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There are some cricketers, who don't let their disappointment reflect on their phases, no matter how bad it gets. Faf du Plessis wasn't one of them when his team Texas Super Kings lost to the San Fransisco Unicorns in the Challenger (a knock-out game like the IPL's eliminator) of MLC 2024.
Both teams combined to drop 10 catches in the game, five each, with some of them being fairly simple chances. After the match, commentators and some players spoke about the low lights and the ball wobbling in dark skies, but du Plessis was having none of it and simply concluded, "It's a skill issue."
Being the highest run-scorer in the tournament, having constantly giving his team the best starts, he had all the right to be feeling let down by his teammates. But that won't solve anything.
When the management sits for a review they would find major flaws in their squads which could be tapered over by learning lessons from the teams that made it to the final. Here are some of those lessons:
#3 Local players win you the league
MLC allows each team to have six overseas players, while playing five locals is mandatory. Unlike in the IPL, the local players in MLC are much less experienced and need to be carefully managed within the team.
Most sides' international stars are generally equally matched. It's how well the locals perform that makes the biggest difference at the end.
The Unicorns seemed to have understood this extremely well and have managed to bring together perhaps the best-performing local core, which has won them countless games, even if their overseas contingent doesn't look as flashy as others.
The Super Kings haven't found a lot of such contributions and have been a bit overeliant on their overseas stars, which has caused them a ton of issues. In games where their overseas stars have put up special performances, they have found winning easy. But in others, like the Challenger, they have been outmuscled.
Before the next season, they'd need better scouting and better spending on locals, even if it means letting go of a bit of star power.
#2 Fitting players in right roles is much more important than having more options
Washington Freedom, the other finalist, meanwhile, also have a good local core. Their overseas bowlers compliment their locals brilliantly, even better than the Unicorns, while their top order is full of specialist batters who do the heavy lifting, and the middle and lower orders rarely face the pressure of tough chases.
The Super Kings, on the other hand, have a ton of all-rounders in their top order, which is not bad but sometimes it proves to be a bit too much for the team balance. For example, they didn't need to have both Aaron Hardie and Marcus Stoinis in the playing 11 against the Unicorns, especially when they had Aiden Markram waiting on the bench.
Having those two in the team meant youngster Joshua Tromp had to bat in the lower order. Now, he played well and scored a fifty but he used too much time and lacked experience to outsmart the bowlers in death overs because he's a top-order batter.
Role clarity and giving players the right jobs are of utmost importance. Having seven bowling options thanks to the huge number of all-rounders can not and will not offset it.
#1 Batting depth is a non-negotiable
Tromp cannot be your batting depth either. the Super Kings deserve praise for sticking with him during his struggles but in this match, he was sent at number six with only Calvin Salvage the last recognised batter left after him.
The one lesson every T20 team in the world should have taken from South Africa's loss at the 2024 T20 World Cup final is that if you don't have batting depth, winning situations can swiftly change to losing situations.
In T20Is, you can't have four bowlers who can't bat and the number eight is an extremely important position because it gives the middle-order freedom to go after the bowlers and continue the momentum that the top order has built. Not having one gives the bowling side the best chance to try and build dots, knowing that the opposition can't afford too many risks.
This is exactly what the Super Kings lacked when they united Conway with Tromp - they didn't lose any wickets after 90/4 but still couldn't win the game.
