The second season of the SA20 had a rough start with the opening match between reigning champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings rained out in Gqeberha on Wednesday.

Despite incessant rainfall throughout the day, thousands of spectators at St George’s Park, clad in orange Sunrisers Eastern Cape T-shirts waited for hours at the stadium in the hope that they would see the first six of the tournament.

The action was set to start at 17:30 and play was only officially called off at 20:25, as the famous band continued to play and fans waited patiently even though the forecast provided little hope.

Even though all six teams have close links with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises — by name and ownership — spectators have, by all appearances, quickly resonated with the various sides.

“The SA20 is absolutely fantastic,” AB de Villiers said to a few journalists after the rained-out match. “Last season was a huge success and this season is going to be even better even though the first game was rained off which was a big shame.

“I still believe this is going to be an incredible season. Graeme [Smith] and his team did a fantastic job in bringing this tournament to [life].

“The fans are excited, you see them coming to the games. We saw that last season.

“Tonight, even while it was raining, they stayed here. There are so many activities that happen at the ground and a lot of credit has to go to that.”

Season one of the SA20 exceeded expectations in every sector. Fans poured into stadiums with 74% of tickets throughout the tournament sold out.

Durban’s Super Giants captain Keshav Maharaj celebrates the wicket of Dewald Brevis of MI Cape Town. (Photo: Sportzpics cc)

Small profits

Cricket South Africa (CSA), which owns 57.5% of the league — along with SuperSport at 30% and Indian businessperson Sundar Raman has 12.5% — made R30-million profit from the SA20 last season.

For the governing body of the sport that made a R119-million loss in the previous financial year, it’s not a massive amount of profit for its marquee tournament that it all but sacrificed a Test tour to New Zealand for.

Read more in Daily Maverick: First SA20 is a game changer, reaping riches and pulling in the crowds

But at a time where most tournaments and series, both domestic and international, run at a loss it is a welcome respite, especially in its first year — CSA only expected to see profit in the SA20’s fifth year of operation.

The broadcast deals are the most lucrative, filling SA20’s spilling coffers. India’s Viacom18 signed a 10-year broadcast deal last year, while the United Kingdom’s SkySports signed a five-year agreement.

The SA20 will also be aired on Fox in Australia while A Sports in Pakistan secured the broadcast rights.

This season, SA20 will be aired in North America for the first time after Willow TV was announced as a broadcast partner late last month. The timing is perfect for the region with the T20I World Cup set to take place in the USA and the Caribbean in June this year.

Heinrich Klaasen of Durban’s Super Giants celebrates reaching his half century. Klaasen blitzed 85 off 48 balls to steer DSG to victory. (Picture: Sportzpics cc)

A few changes

An extra match has been scheduled in this season’s tournament, bumping the action up to 34 matches.

Instead of the traditional semifinal and final which is how the tournament was played last year, there will be a qualifier and eliminator to ensure the best teams reach the final.

It’s the same concept that is used in the IPL where the team that finishes on top of the table after 10 matches of league play will contest a qualifier against the second-ranked side. The winner moves straight to the final.

The third and fourth-ranked sides play each other in an eliminator and the winner will play against the loser of the qualifier for the other spot in the final.

It’s an interesting change considering there are only six teams, who will each play five home matches and five away before the knockout stage.

Another change is that this season captains will take two team sheets to the toss. One with their bat-first playing 11 and the other with their bowl-first playing 11 and present the final list once the coin flip has been decided.

Ryan Rickelton of MI Cape Town lofts the ball for six on his way to 87 off only 51 balls against DSG. (Photo: Sportzpics cc)

Replacements

There have been a few changes on the field too. Proteas fast bowlers Anrich Nortje (Pretoria Capitals) and Sisanda Magala (Sunrisers Eastern Cape) have both been ruled out of the tournament due to injuries.

Hardus Viljoen has replaced Nortje while Patrick Kruger, who plays his cricket at St George’s Park for the Warriors, comes in for Magala.

At MI Cape Town, there’s been a captaincy switch. West Indies T20 legend Kieron Pollard will captain the sky-blue side after Afghanistan ace Rashid Khan was ruled out of the tournament after back surgery.

Jofra Archer, who made his long-awaited return to professional cricket in last season’s SA20, will not feature this time around as he continues to recover from long-term injuries. The big-quick is replaced by Sri Lankan Nuwan Thushara.

South Africa’s newest top-order batting sensation, Tony de Zorzi was snapped up at the last minute by Durban’s Super Giants in place of the injured Kyle Abbott.

“[The tournament] is a great platform for youngsters to thrive,” De Villiers said. “To get the opportunity to share a dressing room with legends not only from South Africa but also from around the world.

“Also, to get this platform and this exposure. If you perform here, 30-40 world-class teams around the world know about you. That’s exactly what youngsters need in our country, that opportunity that when they play well to be seen by millions.”

On the coaching front, former New Zealand quick Shane Bond has taken over from JP Duminy as Paarl Royals head coach after the latter was appointed as permanent white-ball batting coach for the national side. DM