SA20
 | |
| Countries | South Africa |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Cricket South Africa |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First edition | 2022–23 |
| Latest edition | 2023–24 |
| Next edition | 2024-25 |
| Tournament format | Round-robin and playoffs |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Current champion | Sunrisers Eastern Cape (2nd title) |
| Most successful | Sunrisers Eastern Cape (2 titles) |
| Most runs | Heinrich Klaasen (810) |
| Most wickets | Ottniel Baartman (30) |
| TV | SuperSport (South Africa) Sports18 (India) Sky Sports (England) Jio Cinema (India) (internet) Fox Sports (Australia) Willow TV(USA) |
| Website | thesat20 |
 2023–24 SA20 | |
| Seasons |
|---|
SA20, known as the Betway SA20 for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa, organised by Cricket South Africa (CSA) and first contested during the 2022–23 season.[1][2] It is contested by six teams based in cities around the country.[3] [4] The first winners of the tournament were Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
History
Cricket South Africa established the franchise T20 Global League in 2017. The inaugural season was deferred by a year due to the lack of a broadcast deal and title sponsor and in June 2018 was replaced by the Mzansi Super League, a league featuring six CSA-owned teams.[5] Both the leagues became unsuccessful.[6] The MSL ran for only two seasons, the 2020 and 2021 editions being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SA20 was established by CSA in 2022 through a newly formed entity, Africa Cricket Development (Pty) Limited (ACD). CSA is the majority stakeholder in ACD with a 50% share, while broadcaster SuperSport has a 30% share and former Indian Premier League (IPL) Chief Operating Officer Sundar Raman, the remaining 20%.[7] All six of the teams were bought by franchises from the IPL.[8] In July 2022, CSA announced that the One Day International series against Australia due to be played in January 2023 would be cancelled in order for SA20 to go ahead.[9]
In August 2022, Graeme Smith was announced as the commissioner for the tournament.[10] Later in the month, the marquee players for the first season were announced.[3]
In December 2023 Cricket South Africa announced that it would send a makeshift Test team, comprising players with little or no Test cricket experience, to its scheduled two-Test tour of New Zealand in February 2024, to allow its best players to remain in South Africa to compete in the SA20. The decision was widely criticised.[11] [12]
Organisation
The six teams play each other twice in the group stages of the competition before the top four sides move to the semi-final stages.[13]
Teams acquire players through an auction as opposed to a draft, making it the second cricket league in the world after the Indian Premier League to do so. Each team purchases a squad of 17 players, with the opportunity of signing up to five players prior to the auction: three international players; one South African international player; and one uncapped South African player.[14][15]
Teams
The six teams are all owned by existing Indian Premier League franchise owners.[16]
Tournament season and results
Number of titles
| Team | Title(s) | Runner-up | Seasons won | Seasons runner-up | No. of seasons played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrisers Eastern Cape | 2 | – | 2022-23, 2023-24 | – | 2 |
| Pretoria Capitals | – | 1 | – | 2022-23 | |
| Durban's Super Giants | 2023-24 | ||||
| Joburg Super Kings | – | – | |||
| Paarl Royals | |||||
| MI Cape Town |
Finals
| Season | Winner | Winning margin | Runner-up | Final venue | Player of the season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | Sunrisers Eastern Cape 137/6 (16.2 overs) |
Sunrisers Eastern Cape won by 4 wickets Scorecard |
Pretoria Capitals 135 (19.3 overs) |
Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg | Aiden Markram (SEC) |
| 2023–24 | Sunrisers Eastern Cape 204/3 (20 overs) |
Sunrisers Eastern Cape won by 89 runs Scorecard |
Durban's Super Giants 115 (17 overs) |
Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town | Heinrich Klaasen (DSG) |
Teams' performances
| Season | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Durban's Super Giants | 5th | RU |
| Joburg Super Kings | SF | PO |
| MI Cape Town | 6th | 6th |
| Paarl Royals | SF | PO |
| Pretoria Capitals | RU | 5th |
| Sunrisers Eastern Cape | C | C |
- C: champions
- RU: runner-up
- SF or PO: team qualified for the semi-final stage of the competition
Ground
| South Africa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cape Town | Durban | Johannesburg |
| Newlands Cricket Ground | Kingsmead Cricket Ground | Wanderers Stadium |
| Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 34,000 |
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| Paarl | Centurion | Gqeberha |
| Boland Park | Centurion Park | St George's Park Cricket Ground |
| Capacity: 10,000 | Capacity: 22,000 | Capacity: 19,000 |
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Broadcasting
SuperSport, Sky Sports and the Sports18 network broadcast the tournament in South Africa, the United Kingdom and India respectively.
As of January 2023[update], Betway SA20 and Sky Sports have a five-year contract to broadcast the T20 cricket league.[17]
References
- ^ "Cricket South Africa announces new six-team franchise-based T20 competition". ESPN Cricinfo.
- ^ "T20 COMES HOME AS CSA AND SUPERSPORT ANNOUNCE GRAND NEW EVENT". Cricket South Africa.
- ^ a b "CSA T20 League 2023: List of players signed up for the first edition". Wisden. 12 August 2022.
- ^ "CSA T20 league to be called 'SA20'; player auction to be held on September 19". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ "Haroon Lorgat calls for independent inquiry into 'collapsed' T20 Global League". Hindustan Times. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "The SA20 player auction: all you need to know". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "CSA confident of seeing off legal challenge to new T20 league". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "CSK, Mumbai Indians interested in buying franchises in South Africa's new T20 league". ESPN Cricinfo. 13 August 2022.
- ^ "South Africa's men's cricket team withdraws from three-match ODI series against Australia in January". ABC News. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "Graeme Smith Named as Commissioner for CSA's New T20 league". Times of Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "A South Africa Test squad with just seven capped players". ESPN cricinfo. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "South African cricket's Faustian pact keeps the lights on, but at a price". The Guardian. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "SA20 2022/23 Table, Matches, win, loss, points for SA20". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Cricket South Africa | GLOBAL CRICKET SUPERSTAR LINED UP FOR SOUTH AFRICA T20 LEAGUE". Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "CSA T20 league: Livingstone and Buttler in top salary bracket as England, SA players hit paydirt". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "IPL franchise owners buy all six teams in South Africa's new T20 league". ESPN Cricinfo.
- ^ "Sky Sports to broadcast SA20". Super Sports. 9 January 2023.
External links
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