OPINION: Young and old alike make SA20 a hit

The SA20 continues to attract fans, fill stadiums and bring out the best in cricketers.

It really now does appear that after the Indian Premier League it is the next-best T20 competition in the world.

The third season has been fabulous so far, with several young or previously unheralded cricketers, such as Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Bryce Parsons, Rubin Hermann, Delano Potgieter and a few others coming to the fore.

‘Older men’

But, let’s not forget the important role played by many of the older men in the competition, who’ve not only contributed excellently for the teams, but also fulfilled that key role of “senior statesman” to guide the younger men.

Here we think of Faf du Plessis, all of 40 years young, and still captaining the Joburg Super Kings and scoring runs, and Imran Tahir, 45, who’s also still picking up wickets and fielding better than ever before.

Then there are the “imports” from abroad, who’ve done wonders to boost the competition.

They’ve not only performed brilliantly on the field of play but the fact they’ve been rubbing shoulders with our rookies, the up-and-comers and those men still hoping to take their game to the next level, will only help develop them and make South African cricket stronger generally.

Seasoned campaigners

In the first two seasons of the competition we had the likes of Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard sharing changerooms with the locals. And still we have Moeen Ali and Jimmy Neesham doing their thing — they’ve been part of the action since day one — and this season we have more serious international performers adding their experience to the competition and making it what it is.

Trent Boult, Dinesh Karthik, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Kane Williamson are all older players still very much on top of their games, while the younger Zak Crawley and Devon Conway for example, as well as the likes of Rashid Khan and a few fellow Afghanistan players, are all playing their part.

For those who can remember the start of day/night cricket in South Africa, the old Benson&Hedges series was something truly wonderful. The SA20 league feels a lot like that now.