SA20 has much to do with Proteas’ recent ICC tournament success: Ngam

Former Proteas bowler Mfuneko Ngam believes some of the Proteas’ recent success in ICC tournaments is because of the high-pressure situation the players experience in the SA20 and the knowledge shared by overseas signings.

Since the marquee T20 competition was introduced in 2023, the SA men’s team have reached the finals of the 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship and 2024 T20 World Cup. Those are the only two occasions that South Africa’s men have featured in World Cup finals.

SuperSport analyst and isiXhosa commentator Ngam, who played for SA in the early 2000s, says SA’s fortunes have changed because of the global SA20 competition.

In 2007 India used a similar strategy with the IPL, bringing in players from other nations to help remedy their not winning a World Cup in two decades. Four years later, they won the World Cup. Much of that team attributed the success to the experience they got from the IPL. 

Ngam said SA was on that path as well with the SA20.

“Remember, cricket is not learning only about what happens in the field. It all starts in the changing room,” he said.

“For instance, when you sit next to an experienced player like [Joe] Root and the guys talk about cricket, they will tell you about certain situations, ways to overcome them in pressure games.

“That’s where you learn as domestic players. You don’t have to talk much. Just listen to what the guys say. That is what SA20 has done for our players.

“That’s why now, when you look at all the ICC tournaments we have been in, we have improved vastly. Our teams are getting into semifinals and finals.

“Yes, the success might be in different formats, but I would say that is because of having such a competitive tournament and our players facing high-pressure situations and getting advice from overseas pros.”

In February the Proteas have another chance to land some ICC silverware in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE. The Proteas have not won the Champions Trophy since 1998.

They will play a tri-series against Pakistan and New Zealand as a build-up — but Ngam says the SA20 is the ideal preparation for that competition, despite it being a different format. 

“Yes, the tri-series will help the Proteas prepare for the Champions Trophy, but I feel the SA20 will be No 1, despite it being a different format. It’s because of the standard.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about playing your cricket under pressure when there’s a full stadium. Can we deliver in those pressure matches? I think the SA20 is doing that to our players — putting them under pressure every game in full stadiums.”

Ngam said he was impressed with how players such as Lhuan-Dre Pretorius and Kwena Maphaka from the Paarl Royals, who were part of the South Africa U-19 team in 2024, have taken on the competition and adapted to the pressure. He said it's ideal for the players to be put under the pump early in their careers so they can dig themselves out of tricky scenarios.

“It is great that we are giving our young players opportunities to play. We have always known players like Lhuan-Dre Pretorius — for instance in the U19 World Cup last year and the Titans — what they can do. But sometimes our domestic franchises sit these young players on the bench and they don’t play. How will you get them experience if we do that?

“Look at what Paarl Royals has done. They bought in the young players and gave them an opportunity and look what the young stars have done. The team is topping the log.

“Maphaka as well, on the other side, is doing well. You have two under-19 players and the team is winning games. That's what should be happening more locally, so these kids don’t have butterflies on big stages [and are] not taking so long to settle in.”

Most of the present crop of Proteas players are 29 or 30 and will probably not play after the ICC World Cup in 2027 in South Africa. It will be up to the Maphakas and the like to carry the baton.

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