According to the rules of play, which allow a captain to name 13 players who are available before the toss and reduce that number to 11 later, four of the six SA20 teams changed their starting lineups after the toss. The organizers admit that the number is a little lower than they anticipated, and team managers are still trying to figure out how to use this approach to their advantage. This means that teams have been changed in less than one-fifth of the 22 games that have been played so far.
The SA20 has a special rule that enables teams to alter their lineups after the coin toss. This rule was implemented to level the playing field. SA20 league commissioner Graeme Smith stated, One of the main reasons we did it was to try and decrease the importance of the toss on the result of the game, and offer an opportunity for deliberation depending on whether teams are batting or bowling.
These are the exact reasons why three out of the four teams that changed their teams did so. When Durban’s Super Giants were asked to bowl first in their tournament opener versus Joburg Super Kings, MI, they decided to employ an additional spinner. Three days later, Cape Town did the same thing when they played Super Kings at Newlands, while Paarl Royals repeated it when they faced Sunrisers Eastern Cape to replace Ferisco Adams with Codi Yusuf.
Sunrisers altered their starting lineup for the same game, although Jordan Cox took Tom Abell’s place because of the latter’s injury. The only two teams that have not used the option are Super Kings and Pretoria Capitals. Both groups are thinking about doing so once the competition begins after the break when there will be three ODIs between South Africa and England and more games would be played at home. Only two of these teams’ five home games have been played on the Highveld thus far, with the majority of the competition taking place in the Western and Eastern Cape at locations that will host the Women’s T20 World Cup next month.
Teams who have bowled first in day-night T20I matches in Cape Town have won seven of the eleven matches, which highlights how simple it is to bat under lights and how crucial it is to strangle with the ball up front. Because of this, MI decided to include Afghan spinner Waqar Salamkheil in place of Duan Jansen when they won the toss against the Super Kings and choose to bowl on a used strip. It worked beautifully. Faf du Plessis, a senior hitter for the Super Kings, was dismissed by Salamkheil, who finished with 1 for 19 in four overs.
After winning the toss, we knew we wanted to bowl first and throughout the day because it was the third game on that particular wicket, MI coach Simon Katich said. We believed there was a potential to implement the rule because of the distinction between batting first and chasing, as well as the slightly unlevel playing field in Cape Town. You have that flexibility regarding the outcome of the toss.
If he had been able to, Stephen Fleming’s opponent would have followed suit, but Maheesh Theekshana, their Sri Lankan offspinner, had not yet arrived at the competition. At the moment, Fleming claimed that we would have had the same thought if we had Theekshana, who is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Theekshana has since participated in three of the Super Kings’ four games, but they have yet to switch up their starting lineup. Albie Morkel, an assistant coach for the Joburg Super Kings, stated that we believe the advantage is minimal.
But once games are played in the country, where the temperature difference between day and night is likely to generate dew, things could change. The team bowling second might then decide to incorporate a seamer in place of a spinner because of the possibility that spinners won’t be able to grip the ball as well as they would like to. Teams may make more adjustments after the toss in those games because there will be nine matches between Centurion and Johannesburg when the tournament starts on February 2—including the semifinals and the championship match.
The way they have been presenting it, at the time, in comparison to the way they have been presented. the way they have been presented But some believe that might matter more in the lengthier versions of the game, such as Capitals assistant coach Dale Benkenstein. Others believe it lessens the art of team selection, including Lance Klusener of the Super Giants.
