sport news 'Cricket in my country was dying': South Africa legend Smith says new T20 ... trends now
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Graeme Smith was so convinced of South Africa’s need for their own global T20 tournament that after being appointed as its commissioner last year he spent three months working without being paid.
The veteran of a world-record 108 Tests as captain is convinced that South African cricket would have ‘withered and died’ without the new SA20 league, which after two previous failed attempts finally launched last week.
Smith’s pessimism seems overly dramatic, but Cricket South Africa (CSA) posted losses of more than £10million in each of the last few years and their cash reserves have dwindled to a few million, leaving the threat of bankruptcy a real possibility.
Graeme Smith says South African cricket would have ‘died’ without the new SA20 league
‘We needed to save cricket in South Africa as without this it could have withered and died,’ Smith (right) tells Sportsmail at Cape Town’s Newlands stadium, which has been full to capacity for the first time since Ben Stokes sealed a famous Test win for England three years ago.
‘Cricket in this country was dying. The financial problems of CSA are well documented, players are leaving the game and the spectators have drifted away. South African cricket was mired in politics, in-fighting, poor results, financial losses. Something had to change.’
Smith looks exhausted as he is leading a team of 10 charged with running a tournament that spans six cities, but a successful