No plans to expand SA20, says Graeme Smith

There are no plans in place for a seventh team to become part of the SA20, according to the competition commissioner Graeme Smith.

The third edition of the SA20 ended on Saturday with MI Cape Town beating the two-time defending champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, for their first title.

The success of the competition resulted in calls from some sectors for the SA20 to expand, with a new team to possibly be based in central South Africa – in Bloemfontein or Kimberley – or up north in Limpopo.

But on Tuesday, Smith said there were no plans to establish a new team.

‘Commercially viable?’

“I’ve said from before season one that we’re contractually locked in with six teams for the first five seasons and we wouldn’t look to expand,” said Smith.

“We wanted the six teams to find their roots, to establish themselves and grow.

“In future we’d have to sit with Cricket South Africa and consider which areas would be best, but we’d also have to think about another 30 players.

“We want to stay strong. Our commitment is to maintain the strength of the competition … and if we were to look at wherever, would it be commercially viable?”

Reflecting on the last month’s cricket and 34 hugely successful matches put on by SA20, Smith said there were many highlights.

“It’s been an amazing few weeks and it feels like this was a big year for growth.

“On early reflection the highlights have been the stadium experiences, across all six venues and seeing the different demographics of the fans. Also, the fans’ loyalty has grown, they’re getting behind their teams more.”

Fans

Smith added 17 of the 34 matches had been completely sold out.

“In the beginning the intention (of the SA20) was to revive the cricket fan and introduce new ones to the game,” said Smith.

“And it’s been really good to see how cricket has grown … we take pride in the attendance numbers and we aren’t taking that for granted. We’re nearing 400,000 in ticket sales.

“To see the increase in attendance was amazing … seeing a lot of kids, and how many people travelled from regions without a team to games, and how many came to cricket for the first time … these are the exciting metrics that stood out for me.”