AB de Villiers of the Spartans during the 2018 Mzansi Super League Training Match match between Jozi Stars and Tshwane Spartans at Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on November 13, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)
AB de Villiers will headline South Africa’s first city-based T20 league when he leads the Tshwane Spartans in the opening match of the Mzansi Super League against Cape Town Blitz on Friday.
The month-long league will get underway barely a month after the official launch and with a relatively modest list of international players, partly because some big-name players already had other commitments.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) have budgeted for a loss of R40 million for the first edition of a tournament which was first mooted in 2017 before being abandoned in the absence of a television deal or main sponsor, leading to a massive loss of over R220 million and the resignation of then chief executive Haroon Lorgat.
SABC, the cash-strapped national broadcaster, will televise the tournament.
The free-to-air coverage is expected to boost the popularity of cricket, although it is unlikely that CSA are receiving a substantial rights fee.
CSA are hoping that international exposure will enable the league to rival the long-term success of similar tournaments in other countries, such as the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash League.
Marketing head, former Test player Clive Eksteen, said at a recent briefing that the matches would be broadcast in India, England, Australia, North America and the Caribbean.
Some international marquee players, such as Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and England batsman Jason Roy, will be available only for the latter stages, having committed to a 10-overs league in Abu Dhabi.
South Africa’s leading one-day players will miss the opening matches because of a tour of Australia which finishes Saturday.
But De Villiers is probably the biggest drawcard in South African cricket.
His retirement from international cricket earlier this year means that the league will be his only appearances on South African fields this season.
In a website article, De Villiers said he “can’t wait” for the league to begin.
“I have been working hard in the gym and nets, and it’s all systems go,” he wrote.
De Villiers has been appointed captain of the Spartans, his home town.
He hit 93 off 31 balls in a warm-up match against the Johannesburg team, Jozi Stars.
Cape Town Blitz will be without captain Farhaan Behardien and Quinton de Kock, their South African marquee player, because they are with the South African team in Australia.
But Dawid Malan, the South African-educated England batsman, showed that he could be a worthwhile signing by scoring 85 off 54 balls in a warm-up match against the Paarl Rocks.
The league will be staged at a challenging time for South African cricket.
With the country’s economy in a poor state, CSA do not have sponsors for Test matches and two of the three main domestic competitions.
There has been a steady exodus of capable players from the country, either on Kolpak contracts in England or, in several cases, young players simply seeking to make a new life abroad.
The league provides a substantial incentive for local players.
The six teams will play a home-and-away round-robin league, with the leading team going to the December 16 final against the winners of a play-off between the second and third-place sides.
For more sport your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
