Betway SA20 has unveiled a wave of high-quality international pre-signings for Season 5, and former Proteas allrounder Chris Morris believes the real winners will be South Africa’s rising young cricketers who will get the opportunity to rub shoulders with these superstars.
With Mitchell Marsh joining triple champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Joe Root returning to Paarl Royals, Phil Salt back at Pretoria Capitals, Will Jacks completing his move to MI Cape Town, Sam Curran heading to Durban’s Super Giants and Jason Holder charging in at the Bullring for Joburg Super Kings, Season 5 boasts arguably the strongest overseas contingent in the league’s five-year history.
“Whenever you’re rubbing shoulders with international cricketers that have been around the world and have performed on the big stage, you’re going to improve as a cricketer,” Morris told a Betway SA20 roundtable. “Whether you’re taking one percent of what someone says or whether someone’s impacted you a lot – it all adds up.”
Root return to Paarl Royals as England’s Test captain and his experience and leadership will be invaluable.
“Joe Root – exciting to have. He’s obviously got so much experience,” Morris said. “The guys in Paarl really enjoyed him. He brought some unbelievable insight to the game and just a calmness to that squad.”
Phil Salt’s reunion with Pretoria Capitals, and the Highveld conditions that suit his game, has Morris tipping big things.
“Unbelievably exciting,” he said. “He’s coming back to Pretoria – he’s going to be really good on a pitch that he likes to bat on, with a slightly smaller ground on the Highveld where the ball travels.”
It’s Marsh’s move to Sunrisers Eastern Cape that has, however, captured everyone’s imagination with the plenty of excitement around Australia’s T20I captain’s pending arrival in South Africa for his debut Betway SA20 season.
“We know how destructive he can be – an allrounder, we’ve seen him do it all around the world,” Morris said. “If he gets involved all around this country with the way he plays, with the bat, with the ball, and his leadership skills, he can make a big impact on that squad – and that’s already a very strong squad at the Sunrisers.”
Morris believes St George’s Park’s electric matchday atmosphere will only sharpen Marsh’s threat. “He starts enjoying the vibe, starts enjoying the gees that happens on that side of the world,” he said. “Once you get those guys really feeling it, playing for a certain team – that’s when they become very dangerous.”
Jacks’ arrival at Newlands completes his set of Mumbai Indians franchises worldwide, joining a MI Cape Town squad built around Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton and Nicholas Pooran.
“We know how well he can do with the white ball. He likes playing in South Africa and absolutely tees off up at the top,” Morris said. “There’s a reputation to uphold – we know how strong the MI brand is.”
Furthermore, Morris expects Curran to make a big impact at Durban’s Super Giants where he teams up with his former England T20 World Cup-winning captain Jos Buttler at Kingsmead.
“Look, Sam’s quality. It’s very simple. There’s no beating around the bush. He’s one of the better all-rounders going around,” he said.
“Firstly, he’s a good human being. And I think that’s important coming into a team. You know, he’s going into the Durban side, they’ve got a bunch of good human beings, some explosive players, and match-changing players in every single game.
“I think he’ll slot in quite nicely. I think the impact that he’ll bring and the calmness that he’ll bring to that squad with all the big players that they’ve got, I think he’s a jolly good addition to this squad.
“The nice thing is he’s so versatile. I mean, he can open the batting, he can come down the back and he can bat in the middle. And we’ve seen what he bowls like with the new ball and at the death. So, they’ve signed a quality cricketer and a quality human being. I think he’ll be very good. I think he’ll enjoy the conditions down in Durban.”
For Morris, the standout benefit of Season 5’s marquee arrivals won’t be measured in runs or wickets – it’s measured by the pedigree they add to the competition for young South African players to feed off.
“You’re spending time seeing how calm players are under pressure, but also the way they think about the game,” he added.
“You figure out that they’re still human. You’re playing with some of the biggest names that have ever played the game, and you find out that they have insecurities like everybody else. When you find out before a game they get more nervous than you do – it changes your perspective on everything. You figure out ways to get on with the game.”
