SA20: Graeme Smith on why new T20 league is imperative to South Africa's future

Graeme Smith loves Test cricket.

He doesn't use such simplistic language during our hour-long conversation, but his relationship with the longest and oldest format cannot be questioned.

He made his name in whites. He was 22 when he first skippered South Africa and would do so 109 times, more than any other Test captain.

He was immense at the top of the order, amassing 9,265 runs at 48.25, recording two double tons on his inaugural tour of England in 2003.

In 2009 he became the first South African captain to win a series in Australia en route to securing the number one ranking in the world, a feat he'd achieve twice in his storied career.

And yet, despite his own narrative and highlights reel, he is the architect of a new T20 franchise competition that could further consign Test cricket to an anachronism in his country.

The SA20, scheduled for launch on 10 January next year, comes at a time when South Africa's Test future hangs in the balance after the Future Tours Programme limited the Proteas to just 28 Tests over the next four years.

In comparison, England will play 43, Australia 40 and India 38.

"A lot of traditionalists are scared how [the competition] will impact the world game," Smith said from a sunlit coffee shop in Cape Town. "But why can't South Africa have its own league? Why is that wrong? All of the top teams around the world have one of their own.

"South African cricket now has a seat at the table. World cricket couldn't afford to see South Africa fade away."

Smith, officially the 'commissioner' of SA20, recognises the competition can be viewed through the lens of a culture war.

The global schedule has never been more constricted. Red-ball cricket is dwindling with only a handful of teams with enough resources to stage a series of three matches or more.

Outside of the big three of India, Australia and England, expansive tours stretching across multiple months are now relics of a bygone era.

Naturally, many elite players are shelving their whites for a plethora of coloured kits in numerous leagues.

"Every nation has to adjust," Smith adds. "Every nation is also putting themselves first, and that's understandable. The ICC [International Cricket Council] is essentially an event-organising organisation.

"The pressures on the schedule come from two sides, first from an ICC event in October and November, and then from the [Indian Premier League] in March to May. That doesn't leave a lot of time for bilateral tours which don't provide enough financial stability anyway.

"It is a changing environment. Franchise cricket is growing. But there's no reason why it can't work with international cricket. Playing for your country will always be the pinnacle, but I firmly believe that if South African cricket didn't have this, they'd lose players to other leagues and you'd see South African cricket disappear from the map.

"If we don't invest in our best players, we won't see them again."

Back in South Africa, the tournament has stirred up other anxieties. The six city-based teams are all owned by IPL franchise owners and will bear their names.

Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan will play for the Paarl Royals, an affiliate of the Rajasthan Royals, while Reece Topley will turn his arm over for Durban's Super Giants, an off-shoot of the outfit from Lucknow.

South African business and corporations were involved in the bidding war for team ownership but were unsuccessful.

"We had a range of criteria and the IPL owners were streets ahead on every count," Smith revealed. The BBC's request to see the list was denied.

"What we didn't want was to have a scenario where one team couldn't afford to pay for the best players," Smith added. "If one team struggled to keep pace the whole thing would fall flat.

"You want to put together a product that is of a standard that can have the biggest chance to be successful."

Success on the pitch in South African sport comes in many guises. Winning, of course, is imperative, but the racial make-up of the side is also important 28 years after the end of apartheid.

All national and domestic teams under the auspices of Cricket South Africa (CSA) must have a minimum number of 'non-white' players drawn from 'Black African' players, and those of south-Asian or mixed-race origin.

SA20 is an independent league and is not beholden to the same selection targets. And at the player auction last month, this yielded an uncomfortable result.

Temba Bavuma, the Proteas white-ball captain and still the only Black African with a Test century for South Africa, remained unsold. In truth, there were sound cricketing reasons for his omission because he has struggled through a poor run of form.

No matter, the optics were a concern and prompted questions around the tournament's social impact on the good of the game in the country.

"I was hugely disappointed for Temba and sent him a message of support," Smith says. "There were other players as well who went unsold and of course you feel for them. But there were many who were picked, who now have a platform to showcase their talent."

Smith espouses the concept of trickle down economics. He explains that every team owner is required to invest in the grassroots development of South African cricket.

The details have yet to be worked out but a spokesperson from CSA said a roadmap will soon be published. This is expected to include academies, scouting networks and the training of coaches and youth players in areas often left out by the class divide in South African sport.

A women's competition is also on the cards. Smith couldn't say when it would happen and cited the Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa in February as an obstacle he couldn't work around.

He did however promise that one would "definitely happen, either in year two or year three", adding that, "there is no doubt that we want to build this into our plans and we have every intention of doing so."

Despite the numerous blowbacks, Smith is hopeful the tournament will achieve its stated aims. That includes establishing the second best league in the world, behind the IPL, while providing the financial shot in the arm CSA requires to ensure its long-term future.

"Everyone needs to give us a chance," Smith says, appealing for patience. "This is a big opportunity. We want to develop a product that people can be proud of and want to be a part of around the world.

"We're working together with CSA. This needs to be a success and that would help CSA's four-day programme and their grassroots programmes. We need to work together."

This article originally appeared on BBC Sport

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