Graeme Smith has a plan – but is it too late to save South African cricket?

Graeme Smith tells Richard Edwards how Test cricket and Twenty20 franchises can work in harmony and provide much-needed ‘exposure’ to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket – but can the Proteas and other Test nations thrive when talent is funneled towards the shorter form of the game?

Graeme Smith made his Test debut in a completely different cricketing climate back in 2002 (AFP via Getty Images)

When Graeme Smith made his Test debut back in 2002, the cricket world was a very different place. Now, as one of the most respected figures in the global game prepares for the finale of the SA20 tournament - South Africa’s franchise cricket league and response to the IPL, Big Bash or the Hundred. The former South African captain acknowledges that the opportunities available to the modern player come with consequences.

Smith came on board in 2022 as the face of the league and its commissioner, helping to navigate the tournament, which involves six teams, representing six cities across the country. Each team assembles its talent through an auction, just like the IPL, building a 17-strong squad, which includes up to three international players.

Smith’s home country are currently playing a Test in New Zealand with what amounts to a reserve team. With the majority of the first and second-choice players signed up for the SA20, the nation was left with little choice but to field a weakened team for the compulsory World Test Championship fixtures. The Proteas starting line-up at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui will doubtless find itself as a quiz question in the not-too-distant future.