Before the hangover hits, SA20 spills into a World Cup dress rehearsal
The SA20 ended at Newlands on Sunday in a bizarre excuse for a press conference. First Keshav Maharaj, the captain of the losing Pretoria Capitals, took three questions from the gathered reporters while seated all alone on one of the dozen chairs arranged in two rows behind the microphones.
Then the entire victorious Sunrisers Eastern Cape XI plus their coach, Adrian Birrell, swept in - celebratory beers in hand - filled all of the chairs, to which each of their names had been affixed, and found themselves the centre of a strange spectacle.
Instead of being asked questions by journalists - there's a clue in the name: press conference - most of the talking not done by the players came from a member of the commentary team lobbing increasingly inane and irrelevant attempts at humour at the men in orange. And by one of the tournament's own embedded press release writers. All the while, a beer wallah darted between a large plastic icebox and the players, either putting in front of them the fresh bottles they had signalled for, or taking away the empties.
As an exercise in finding out how the match was won and lost, it was a useless waste of time. As a glimpse into how prominent cricketers relax in the afterglow of triumph, it was warmly endearing. As a reality check, it was valuable.
Because, on Tuesday, just two days after the SA20 ended and only 65 kilometres to the north-east, 21 of the players involved in the tournament will be in Paarl for the first of three T20Is against West Indies. On Thursday, 19 of them - minus Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Eathan Bosch - will be in Centurion for the second game, and at the Wanderers for the third on Saturday. Along with six who were involved in the ILT20 or the Abu Dhabi T10. That's 27 out of the 31 players in both dressing rooms. Or 87.10%.
Stand back: we don't know how big this franchise thing is going to get. At least what might otherwise have been a random T20I series has context looming over it in the shape of the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India in February and March.
Famously, the Windies are one of three teams who have won it twice. Infamously, the South Africans have never won it - although they reached the final for the first time in 2024.
This series should also reveal how close the teams are to challenging for this year's title. It should also tell us if - as some argue - the game at international level really is tougher than what we see in the better franchise tournaments. Maybe most happily, for some, it will end not with a weird circus act but with a press conference.
When: January 27, 2026; January 29, 2026; January 31, 2026; all at 6pm Local Time (4pm GMT, 9.30pm IST)
Where: Boland Park, Centurion, the Wanderers
What to expect: A slow pitch, 31 degrees Celsius and no rain in Paarl on Tuesday. Swing, 29 degrees and an afternoon thunderstorm in Centurion on Thursday. Bounce, 30 degrees but no rain in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Team news:
South Africa
Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs are in the squad because of injuries to Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira. Quinton de Kock, Stubbs and Marco Jansen will be rested for Tuesday's game because they played in the SA20 final at Newlands on Sunday. But Dewald Brevis, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi, who were also in action in the final, are available for selection in Paarl. Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Eathan Bosch have been added to the squad for the first T20I.
Possible XI: Aiden Markram (c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, Rubin Hermann, Jason Smith, Corbin Bosch, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka.
West Indies
Of the XI who played in West Indies' most recent T20I, against Afghanistan in Dubai on Thursday, only Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Shimron Hetmyer, Quentin Sampson, Matthew Forde and Gudakesh Motie are in the squad - which has been significantly strengthened by the return of players from the SA20 and the ILT20.
Possible XI:Shai Hope (c), Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Quentin Sampson, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Akeal Hossein.
What they said:
"The tough part is chatting to the guys who are missing out. A guy like Tony has been working so hard to get to the World Cup. It's all he's been wanting to do as a player. He was busting everything he could to get on that plane. Those conversations are quite hard for me as a captain. But then you look at the inclusions. Those guys have been part of the squad for the last couple of years, so they'll fit straight in. The inclusions are much easier." - Aiden Markram on managing the injury-enforced comings and goings in his dressing room.
"It's great prep anytime you're playing against quality opposition, whether it's with bat or ball. You can never disregard what that can do to benefit a team." - Shai Hope looks forward to fine-tuning his players going into the T20 World Cup.
