CSA loses domestic T20 sponsorship

South Africa's domestic T20 tournament has lost its sponsor after courier company RAM chose not to renew its sponsorship deal after four seasons. Neither Cricket South Africa nor RAM provided details for the split, although a CSA press release quoted CEO Haroon Lorgat saying the parties were "not able to agree on the option to extend". The news was made public after 4.30pm on Friday, and ESPNcricinfo's attempts to contact RAM at the time were unsuccessful.

RAM took over the domestic T20 tournament sponsorship in the 2012-13 season with a three-year deal. Last year, the company extended it for an additional summer. In that time, several innovations were brought into the tournament, including offering prize money for crowd catches, international signings and broadcasting matches to foreign markets.

However, the tournament was embroiled in a match-fixing scandal last summer. News of possible irregularities first broke in November when CSA said it had learned of an international syndicate trying to corrupt domestic cricket and warned players of vigilance. In December, the South African board confirmed it had charged an intermediary for "contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects" of the Ram Slam T20 competition.

By the end of 2015, CSA charged Gulam Bodi with several counts of breaching the anti-corruption code. On January 25, he received a 20-year ban.

At the time, RAM's executive director Alan da Costa confirmed to Sport 24 that the company was reconsidering its association with the tournament. "No one ever wants their brand associated with any dishonest activities and we are seriously considering the outcome of the matter before renewing our sponsorship," da Costa said.

In August 2016, four other players - Thami Tsolekile, Ethy Mbhalati, Jean Symes and Pumelela Matshikwe - received bans of between seven and 12 years for their involvement in the scandal. CSA said it had no evidence to suggest a fix was carried out but that "material discussions about match-fixing" took place. The investigation is still underway.

In the meantime, CSA has also held a review of its domestic competitions and is pondering a proposal to launch a global T20 tournament, similar to leagues around the world. If approved, an eight-team competition could take place from the 2017-18 season, which would leave the domestic T20 tournament struggling to keep pace with its international counterparts next summer.

For the 2016-17 season, the T20 tournament is set to take place as it always has but the competition faces challenges with a declining Rand and a clash with international fixtures. Even though CSA moved a Test against Sri Lanka to ensure international players would be available for the T20 tournament, the first half will coincide with South Africa's Test tour to Australia. The T20 tournament is scheduled to begin on November 12 and run until December 17.