Following the conclusion of the SA20 and the ill-fated Test series in New Zealand, James Richarson has a look at what the future holds for South African cricket.
The South African home summer of international cricket is over as the domestic scene also begins to wind towards a conclusion after an eventful period for the game.
Cricket South Africa’s attitude towards Test cricket has dominated headlines while the SA20 appears to have been a successful tournament and another step towards establishing it as part of cricket’s permanent calendar.
There will not be any international cricket for the Proteas before or during the Indian Premier League with the next engagement being a three-match T20I series in the West Indies which will serve as the final preparation for the T20 World Cup.
CSA appear to be set to continue the pattern of avoiding arranging bilateral series against what we might term undesirable opposition, especially when it comes to tours.
Outside of the ICC-event linked series, the only engagements that CSA appear keen on are with the major players in the game like Australia, India and England.
The Test tour to New Zealand was treated as an afterthought despite being part of the World Test Championship which demonstrates what CSA think of that tournament.
Test cricket appears to have become a burden for the governing body and it seems like they would simply drop it if it wasn’t centrally positioned by the games powers that be.
The Proteas won’t play Test cricket again until the August trip to the Caribbean to face the West Indies, although they will welcome both Sri Lanka and Pakistan for a two-match series against both sides.
South Africa will also play three ODIs and Three T20Is against Pakistan at home. The mooted triangular ODI series in Pakistan might fall foul of the SA20 window and could either be cancelled, postponed or see South Africa send another under-strength team.
It probably isn’t fair to use the series in New Zealand as an indicator of the depth of talent available in South Africa given how many players were rendered ineligible due to the agreement between SA20 stakeholders and CSA.
However, it gives a clear indication of where the priorities lie for CSA.
CSA are out to ensure their financial survival at whatever cost to the playing side of things and the SA20 is central to that plot.
We can expect to see more pragmatic and deeply unpopular decisions from CSA in the near future.
Whether the SA20 bolsters the Proteas T20 game remains to be seen but that really isn’t what the intention is.
Primarily the SA20 is a product that CSA want to establish in the market and milk for everything it is worth.
It is easy to be cynical about this but years of financial missteps and mismanagement have created an environment where administrators feel they don’t have any choice but to chase T20 money to keep the sport afloat and functioning.
Sadly this focus means that on the field it is likely that the Proteas will keep on taking two steps forward and then two steps back.
They may be competitive but we probably shouldn’t hold our breath when it comes to expecting major trophies.
