Mzansi Super League
Mzansi Super League: participating teams
Cape Town Blitz
0
Durban Heat
0
Jozi Stars
1
Nelson Mandela Bay Giants
0
Paarl Rocks
1
Tshwane Spartans
Mzansi Super League - all about the tournament
The Mzansi Super League (MSL, originally the Global T20 League) is a T20 cricket tournament held annually in South Africa. Cricket South Africa (CSA) was founded, the first draw was held in November-December 2018. It was planned that the start of the new league would be given a year earlier, but the resignation of the general director of the organization Harun Logart and problems with financing forced the management to change the dates of the draw. Commenting on this decision, the acting general director of the CSA noted that the change of strategy should ultimately benefit the league only.
Even though the competitions can not boast of extensive history, they can definitely be attributed to one of the most popular in the country, since the local broadcasting corporation covers all home matches, and a permanent partner, Global Sports Commerce, is responsible for international broadcasts.
In the Mzansi Super League, six franchise teams are played, representing different South African cities. During the entire existence of the tournament, it was postponed only once: in the fall of 2020, the CSA officially announced that the competition was postponed due to the unfavorable epidemiological situation in the country.
Despite the uncertain status, many famous players wanted to take part in the first draw. So, Cape Town Blitz managed to sign David Malan and Asif Ali, Durban Heat intercepted Rashid Khan, and Paul Stirling and Dwayne Bravo joined the ranks of Paarl Rocks. The first place in the standings was taken by Cape Town Blitz, who, however, lost in the fight for the main trophy to Jozi Stars with a difference of eight wickets. Beuran Hendricks (2/21) was recognized as the best player of the final match.
About 250 players have applied for the 2019 draft. Despite the fact that the main team was made up of local cricketers, many foreign stars took part in the increasingly popular tournament, in particular, Isuru Udana (Paarl Rocks), representing Sri Lanka, and Shoaib Malik, a Pakistani, on whom Jozi Stars bet. However, it was not without losses: even before the start, Aiden Markram, who was injured, and Robert Frylinck, who at the last moment preferred the T20 competitions in Abu Dhabi, were eliminated.
It was impossible to repeat last year’s success of Jozi Stars: according to the results of the 2019 draw, Paarl Rocks took first place in the standings, having won six victories in ten matches. Tshwane Spartans and Nelson Mandela Bay Giants fought for a place in the final, but the batsmen of the former worked more effectively, making a gap of 22 runs. Unfortunately, the team’s passion was not enough for the final match, and the main prize went to Paarl Rocks, in which Henry Davis especially distinguished himself.
Mzansi Super League: organization and participants
The Mzansi Super League is held in a round-robin format. In the group stage of the draw, each team plays two matches with each of the opponents (home and away). Three of them with the highest results go to the playoffs, and the team that tops the table automatically passes the final as the host. Teams No. 2 and No. 3 are fighting for the second ticket to the final.
The league has a draft system. Players independently submit applications and set the initial price. The A-class cricketers are selected first, and then it’s the turn of international stars. Then each team gets the right to 14 attempts in the draft, the order of which is determined by the rules of a particular round. Accordingly, the salaries of athletes depend on the attempt with which the contract was concluded.
In 2018, the winning team received prize money in the amount of 7 million rands, the finalist – 2.5 million. The best player of the tournament was awarded 100 thousand rands, and the best players of the matches were awarded 15,000 each.
| Team | Home ground | Captain | Total number of wins in the season (2018) | Total number of wins in the season (2019) |
| Cape Town Blitz | Newlands Cricket Ground | Quinton de Kock | 6 | 4 |
| Durban Heat | Kingsmead Cricket Ground | Dane Vilas | 3 | 3 |
| Jozi Stars | Wanderers Stadium | Temba Bavuma | 6 | 0 |
| Nelson Mandela Bay Giants | St George’s Park | JJ Smuts | 4 | 6 |
| Paarl Rocks | Boland Park | Faf du Plessis | 5 | 6 |
| Tshwane Spartans | SuperSport Park | Heinrich Klaasen | 4 | 3 |
It is expected that two new teams will take part in the 2021 draw, the name and composition of which will be announced later.
Mzansi Super League: team performance statistics
To date, only two full-fledged Mzansi Super League draws have been held. Nevertheless, we can already talk about the first record-holders and about the league’s brightest and most promising players. So, one trophy each on account of Jozi Stars and Paarl Rocks. The absolute record holders of the tournament included:
- Batsman Reeza Raphael Hendricks, representing the Highveld Lions: he has a total of 687 runs to his credit;
- Bowlers Duanne Olivier (Jozi Stars) and Dale Steyn (Cape Town Blitz), each took 27 wickets.
