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CAPE TOWN. — 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 January 10 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. — BBC Sport
Online Reporter