Western Province and Proteas batsman Zubayr Hamza emphasised the renewed importance of club cricket, ahead of South Africa’s new domestic structure.
The removal of franchise competition has effectively closed the gap between amateur club and professional provincial cricket.
Previously, for example, Western Province and the Cape Cobras competed at semi-professional and professional level, respectively.
Semi-professional provincial cricket has since dissolved, as Western Province become the province’s professional team.
“It is unfortunate that guys who have been playing semi-professional provincial cricket now lose their spot because of the change,” Hamza told The Heavy Roller.
“However, this new system also brings the gap closer between premier league or first division A club cricket and top-tier professional cricket in the country.”
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Get the Hamza played Western Province Cricket Association premier league club cricket for the University of the Western Cape as recently as November 2019. Prior to that, he represented Primrose Cricket Club in the WPCA first division A.
“It’ll be interesting to see if there are more professional cricketers at club level going forward. I know, in the Western Province at least, the level of competition at club level is really good,” he added.
“Guys coming into that, from professional cricket, are going to be under pressure to perform.”
13 contemporary examples of Proteas at club level
- Vernon Philander (Tygerberg Cricket Club)
- Wayne Parnell (Montrose Cricket Club)
- Kyle Verreynne (Cape Town Cricket Club)
- Dane Paterson (Kraaifontein Cricket Club)
- George Linde (Brackenfell Cricket Club)
- Keshav Maharaj (Delta Cricket Club)
- Janneman Malan (Durbanville Cricket Club)
- Pieter Malan (Durbanville Cricket Club)
- Temba Bavuma (Soweto Cricket Club)
- Dale Steyn (Western Province Cricket Club)
- Richard Levi (Claremont Cricket Club)
- Herschelle Gibbs (Pinelands Cricket Club)
- Christiaan Jonker (Robertson Cricket Club)