The SA20 has a new slot for season 4, with refreshed teams and star players, writes Firdose Moonda.
The fourth season of the SA20 is completely different compared to previous years.
The tournament is being played in a new window and new-look squads after September’s auction. Almost two-thirds of the player pool was shifted around with 84 out of 114 available pre-auction.
The squads were filled amid furious bidding and records were broken as two players – Dewald Brevis and Aiden Markram – became the first in the competition’s history to enjoy pay days of over R10 million. They will be made to work for their money.
With no home Tests this summer, the SA20 is the headline act for cricket fans. It will kick off on Boxing Day, run throughout the festive season, and end just as appetites have been whetted for the T20 World Cup.
This is what you have to look forward to over the holidays:
WHY THE NEW WINDOW?
South Africa will be playing abroad until December 19, leaving no time for home internationals before the SA20’s usual window in the first week of January.
With the T20 World Cup set to start on 7 February, Cricket South Africa opted against trying to squeeze in internationals, though they do have three T20Is against West Indies, in a packed calendar and moved the SA20 to the prime window instead.
This is a temporary measure and the SA20 will revert back to January-February playing dates in 2027 and 2028 but it presents a unique opportunity to enjoy the carnival of T20 cricket during the festive season.
There are no changes to the tournament format as each team plays the other home and away before three knockouts en route to the final.
The party will start and end at Newlands in Cape Town while Durban’s Kingsmead will host a qualifier for the first time.
The Eliminator and Qualifier 2 will be held in Centurion and Johannesburg respectively. With a mix of veterans, new players, and new managament for some, this is how the squads shape up:
MUMBAI INDIANS CAPE TOWN
Winning sides do not tinker much so it was hardly surprising that MICT went into the auction with the least number of slots available to fill. They bought back Rassie van der Dussen for a hefty price of R5.2 million but got Reeza Hendricks for R500 000. With Ryan Rickleton retained, they have a strong top three. Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult will lead their attack with Corbin Bosch and Dwaine Pretorius also in the mix. An interesting addition is left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who will compete with Rashid Khan, Dane Piedt and George Linde for a spot in the XI but could add match-winning muscle. They are coached by Robin Peterson, who also won the American Major League Cricket with MI New York.
PRETORIA CAPITALS
The big spenders at the SA20 auction just about broke the bank when they spent R16.5 million (more than half their available purse of R32 million) to bring Dewald Brevis home to SuperSport Park. No player had ever sold for that much in the SA20. He will headline their line-up, which has no other big South African names but does include West Indians Sherfane Rutherford and Andre Russell. Local bowlers make up the bulk of the attack with Lungi Ngidi and Lizaad Williams the premier seamers and Keshav Maharaj, former DSG captain, as their spinner. They have also got new backroom staff with Sourav Ganguly as head coach and South Africa’s Shaun Pollock assisting him.
SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE
There are big changes for the two-time champions and last season’s losing finalists, who will be led by local boy Tristan Stubbs. At just 25 years old, Stubbs will be the most inexperienced captain in the tournament but will have plenty of support. SEC pre-signed English wicketkeeper batter Johnny Bairstow, acquired former national Quinton de Kock and Warriors captain Matthew Breetzke at the auction and will boast one of the strongest batting line-ups in the tournament. With Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje in the attack, SEC will also test opposition line-ups with serious pace. Adrian Birrell stays on as coach but Dale Steyn, who was the bowling coach at the franchise, has moved to the commentary box.
PAARL ROYALS
As the first team to boast an unbeaten record at home in a season, Paarl Royals again have a squad that is tailor-made for the low, slow pitches at Boland Park. Their auction picks included Ottneil Baartman, formerly of SEC, West Indian left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie and Sri Lankan slinger Eshan Malinga. With last season’s leading run-scorer Lhuan-dre Pretorius, veteran David Miller and energetic wicket-keeper batter Kyle Verreynne, they have the makings of a batting line-up that performs in all conditions. They also have the only Associate player in the tournament: Jersey’s Asa Tribe, who played for Glamorgan in the county championship last season. Kumar Sangakkara is director of cricket across the Royals’ franchises but Trevor Penney coaches the Paarl arm.
JOBURG SUPER KINGS
A fast-bowling injury crisis bruised JSK last season and they have done what they could to guard against another with their auction purchases. They splashed R9 million on Wiaan Mulder and R6.3 million on Nandre Burger while also adding England’s Reece Topley to their ranks. Unsurprisingly, they also picked up old-timer Imran Tahir, who is 46 years old and has played for them throughout the competition. They continue to put their faith in an older squad with 41-year old Faf du Plessis as captain and 35-year old Rilee Rossouw in the line-up. Long-serving Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming is still at the helm of this franchise.
DURBAN’S SUPER GIANTS
After winning a bidding war for national T20 captain Aiden Markram, DSG found their new leader for R14 million. He will skipper a new look squad, which will also have one of the most exciting pace packs of the tournament. They acquired 19-year old left-arm sensation Kwena Maphaka and speedster Gerald Coetzee to add to a strong spin contingent in Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmed and West Indies’ Sunil Narine. With Heinrich Klaasen as their wild card, DSG have big names throughout their line-up and, on paper, could be one of the strongest sides in the tournament. Lance Klusener remains their head coach.
