Ken Borland

Kyle Nipper, the 29-year-old Dolphins all-rounder, was watching the closing stages of the T20 Global League draft on Sunday, thinking that it was becoming an increasingly long shot that he would be involved in the much-anticipated new tournament that starts on November 3.

Nipper, slow left-arm orthodox and a left-handed batsman, lives in Pietermaritzburg and, just like the famous last runner to beat the clock in the Comrades Marathon that ends every second year in the KwaZulu-Natal capital, he was the focus of sporting drama on Sunday as he was the last of the 144 players chosen in the draft in Cape Town, picked by outgoing Proteas coach Russell Domingo for the Pretoria Mavericks.

“I had been out on the golf course during the day and once I got home I started streaming the draft. It was quite nerve-wracking and I thought it wasn’t going to happen for me, so it was a pleasant surprise to be the last guy chosen. I’m extremely excited about this tournament,” Nipper said on Sunday evening.

Nipper has spent a long time on the fringes of the Dolphins squad, having made his debut for them back in 2009/10, but has never made a fool of himself at franchise level, with an economy rate of 7.88 with the ball in the dozen T20 Challenge matches he has played.

And now he is part of a squad that includes global superstars like AB de Villiers, Dwayne Bravo and Morne Morkel, as well as fellow spinners Keshav Maharaj and Johan Botha, the veteran former Proteas captain now based in Australia.

“I have no concerns about being in Pretoria, I would have taken anywhere. I feel like I am part of KZN and I’ve tried to be loyal as a homegrown player, although I am a bit disappointed that I haven’t played more because I believe I’ve proven myself more than I had to.

“But it’s awesome to be chosen by the Proteas coach, hopefully he’s seen a bit of potential in me. Obviously they know what they want and it’s nice to be involved in their plans. I hope I get to play a couple of games, but I’m very happy for Kesh, he’s taken to the international stage so well, he’s got that experience now and someone like Johan Botha has been around the world. So I’m very keen just to learn a bit more from them,” Nipper said.

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If anyone has their finger on the pulse of the future direction of cricket it is former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and Joburg Giants Proteas marquee player Kagiso Rabada is really looking forward to tapping into his knowledge when the T20 Global League gets underway.

McCullum was snapped up by the Johannesburg franchise as the second pick in the draft for international marquee players, providing the tantalising prospect of a batsman and captain who did much to reinvent the game teaming up with a young fast bowler who is tipped to become one of the greats.

“As captain of New Zealand he was a really positive influence with the way he was able to lead a young side. He’s a very experienced campaigner who does not play by the book, the way he approached his cricket was very interesting and it shows he does not just conform to the boxes people impose.

“He questions all the strategies of the game, which is a really good thing. And he can certainly give me insights on what balls are hard or easy to hit, so I’m looking forward to tapping into his experience and picking his brain. He has dominated a lot of bowlers so it will be interesting to hear from him where batsmen can’t score,” Rabada told The Citizen on Saturday night.

West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard was the first pick of the evening and will be playing for the Bloemfontein City Blazers, while his compatriot, Chris Gayle, will turn out for the Cape Town Knight Riders.

The Durban Qalandars plumped for England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan, while another West Indian star, Dwayne Bravo, will be plying his all-round skills for the Pretoria Mavericks.

“It’s fantastic to have Dwayne, he will bring a winning mentality having played in T20 World Cup and IPL winning sides, he can contribute with both bat and ball and all the players who have played with him previously speak very highly of him, so I’m really excited to have him in our team,” Mavericks coach Russell Domingo said.

“It’s great to have one banker at six or seven plus he can bowl four overs under pressure and then we have AB de Villiers at four. And Dwayne has great death bowling skills which is of paramount importance, particularly at Centurion.”

The other international marquee placements saw Englishman Jason Roy joining fellow opener Quinton de Kock at the Benoni Zalmi, Kevin Pietersen heading to Port Elizabeth to join his mate Mark Boucher’s Nelson Mandela Bay Stars side and Sri Lankan pace bowler Lasith Malinga playing for Faf du Plessis’ Stellenbosch Monarchs.

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The new T20 Global League to be held in South Africa at the end of the year will have the most cosmopolitan feel of any of the T20 tournaments around the world as team owners from five different countries were unveiled at a function in an upmarket Knightsbridge hotel in London on Monday.

Cricket South Africa’s desire for the bulk of the franchises to be locally-owned has played second fiddle to the rewards of big overseas investment, with the eight team owners coming from Pakistan (2), India (2), Hong Kong and Dubai. The two teams based in Pretoria and Stellenbosch will have South African owners.

“It’s really important that there is local investment from a South African point of view, but the foreign interest means we’ll be playing in front of much bigger audiences. It places a much bigger emphasis on South African cricket, especially for our domestic players. It should keep most of our players in the country now because the T20 Global League provides a huge step forward in terms of opportunity and financially,” Proteas captain Faf du Plessis, who will be playing for the Stellenbosch franchise, said at the launch.

There are drawbacks, however, that come with the overseas investment, with the foreign team-owners having no real answer to questions about transformation imperatives.

Both the Pakistani team owners – their teams will be based in Durban and Benoni – spoke about T20 cricket being the answer to the problems besetting their game. Even though Pakistan’s memorable Champions Trophy triumph at the weekend had London’s large cricket fanbase abuzz, their game is still faced with the problems of not being able to host any games due to security concerns.

The Pakistan Super League has attracted some overseas players back and both Fawad Rana (Durban) and Javed Afridi (Benoni) spoke about their involvement in the T20 Global League improving the image of cricket in their troubled country.

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