SA20 | Total domination by the now two-time champions!

Also I’m really disappointed that none of the youngsters barring Breetzke and Duan were picked while Brevis is there just based on hype and resemblance to a famous cricketer.
 
If true this just proves my point about how some of them must have just had their cricinfo web pages open during the auction. :p

The author is missing out on an interesting point though. Reeza was picked for what, nearly two million rand? Now he does have domestic pedigree via the MSL too (not sure of Bavuma’s numbers there) but prior to the last two international series his strike-rate in T20s was 125 and he had very similar international numbers to Bavuma too. Did those two series suddenly make him a crucial player to not be missed out on whilst Bavuma turns into a forgotten player? Roy and Morgan going for the big bucks ahead of Bavuma is also puzzling given their current form. All eyeballs will be on him during the India series and the WT20, hope he does well there and leaves these owners scratching their collective heads.

Overall though, gotta say that this auction was far better than the average IPL one with more sensible buys at reasonable prices comparatively with a few usual auction meta game quirks that led to some being overpriced for their perceived value such as Ferreira, Stubbs and Magala for instance. Feel like some of the overseas pros will be aggrieved at not being picked when others have been done so.
Would be funny, and quite possible, for Bavuma to go and lead South Africa to the T20 World Cup.
 
He seems to have done a lot or at least continued what good work was started. Even the Pakistan Junior League seemed to have decent crowds and created some buzz.
The problem is that a lot of his ideas are not feasible in the long term.
 
He seems to have done a lot or at least continued what good work was started. Even the Pakistan Junior League seemed to have decent crowds and created some buzz.

The CEO before that, Wasim I think laid a lot of groundwork and brought about professionalism to the setup. Rambo's done good work to keep things going indeed.
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The problem is that a lot of his ideas are not feasible in the long term.

Might do well with a savvy businessman figure in that board methinks. Could be the difference between some ideas remaining dreams and reality.
 
The SA20 has followed a recent trend of incorporating some rule changes into their playing conditions, and yet again I think they're good changes.
  • Bonus point win - Hardly a surprise that this comes from a big rugby nation; the bonus point win for any team with a run rate of 1.25 times their opposition (equivalent to chasing a total within 16 overs, or of winning by 30 runs after posting 150). This is an excellent addition, as it is difficult to get, but will keep the intensity up at a time of the game where a one-sided fixture could otherwise peter out.
  • Naming the XI after the toss - After naming a matchday squad of 13, the teams can then narrow that down to 11 after the toss has been made. I'm not certain that this will have a huge impact, but it is still another element that could make games more tactically interesting.
  • Ball becomes dead after breaking the stumps - This one I'm not especially fussed about, but the examples cited of four overthrows from a direct hit, or of byes being taken when a batter is bowled off a free hit, do feel as if they punish the fielding team for good cricket. All in all, I'm in favour again.
These are the latest in a trend of quite good rule changes, some of which have since filtered out into the rest of the game:
  • The Power Surge - It's a cringey name, but the idea of a floating powerplay to be taken by the batting team is another interesting tactical element in the game. It is also something that bowling teams have often been able to capitalise on, which is fun.
  • New batter faces the next ball - This is the best thing so far to come out of the Hundred. I really like it, and it's one of those rules that once it's enacted you're left wondering why it was ever any different.
  • Substitutions - The IPL has the best model for substitutions in cricket laid out by anybody in the game. It adds an extra tactical component, and should raise standards as it is more likely that you will get the best bowlers bowling at the best batters. Ironically, this would work particularly well with the SA20 matchday squad rule.
Of course there's always room for improvement, and I'm going to mention a couple of my own ideas:
  • "Mankad" penalty runs - If a batter is caught out of his crease at the non-striker's end before the ball is bowled, five penalty runs should be awarded to the fielding side. This would remove the hoo-ha that occurs whenever a batter is dismissed this way, while also empowering bowlers who might previously have felt it to be "cheap" or "not in the spirit" to take matters into their own hands. Meanwhile, the spectators don't miss out on watching that batter play either.
  • Fielder's last point of contact - I would specify that in the process of taking a catch, a fielder's last point of contact with the ground before any touch of the ball must be inside the field of play. This would make Michael Neser's recent catch a six, and would also require fielders making that kind of catch on the boundary to touch ground inside the field of play before regathering the ball.
  • Clarify a "high full toss" - At the moment, it feels like most games have at least one instance of confusion over whether or not a full toss is over waist high. This is partly because of complete confusion over where the "waist" actually is, and removing that uncertainty would be a big priority for me. I would consider making the knee roll or the top of the batting pad (in the batter's usual stance) act as the new line above which a full toss becomes a no-ball, because really, a thigh-high full toss is still (a) a bad enough bit of bowling that it should be punished and (b) going to cause a lot of damage if it hits the batter on an unprotected area. It certainly seems better than having to figure out where the waist is every week.
 
$9 for entire SA20 is decent on ICC.tv.

ABD calling Cape Town team as Mumbai Indians Cape Town :facepalm:lol:lol
 

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