To form a team that can compete for the coveted Betway SA20 trophy, teams need to find the right blend of youth and experience from a local and overseas player perspective. All six franchises have sought to do just that through their retentions, pre-signings and auction acquisitions.
Retentions specifically refer to players who were part of a team in season three of the SA20, who were again signed to be part of the same team ahead of the season four SA20 Player Auction. Pre-signings also refers to players who signed to be part of a team ahead of the Auction, but they weren’t part of that team in the previous season.
The six SA20 franchises have made some astute signings in whom they will put their trust in to help bring home the title of SA20 Champions.
JOBURG SUPER KINGS
Pre-signings and retentions: Faf du Plessis (c); Donovan Ferreira (Wildcard); James Vince; Akeal Hossein; Richard Gleeson.
The Joburg Super Kings (JSK) made sure to retain their experienced captain in Du Plessis and destructive middle-order basher in Ferreira, who can don the gloves, or fire in some quick off-breaks. Ferreira, in particular, is a key signing, as a power hitter is a scarce commodity in the local player pool and he would likely have gone for a lot of money should he have entered the Auction.
Key Auction acquisitions: Nandre Burger; Wiaan Mulder; Imran Tahir.
JSK needed the experience of this trio after also signing plenty of youngsters for the upcoming season. Burger brings pace, a left-arm angle and plenty of experience to the JSK side, who missed out on his services last season due to injury. They will keep their fingers crossed that his hamstring injury doesn’t keep him out for too long. Mulder brings his all-around ability to his domestic home base of the Wanderers after three seasons with Durban’s Super Giants. Imran Tahir is no stranger to the Super Kings franchise at the age of 46 and will enjoy playing under his old captain again.
PRETORIA CAPITALS
Pre-signings and retentions: Will Jacks; Andre Russell (Wildcard); Sherfane Rutherford.
The Pretoria Capitals (PC) had the fewest signings ahead of the Auction and are already one down for the tournament with Will Jacks unavailable after being selected for the England Ashes squad. Andre Russell stands out as a key signing with the allrounder having played comfortably over 500 T20 matches, maintaining a staggering batting strike rate of 168.28 despite making his debut all the way back in 2010.
Key Auction acquisitions: Dewald Brevis; Keshav Maharaj; Lungi Ngidi.
PC went all out to acquire the services of Brevis for a staggering R 16.5 million in the Auction. While still only 22 years old, Brevis has shown the ability to strike fear into the opposition bowlers and will be a key figure in the middle order. Both Maharaj and Ngidi come with years of domestic and international experience and will look to guide an entirely new-look PC team to greener pastures.
DURBAN’S SUPER GIANTS
Pre-signings and retentions: Heinrich Klaasen (Wildcard); Noor Ahmad; Jos Buttler; Sunil Narine.
Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) arguably made the most impressive new signings ahead of the Auction by bringing Buttler and Narine on board. Buttler is well known for his consistent clean hitting ability and has already showcased it in this country for the Paarl Royals in the first two seasons of the SA20. Narine brings all-round value with his mystery spin and his ability to take on bowlers from the jump. Both Klaasen and Ahmad have both already shown their pedigree for DSG.
Key Auction acquisitions: Aiden Markram (c); David Wiese; Gerald Coetzee.
DSG made sure that they secured Markram as their captain at the Auction table and will lean on him as he aims to lead the Durban-based team to their first SA20 title. Now on the more experienced side of 40, Wiese will look to use all the expertise he has acquired over the years on the Kingsmead surface that should suit his style of bowling and big hitting perfectly. DSG will be hoping that the “Karate Kid” will be fully fit by the time the first match of the season comes around. Coetzee has been plagued by injuries but always gives a 110 per cent whenever he is on the cricket field and would be a key asset to the team.
SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE
Pre-signings and retentions: Tristan Stubbs (c); Marco Jansen (Wildcard); Johnny Bairstow; Adam Milne; Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar.
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) went all out to get Stubbs and Jansen in season one of the SA20 and both turned out to be money well spent having played pivotal roles in their title winning and runner-up seasons. Stubbs has been handed the extra responsibility of being captain this season and will want to lead from the front. Johnny Bairstow and Adam Milne add some vital international class to the side while the Proteas players will be all too familiar with the mystery Ghazanfar brings.
Key Auction acquisitions: Quinton de Kock; Matthew Breetzke; Anrich Nortje.
SEC have had a lack of naturally attacking left-handers in their squad in the past and have rectified that by picking up De Kock at the Auction. They will be buoyed by the fact that he has since made his international return and will enter the tournament with competitive match practice under the belt. Breetzke has had a remarkable start to his ODI career and SEC will hope that his form translates well to this format heading into the tournament. After having endured, and recovered from, his own spurt of injuries, Nortje bowled with absolute gas in this season’s CSA T20 Challenge and, having been recalled to the Proteas setup, will look to make a triumphant return to the SA20 as well.
PAARL ROYALS
Pre-signings and retentions: David Miller (c); Bjorn Fortuin; Lhuan-dre Pretorius; Rubin Hermann (Wildcard); Mujeeb Ur Rahman; Sikandar Raza.
The Paarl Royals (PR) decided to keep the core of their team ahead of the Auction, with captain Miller once again nominated to lead the side. Pretorius stands out as a key component to this side despite still only being 19. As the leading run scorer in the tournament last season, Pretorius often put bowling attacks under enormous pressure and will hope to do more of the same this season. Sikandar Raza will look to bolster both the batting and the bowling, while also assisting Miller from a leadership perspective.
Key Auction acquisitions: Ottneil Baartman; Kyle Verreynne; Delano Potgieter.
With 41 wickets across three seasons for SEC, Baartman is the second most successful bowler in SA20 history. PR will look to him to lead the pace bowling attack even though their main focus will still be to spin teams into a web a home. Verreynne could prove a vital cog in the wheel for the Paarl side with the bat in support of Miller in the middle order. Potgieter has been one of the best allrounders on the domestic circuit for many years and showed his worth at MI Cape Town. Now with their Cape rival, Potgieter will likely have a much bigger role to play with the ball than in previous seasons.
MI CAPE TOWN
Pre-signings and retentions: Ryan Rickelton; Corbin Bosch; George Linde; Kagiso Rabada (Wildcard); Rashid Khan (c); Trent Boult; Nicholas Pooran.
It is no surprise that MI Cape Town (MICT) made the decision to retain the maximum number of players allowed ahead of the Auction. All of Rickelton, Bosch, Linde, Rabada, Khan and Boult played a crucial part in the team securing their first SA20 title and will make a welcome return in front of the Newlands Faithful. As if that core wasn’t strong enough, they have injected even more T20 firepower in the form of Pooran. Known to take bowling attacks down with aplomb, the left-handed West Indian will not be holding back.
Key Auction acquisitions: Rassie van der Dussen; Reeza Hendricks; Jason Smith.
The remarkably consistent open partnership of Rickelton and Van der Dussen are back together again as MICT pushed to try and get most of their players back at the Auction. In line with that thinking, Hendricks also returns for another season in blue and will look to help lay a platform for their destructive middle order to utilise. Smith makes his way down to the province where everything started for him domestically, on the back of a few blistering knocks in the CSA T20 Challenge, which included a whirlwind 68 off only 19 balls in a frenetic 7-over dash in Centurion to secure a playoff spot for his team.
While key players can be highlighted in each team, it is often the players who come in under the radar who end up putting their name up in lights in this festive tournament, making every match a must-watch.