JOHANNESBURG - Western Province. Central Gauteng. Northerns. Eastern Province. Free State.
Sounds a bit better. The public can relate to that. It was always difficult for a lot of people to excited by Warriors, Knights (previously Diamond/Eagles) and Cobras (the whole FangZone thing, really should never have been a thing) although the Titans did manage to make their mascot work even if his dance moves were a bit clunky.
When those teams lost the regional element in their names, they lost their identity and thus lost touch with the locals. That’ll change from next summer.
There’s the light hearted part of this restructure that Cricket South Africa announced on Monday and then there’s the very serious bit. The future of the sport is at stake with this. The Proteas men’s team which according to the SA Cricketers Association remains responsible for the 80% of the sport’s revenue in this country - will draw directly from the playing outcomes of this new structure.
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There’s the wider coverage this new system provides - no longer six centres - but 15, with Limpopo and Mpumalanga new additions, while South Western Districts get a chance to further the growth of the sport in a region that has produced the likes of Glenton Stuurman and Ottneil Baartman recently.
There are major challenges for the likes of Border - a vital region as far as transformation in the sport is concerned - Northern Cape where in-fighting among officials has hampered the Kimberley based union - and Easterns - now nearly two decades removed from their shock triumph in the then SuperSport Series. Those unions have deep roots in South African cricket and the challenge for them will be how they can thrive in this new system.
There will be significant challenges for everyone - most critically financially. Money is scarce. Even more so in a world still in lockdown because of Covid-19. Many small businesses - which provinces, especially those that don’t contain a major metro, would have sought sponsorship from can’t afford the money that would be needed to support a sports team, in a pandemic. In a post pandemic world it remains to be seen if the economy will bounce back sufficiently to allow a small company in Polokwane to back the Limpopo Cricket Union.
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One idea from Cricket SA’s acting CEO, Pholetsi Moseki, that local government might get involved, maybe something of a stretch too. How will local councils justify spending on sports teams to their residents, when clinics, schools or other amenities need funding?
There are benefits for the players - those who get contracted of course - in that there’ll be more matches to play at senior provincial level. But it should be remembered that this is a cost saving exercise by CSA and their grants to the provinces will not be of the same amount given to the soon to be defunct six franchises - understood to be in the region of R15-million per franchise.
There is a lot to be excited about regarding this structure - it adds much needed identity at local level - but there are huge challenges on the horizon too, mostly related to economics.