Talking Points From the CSA T20 Provincial Knock Out Competition

The CSA T20 Knock Out competition came to an end last Friday as the Knights beat the Dolphins by seven runs to win their first domestic title in ten years. Bet Central has some talking points from the inaugural CSA T20 KO competition.

Poor Fielding Standards

The fielding standards have been, to put it lightly, as bad as I remember them ever being in South African cricket. It became so bad that we saw on average 3 or 4 dropped catches per game, no matter whether the team was Division 1 or 2. Before this competition, it has been hard to say where the poor Proteas’ fielding standards have come from but this competition has shown exactly why the national side has struggled recently. There were many catches dropped that should never have been dropped and the reason seems to be that poor standards in the domestic set-up are now filtering through to the national side. The ground fielding was equally poor and although the outfield was not a carpet, this excuse is a little thin. If the Proteas are going to progress, the fielding standards will need to improve at this level. 

Power Hitting Talent

There is talent in the power-hitting category in the Division 2 sides and more than you might imagine. While the Tuskers’ Cameron Delport is a well-known player in many T20 leagues around the world and showed his class, he is not the only talented cricketer we have seen in this division to hit the long ball. The SWD’s Leus Du Plooy was magnificent with his 55 off 33, hitting all around the ground against a Titans attack that included Simon Harmer and Aaron Phangiso. Easterns’ Jurie Snyman scored forty-nine off 22 balls against SA U19 and his off-spin was especially useful.

EC players Linyathi Clayton Bosch and Jerry Nqolo’s partnership of 125 off fifty-one balls was one of the best batting in T20 cricket we have seen in the last decade of the South African domestic scene. Evan Jones for Northern Cape was also very impressive.

The Kolpak Influence

There has been a lot of talk about the former Kolpaks when it was announced they would be coming back to South African domestic cricket and much of the feedback from fans has been negative. However, this competition has produced a massively positive effect from them, from Rilee Rossouw averaging 252 at a strike rate of 164.70, which included his highest T20 score of 112*, to the ever-green Behardien averaging 67 at a strike rate of 148.88 and Wayne Parnell averaging 34 with a strike rate of 226.08 and averaging 26 with the ball. I would go as far as to say that if these guys had not played for their respective teams, they would have lost more games and the Knights would not have made it to the semifinals.

Their influence comes with experience all over the world, against some of the best players in the world, which they have been able to impart to the other domestic cricketers in this competition.

Team Selections Found Wanting

This tournament has shown up the many mistakes that former franchise coaches made before there was a restructuring back to provincial sides. Batters Ernest Kemm, Donavon Ferreira, Danie Rossouw, Jean Du Plessis, Leus Du Plooy, and bowlers Hershell America, Caleb Seleka, Johan Van Dyk, and Gideon Peters are all good enough for Division 1 sides and they showed it in this competition.

Hershell America with ten wickets is at the time of writing the leading wicket-taker of the tournament and he has been the find of the tournament. An MSL contract should be a reward for his performances. South Western Districts’ Jean Du Plessis was equally good in the same team with the bat and he showed he could go big from ball one and keep his strike rate up throughout his innings. How either did not get a full-time contract for the Cobras in franchise cricket is mind-boggling.

Spinners Galore

This competition has seen several spinners in action and the majority, from Aaron Phangiso to Imran Manack have had impressive tournaments. Bryce Parsons, Imran Manack, Aaron Phangiso, Siyabonga Mahima, Senuran Muthusamy, Jurie Snyman, Tumelo Tlhokwe and Kyle Jacobs all had economy rates under 6.3 an over.

In that list, the youngsters Bryce Parsons, Kyle Jacobs, who was brought into the Warriors side due to injuries and Tumelo Tlhokwe were very impressive against some strong batting lineups. The Proteas spin bowling departments might be strong but it is no bad thing that there are plenty of spinners at the level below that and some of the spinners we saw in this competition could well be good enough for the next level in a season or two.