Wiaan Mulder: SA20 taking SA cricket in right direction

Since its inaugural edition at the start of 2023, the on-field success of the tournament itself has had a spin-off on the national team as the Proteas reached their maiden World Cup final last year.

Mulder feels things are headed in the right direction and believes the SA20 will continue to raise the level of cricket in the country.

"I think, if you look at South African cricket alone, there's been a lot of really high-performing teams, especially in big tournaments – I think the old [saying], 'We fail under pressure' has been changed a little bit, I'd say," said Mulder.

"I think we're consistently putting ourselves in a position where we overcome hurdles, like tonight's game, which we've done against Bangladesh in the World Cup, and I think it was against Nepal or something like that in the World Cup as well.

"So I think the team is consistently finding ways to win, which kind of says we're doing something right, and I think we're producing a lot of really good cricketers, and the SA20 has played a massive role in upskilling people in their different ways.

"I still feel the SA20 sees a lot of the cream of the crop, so they get all the money and opportunity, and how we're going to keep producing players eventually playing for South Africa is the way cricket in the country is going.

"All the guys playing in the SA20 are exposed to all the publicity, marketing, and opportunities on TV, which in South African cricket is a move in the direction and as long as we can keep producing players who can perform at international level.

"I think our system is pretty strong overall, and I think it's incredibly exciting as a fan, if you saw how many people came to watch us tonight, things are obviously going in the right direction, which is really exciting even for me as a player."

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