Mzansi Super League

Mzansi Super League

Countries	South Africa
Administrator	Cricket South Africa
Format	Twenty20
First edition	2018
Latest edition	2019
Number of teams	8
Current champion	Paarl Rocks (1st title)
Most successful	Jozi Stars Paarl Rocks (1 title each)
Most runs	Reeza Hendricks (687)
Most wickets	Duanne Olivier (27) Dale Steyn (27)
TV	List of Broadcasters
Website	MSLT20

The Mzansi Super League (MSL) is the premier professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league held annually in South Africa. The competition was established in 2018 by Cricket South Africa as a replacement for the axed T20 Global League.

The first edition of the tournament took place from 16 November to 16 December 2018.^[1] CSA contracted the South African Broadcasting Corporation to broadcast all matches of the MSL domestically free-to-air,^[2] and Global Sports Commerce (GSC) was announced as the official international commercial and broadcast partner.^[3] CSA is in negotiations for the MSL to be broadcast on pay television with SuperSport, with a highlights' package available for SABC.^[4]

Initially, the league consisted of six franchise teams representing different South African cities.^[5] Two editions were played under this format before the league was altered to reflect the wide structural changes that were announced for South African domestic cricket in 2021.

Today, eight teams from the domestic Division 1 compete in the league. The seven teams from Division Two take part in a separate T20 tournament. In December 2021, Cricket South Africa confirmed that the 2022 Mzansi Super League had been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.^[6]

Format[]

League structure[]

In the previous two editions of the MSL, involving six teams, each team played each other twice in a home-and-away round-robin format in the league phase. At the conclusion of the league stage, the top three teams qualified for the playoffs. The team that topped the table after the league phase progressed to the final as host. The two teams from the league phase that finished second and third played against each other in the Play-off match, with the winner advancing to the final. The winner of the MSL Final match was crowned the Mzansi Super League champions.

Despite the league now featuring eight teams for the Third Edition and beyond, it is not expected that the structure will be altered from previous editions.

Normally, the MSL is to be held over four weeks during November and December each year. COVID-19 however delayed the Third Edition in 2020, which was rescheduled for 2021.^[7]

Player draft[]

A team can acquire players by means of a player draft. Players sign up for the draft and also set their base price. Marquee players from the South African national team are signed first, and thereafter each team can select one international marquee player. Following this, teams are allocated fourteen picks each from the draft. Player salaries are determined by what round they were selected.^[8]

Round 1 - R1,000,000 Round 2 - R900,000 Round 3 - R750,000 Round 4 - R650,000 Round 5 - R550,000 Round 6 - R350,000 Round 7 - R250,000

Round 8 - R200,000 Round 9 - R180,000 Round 10- R150,000 Round 11- R120,000 Round 12 - R100,000 Round 13 - R75,000 Round 14 - R50,000

For the Third Edition (MSL 3.0), the first mini-draft was held. The mini-draft is to be an additional feature for the league following the domestic restructure in 2021. Over 100 players from Division Two sides are available in the draft, with only 16 spots available. Each Division 1 team can draft two stand-out second division players.^[9]

Prizes[]

For the inaugural First Edition, it was announced that the MSL 2018 Champions would receive R7 million in prize money, with the runners up receiving R2.5 million. The 'Player of the Series' would be awarded R100,000, while every 'Man of the Match' would make R15,000^[10]

Current teams[]

There are currently a total of eight teams in the Mzansi Super League.

For the first two editions of the MSL, six franchise teams representing different South African cities competed in the competition.^[5] These six city-based clubs were loosely affiliated with the six franchise teams that played First Class and List-A cricket in the domestic circuit. In 2021 South African domestic cricket underwent significant re-structural reforms. The MSL now consists of the eight teams that play in the new domestic Division 1.

Johannesburg Durban Cape Town Centurion Port Elizabeth Paarl Bloemfontein Potchefstroom Location of Mzansi Super League teams

Previous franchise teams[]

2018 - 2021

• Tshwane Spartans
• Jozi Stars
• Nelson Mandela Bay Giants
• Durban Heat
• Cape Town Blitz
• Paarl Rocks

League season and results[]

Edition	Season	Champions	Result of Final	Runner-up	3rd Place	Player of the Tournament
1	2018	Jozi Stars 115/2 (17.3 ovs)	Jozi Stars won by 8 wickets Scorecard	Cape Town Blitz 113/7 (20 ovs)	Paarl Rocks	Quinton de Kock
2	2019	Paarl Rocks 148/2 (14.2 ovs)	Paarl Rocks won by 8 wickets Scorecard	Tshwane Spartans 147/6 (20 ovs)	Nelson Mandela Bay Giants
3	2022	TBC

Sponsorship[]

For the initial 2018 First Edition, the MSL launched without a title sponsor and without a significant broadcasting rights deal. Pay-TV giants SuperSport walked away from negotiations, with the domestic rights deal being awarded to free-to-air SABC instead, allegedly for a much lower sum.^[11] Global Sports Commerce (GSC) was announced as the official international commercial and broadcast partner.^[3] CSA is in negotiations for the MSL to be broadcast on pay television with SuperSport, with a highlights' package available for SABC.^[4]

In November 2018, UK betting operator Betway became the official global betting partner of the Mzansi Super League, initially on a three-year-deal.^[12]

In September 2020 CSA announced that a title sponsorship deal had been signed on a five year deal. CSA has not revealed who the sponsor is, stating that "So they (the new MSL title sponsor) have said to us they would like to time it according to their calendar, so we are not ready to announce it just yet. We will leave it to the sponsors to decide what time best suits them.” ^[11]

References[]