The creation of a women’s SA20 competition is one of many elements Cricket South Africa (CSA) is juggling as it looks to build on the success of the Proteas at the Women’s World Cup.
A T20 franchise competition is one part of a wider project that includes continuing to strengthen the still very new professional provincial structures, alongside the establishment of a SA A programme, to create more playing depth.
“There’s been a lot of money spent on getting the domestic programme started and then on strengthening it. The next step is to bridge the gap between domestic and international levels, which is an SA A programme,” said director of national teams Enoch Nkwe.
Alongside that, Nkwe shares the sentiments of players like Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk, who — since returning from India — all expressed the importance of starting a franchise T20 League, like the ones that exist in England, Australia and India.
“From my side I hope [a women’s SA20] can happen in the next 12 to 24 months,” said Nkwe.
Achievements exceed investment
Driven by the brilliance of players like Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt, Nonkululeko Mlaba and De Klerk, the Proteas have made it to the final of the last three ICC tournaments. That level of achievement has exceeded the investment made into the women’s game.
Professional provincial competitions only started three years ago, and those structures still need to be developed properly. That process will be helped by what the Proteas have done and the attention they’ve drawn.
By being able to offer provincial contracts, players can make the sport their jobs and thus apply themselves better. “Now that players are contracted, they can play cricket full-time, so they can put all their energy and focus into cricket, and that makes a massive difference. The quality will keep getting better, because players can take their cricket seriously,” said De Klerk, one of the stars of the World Cup.
“I know there are thousands of girls who have been supporting this team, and I hope the structures keep getting better. I hope there’s more investment into women’s cricket. We see what has happened in India, the same with Australia and England. I hope we can follow in those countries’ footsteps.”
Nkwe said he wanted the SA A programme to do for women what it’s done for the men in the last two years. “Ideally, we want to play England, Australia, and India’s A teams, because we want to have our players face that level of quality.
“But we’ve seen a number of countries in Africa also start developing their respective women’s structures, so that also gives us opportunities to look at touring with emerging squads to those countries.”
Red ball format
Alongside those initiatives, CSA is also looking to create a two- or three-day competition. “The red ball format is the foundation for all cricket, and our female players will learn a lot from playing the longer game; it’s what makes the big three countries so strong and consistent,” said Nkwe.
With two Test matches scheduled on home soil in the 2026/27 season against Australia and India, an increase in red ball matches will be crucial.
It is less sexy than announcing a women’s SA20, but it is one of the vital initiatives that will feed into the establishment of a franchise competition, should the packed schedule allow it.
Citing next summer’s big inbound tours by India and Australia, Nkwe said finding room on the calendar was difficult. The Women’s Premier League in India has also shifted its dates forward, which would make it hard for an SA20 competition to attract big names in the January/February window.
Nkwe said CSA was weighing up the possibility of playing “exhibition matches”, like the Super League games held between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 seasons. “It would need financial backing, and that could provide a stepping stone to a women’s SA20,” he said.
“The bigger the investment, the easier it would be to attract the big international names which will obviously strengthen the brand. But we have to do it properly. You don’t want to do something like that just for the sake of it.”
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