Photo Credit: SA20 League
Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter is excited about Betway SA20 Season 2 and the prospect of young South African players continuing their development.
Walter recently returned from a tour to Sri Lanka where he spent time with the South Africa ‘A’ squad, who boasted plenty of the leading Betway SA20 young guns.
He had the opportunity to have a closer look at not only their performances, but also their character when the pressure was at its most intense.
Walter would certainly have been pleased with the outcome after MI Cape Town’s teenager Dewald Brevis lit up the opening “ODI” in Kandy with an undefeated 98 not out to steer the tourists over the line.
Equally, Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s Tristan Stubbs proved to be the undoubted batting star performer of the tour as the explosive right-hander showed great adaptability on difficult surfaces to finish as the leading run-scorer in both the ODI and first-class components of the tour.
It was not just the batters that enhanced their reputations, but also Joburg Super Kings’ Gerald Coetzee who claimed a ‘five-for’ and struck a few lusty blows.
Pretoria Capitals all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy also put in a strong claim to be included in the Proteas’ World Cup squad later this year with 20 wickets across the two formats.
“I think by nature, the stronger the tournament, the greater the requirement is on the player to develop his game,” Walter said.
“I think the main thing was the excitement and hope the competition brought. We’ve previously spoken about the crowds and their excitement, but that’s how the players get excited as well.
“So, by nature, they want to improve, get better, and put a better product on show.
“I think it’s almost an intangible thing that happens, in terms of what it does to the players.
“If you are able to maintain the momentum in the competition, you will really see the benefit in two or three seasons time due to our young players being exposed to a high quality competition due the pressure situations they would have found themselves in.
“I think our more senior players are regularly exposed to this in the IPL, The Hundred, Caribbean Premier League, but to then have it domestically where the younger players are exposed to different aspects of the game in terms of fans expectation and greater media exposure, then you get to see younger guys potentially handle all of this,” Walter added.
Name of Author: SA20 League
SA20, officially known as the Betway SA20 for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa organized by Cricket South Africa (CSA). First held in the 2023 season, the league features six city-based teams. Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the first two editions of the tournament.
