was probably one of the biggest lessons for young SA players.

“Playing in front of crowds like this, you don’t get that in domestic cricket. How the players reacted when they were under pressure, those are the types of things they must take away for how to improve their game. Actual technique, that will come — playing in front of crowds like this and absorbing that pressure is huge.”

And the R35m? “Shu, I don’t know, half of it is going to tax,” Markram said. “We’ll split it between the boys and make sure everyone gets their share. After that, I’m not too sure.”