Charlton was an assistant coach to JP Duminy at the semi-finals, the Paarl Royal.

During the tournament, Charlton got to work with the likes of England captain Jos Buttler and the destructive Proteas batter, David Miller, and by his own admission, he learned a lot from the international players.

Throughout the tournament, spectators flocked to the respective stadiums across the country to watch some of the world's finest cricketers in action.

The First Division Coach of the Year told OFM Sport that the tournament reignited South Africans' love for the sport, and according to the international players, the SA20 is on par with the Indian Premier League.

“It was a fantastic experience working withthe Royals, they are obviously a big international franchise with their IPL andBarbados teams,” said Charlton.

“Also, working with players ofthe calibre of David Miller and Jos Buttler was an incredible experience and Ilearned so much.

“It showed that South Africa has a serious love for cricket. The people came out and seeing the stadiumspacked for every single game was brilliant.

“Just seeing how many kids werewaiting for autographs after games - up to 500 kids waiting to get autographs -just shows that we are creating real heroes in this competition.

“Some of the internationalplayers said that it definitely compares with the IPL and all the other bigcompetitions around the world. It just shows how strong our cricket really isin South Africa.

“I've always said we haveserious domestic cricketers here and it was good to showcase them on aninternational stage and against the best in the world.”

Charlton is back with the Heat as they prepare for their final two 4-Day games of the season.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport