Former South Africa record captain Graeme Smith says the country’s new limited SA20 competition can also help the struggling Test team regain their past glories.
The T20 tournament kicks off on January 10 as MI Cape Town host Paarl Royals in the inaugural match (16:30 GMT).
Smith – who led South Africa in 108 Tests, 149 One-Day Internationals and 27 T20 matches – is now SA20 commissioner and insists it will also benefit the game’s longer format.
“The problem we have is that the talent is still there,” Smith told BBC Sport Africa.
“But the standards have definitely separated the level of the international game much more from our domestic game.
“We’re really looking to bridge that gap, to expose our players to better training, medical fitness, investment in the game, exposure to top internationals.”
The “challenge” for Test cricket
South Africa’s recent three-Test tour of Australia ended in defeat, with the series opener lost in two days – the seventh-shortest Test in history.
Game 2 was lost by one set and 182 runs, leaving the Proteas with only an outside chance to reach the World Test Championship final in June.
Before the final test, the current captain Dean Elgar said more games were needed in the longer formatan opinion echoed by national team batting coach Justin Sammons.
“I can feel the disappointment with the performance of our test team in Australia,” admitted Smith.
“People want to watch, they want to see the quality teams playing Test cricket against each other and the storylines that come with it.”
Smith insists Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport, but believes one-day cricket may need to make room in the schedule instead for the growth of the T20 format.
“The challenge for test cricket is growth: is it the same impact when two minnows play against each other? You could probably say that for most formats.
“When the top nations play it’s always interesting. That’s what we want, to keep South Africa strong so that they remain a competitive nation, certainly in the Test cricket format.”
Harnessing the potential of cricket in Africa
Smith, who remains South Africa’s youngest captain – at 22 – and most successful, already has plans to expand the SA20 beyond his native country.
“We have a few nations close to us that have a bit of cricketing history: Kenya, Zimbabwe and Namibia – but how can we get out and interact with the rest of the continent?”
One of the ideas is to take the SA20 games on the road – potentially starting in Angola next year.
“It’s been too long,” added Smith, referring to Africa’s last major international tournament, the T20 World Cup held in South Africa in 2007.
“We haven’t had world cricket since. This will be the biggest and we hope everyone will sit down, take notice and celebrate with us.”
Smith is also pleased to work alongside the African Cricket Association (ACA), which has its own plans for two new limited Pan-African competitionsrather than viewing potential competitors as rivals.
“We will sit down after the season and discuss with the Africa team and see what the opportunities are and how we can deal with them,” the 41-year-old said.
“We can both work together. How it looks and how that business side comes together, I guess it’s a long strategy session!
“I think the intention and motivation is there to grow the game and make an impact.
“We have this opportunity now through the six teams (SA20).
“We are going to create new heroes who will play for South Africa all over the world. That is our goal.”
