SA20 Coaches Share Winning Secrets

One of the International League T20 reasons why defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape won back-to-back titles in the first two seasons of South Africa’s premier T20 tournament was their ability to get a host of international and domestic players to gel quickly as a team. This is a very difficult thing to do and requires some unique qualities from the coach and captain to make it work. They must be quick-thinking, calm and adaptable but they also have to leave their personal egos in the changing room. They must share responsibility without ever undermining each other and be able to give space for their best players to thrive.

A lot of coaches and captains struggle with this – it is one reason why the relationship between white-ball coach Rob Walter and Proteas captain Faf du Plessis has been so successful. But even in a team as talented as the current Proteas squad it is difficult to balance the demands of white-ball and T20 cricket.

Memorable Moments from SA20 Season

That is why it was so refreshing to see the new coaching teams for all six Betway SA20 franchises making some savvy appointments. The flamboyant Rahmanullah Gurbaz is an exciting addition to the Mumbai Indians Cape Town line-up but so too is Pretoria Capitals mentor Jonathan Trott who is arguably the hottest coaching property in T20, having helped Afghanistan claim a semifinal place in the last World Cup. He brings with him a wealth of experience and knows Hollywoodbets Kingsmead like the back of his hand.