Photo Credit: SA20 League
All six squads confirmed as 20-year-old Matthew Boast fetches joint-highest price of R1.6million in auction
Betway SA20 League Commissioner, Graeme Smith, says the signing of some of South Africa’s rising stars in the player auction on Wednesday opens up an ‘incredible opportunity’ for their careers.
Six rookies and several young players were picked for the second edition of the SA20 starting on 10 January.
Twenty-year-old Matthew Boast stole the show in the regular auction, with last season’s runners-up, Pretoria Capitals, picking up the young all-rounder for the joint-highest purchase price of R1.6 million.
“The real highlight for us is the number of youngsters now going to be involved in the Betway SA20. For these youngsters to get their foot in the door on this type of platform is an incredible opportunity for them,” Smith said.
“It is great to see there was interest in the Rookie pick. We debated it for a long time. We wanted to create the opportunity for a youngster to be a part of these squads.
“South Africa cricket has never had a problem producing talent. It’s now for all of us to get that talent to a high-performing level. That’s the goal for Betway SA20, to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket, and to start producing some stars to see our national team performing well on a consistent basis.
“What the franchises bring from coaching, medical, business and general perspective can only benefit South African cricket.”
All six Betway SA20 squads for Season 2 have now been confirmed following the mini auction.
For the second year running, the teams have led with a mix of experienced and young local and international stars, coupled with some of South Africa’s exciting rising stars, who will have an opportunity to be part of a global showpiece.
Other notable inclusions for Season 2 are the signings of legendary West Indies all-rounder, Kieron Pollard, who will be making his SA20 debut for MI Cape Town in the place of Rashid Khan for their opening three matches.
England’s wicket-keeper batter, Phil Salt, makes a return to Pretoria Capitals as a Wildcard, joining Ireland’s formidable opener, Paul Stirling, who was picked up at the auction.
Dayyaan Galiem, also hit the jackpot, with Joburg Super Kings picking up the all-rounder for R1.6 million. The Highveld team confirmed the signing of experienced T20 cricket campaigner, Imran Tahir, as their Wildcard, to go with the re-signing of West Indies all-rounder, Romario Shepherd.
The new rookie draft saw 80 players, aged 22 or under and who had never played in SA20 before, go up for selection. Connor Esterhuizen (MI Cape Town), Bryce Parsons (Durban’s Super Giants), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (Paarl Royals), Ronan Hermann (Joburg Super Kings), Steve Stolk (Pretoria Capitals) and Andile Simelane (Sunrisers Eastern Cape) are Betway SA20’s rookie class of 2024.
Full list of Betway SA20 Season 2 auction buys
Set 1: Batters
Joburg Super Kings: Wayne Madsen (R850 000), Pretoria Capitals: Paul Stirling (R425 000), MI Cape Town: Chris Benjamin (R175 000)
Set 2: Wicketkeepers
Pretoria Capitals: Kyle Verreynne (R175 000), Paarl Royals: John Turner (R425 000)
Set 3: All-rounders
Joburg Super Kings: Dayyaan Galiem (R1.6 million); Romario Shepherd (R850 000), Pretoria Capitals: Matthew Boast (R1.6 million)
Set 4: Fast bowlers
Pretoria Capitals: Daryn Dupavillon (R600 000),
Set 5: Spinners
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Caleb Seleka (R175 000)
Express Set:
Paarl Royals: Lorcan Tucker (R175 000), Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Beyers Swanepoel (R600 000), Durban’s Super Giants: Jason Smith (R175 000), MI Cape Town: Nealan van Heerden (R175 000); Thomas Kaber (R175 000)
Rookies:
Base price of R75 000: MI Cape Town: Connor Esterhuizen, Durban’s Super Giants: Bryce Parsons, Paarl Royals: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Joburg Super Kings: Ronan Hermann, Pretoria Capitals: Steve Stolk, Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Andile Simelane
Full Betway SA20 Squads
| DURBAN’S SUPER GIANTS | JOBURG SUPER KINGS | MI CAPE TOWN |
| Quinton de Kock | Faf du Plessis | Kagiso Rabada |
| Prenelan Subrayen | Gerald Coetzee | Dewald Brevis |
| Kyle Mayers (West Indies) | Moeen Ali (England) | Sam Curran (England) |
| Naveen Ul Haq (Afghanistan) | David Wiese (Namibia) | Liam Livingstone (England) |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka) | Sam Cook (England) | Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)/ Kieron Pollard |
| Reece Topley (England) | Zahir Khan (Afghanistan) | Tom Banton (England) |
| Keshav Maharaj | Reeza Hendricks | Beuran Hendricks |
| Wiaan Mulder | Leus du Plooy | George Linde |
| Heinrich Klaasen | Donovan Ferreira | Duan Jansen |
| Keemo Paul (West Indies) | Aaron Phangiso | Delano Potgieter |
| Dwaine Pretorius | Kyle Simmonds | Ryan Rickelton |
| Junior Dala | Sibonelo Makhanya | Rassie van der Dussen |
| Kyle Abbott | Lizaad Williams | Olly Stone (England) |
| Jon-Jon Smuts | Nandre Burger | Grant Roelofsen |
| Matthew Breetzke | Wayne Madsen (England) | Thomas Kaber |
| Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) | Dayyaan Galiem | Chris Benjamin (England) |
| Jason Smith | Romario Shepherd (West Indies) | Nealan van Heerden |
| Bryce Parsons (Rookie) | Ronan Hermann (Rookie) | Connor Esterhuizen (Rookie) |
| Nicholas Pooran (Wildcard) | Imran Tahir (Wildcard) | Jofra Archer (Wildcard) |
| PAARL ROYALS | PRETORIA CAPITALS | SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE |
| David Miller | Migael Pretorius | Aiden Markram |
| Jason Roy (England) | Anrich Nortje | Ottneil Baartman |
| Jos Buttler (England) | Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand) | Dawid Malan (England) |
| Obed McCoy (West Indies) | Corbin Bosch | Liam Dawson (England) |
| Wihan Lubbe | Eathan Bosch | Temba Bavuma |
| Mitchell van Buuren | Shane Dadswell | Marco Jansen |
| Dane Vilas | Colin Ingram | Tristan Stubbs |
| Ferisco Adams | Adil Rashid (England) | Jordan Hermann |
| Codi Yusuf | Senuran Muthusamy | Simon Harmer |
| Andile Phehlukwayo | Will Jacks (England) | Tom Abell (England) |
| Bjorn Fortuin | Theunis de Bruyn | Sisanda Magala |
| Lungi Ngidi | Rilee Rossouw | Sarel Erwee |
| Tabraiz Shamsi | Wayne Parnell | Aya Gqamane |
| Evan Jones | Paul Stirling (Ireland) | Adam Rossington (England) |
| Kwena Maphaka | Kyle Verreynne | Brydon Carse (England) |
| John Turner (England) | Matthew Boast | Caleb Seleka |
| Lorcan Tucker (Ireland) | Daryn Dupavillon | Beyers Swanepoel |
| Lhuan-dre Pretorius (Rookie) | Steve Stolk (Rookie) | Andile Simelane (Rookie) |
| Fabian Allen (Wildcard) | Phil Salt (Wildcard) | Craig Overton (England) |
Name of Author: SA20 League
SA20, officially known as the Betway SA20 for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa organized by Cricket South Africa (CSA). First held in the 2023 season, the league features six city-based teams. Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the first two editions of the tournament.
