Photo Credit: SA20 League
Sunrisers Eastern Cape have claimed back-to-back Betway SA20 titles with an empathic 89-run victory over Durban’s Super Giants at Newlands on Saturday evening.
During the post-match presentation, the Season 2 award winners were confirmed. They are:
SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE (SPIRIT OF CRICKET TEAM AWARD)
Not only did the Sunrisers Eastern Cape become back-to-back Betway SA20 champions but they have also retained the Spirit of Cricket Team Award for Season 2.
The award goes to the team who best upholds the spirit of the game, taking into account the respect of themselves, the opposition, the umpires, the Laws of the game and indeed the playing of the game itself.
“We just try hard and try to play the game in the right way,” said Sunrisers coach Adrian Birrell.
“As a team all the guys are fantastic guys… there’s no animosity ever with the opposition or match officials. We’ve chosen very good characters and we’re very privileged to have such a good bunch of guys. They show fight on the fight and they’re good people off the field”
MARCO JANSEN (RISING STAR)
Considering the experience Marco Jansen has racked up in recent years it’s hard to think of him as a Rising Star, but at only 23-year-old Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s left-arm pace bowler and lower-order batter falls well within the category’s Under-25 threshold.
That’s besides the point that Jansen’s Season 2 returns also placed him high on the overall and bowler categories. He found his bowling stride as the campaign wore on, ending up with 20 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 7.66. Jansen’s standout spell was against Durban’s Super Giants in Qualifier 1, when he claimed 4-16, but then he did even better in the Final by picking up 5-30.
Jansen didn’t get many opportunities with the bat, but when coach Adrian Birrell and captain Aiden Markram gave him an opportunity up the order, at 4, away against Paarl Royals he dully showed his all-round abilities with a game-defining 71*.
OTTNIEL BAARTMAN (BOWLER OF THE SEASON)
The Bowler of the Season leaderboard was topped by Lungi Ngidi for much of the campaign, but as Paarl Royals title hopes faded so Sunrisers rose, largely thanks to Ottniel Baartman.
The 30-year-old from Oudtshoorn received a bit of ‘tap’ against Durban’s Super Giants (0-51) in the Orange Army’s defacto season opener but has been talismanic since.
Baartman has tended to pick up cheap early-spell wickets before coming into his own during the death overs with his accurate yorkers and intelligent changes of pace.
His two four-fors have been incredibly stingy; the 4-12 against Pretoria Capitals prompted an SA20 record low score of 52 while his 4-10 in the Qualifier 1 against Super Giants secured him some personal revenge but also secured SEC direct passage into the Final – in which he claimed 2-17, including DSG’s main man, Heinrich Klaasen for a first ball duck.
HEINRICH KLAASEN (BETWAY PLAYER OF THE SEASON AND BATTER OF THE SEASON)
Heinrich Klaasen‘s Season 2 numbers almost speak for themselves. Durban’s Super Giants’ middle-order batter scored 447 runs, with a high score of 85 (off 35 balls) against MI Cape Town and an incredible strike rate of 207.90 – well above the next best, Kieron Pollard, on 185.14.
The reality is that when ‘Klaasie’ strode to the wicket, opposition captains and bowlers had to have their wits about them. More often than not, it didn’t matter as MI Cape Town, Joburg Super Kings (twice) and Paarl Royals discovered after his rapid-fire 50s against them.
Ryan Rickelton lead both the Betway Player of the Season and Batter of the Season charge, while Leus du Plooy, Jos Buttler and Matthew Breetzke all threatened the top of the leaderboards too. Ultimately, Klaasen overtook Rickelton during playoffs week and the the awards go to him courtesy of his 224.46 rankings (190.46 of them coming from his batting).
Full list of Betway SA20 Season 2 Award Winners:
Betway SA20 champions: Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Runners-up: Durban’s Super Giants
Spirit of Cricket: Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Groundsman of the Season: Bryan Bloy (Pretoria Capitals)
Rising Star: Marco Jansen (Sunrisers Eastern Cape)
Batter of the Season: Heinrich Klaasen (Durban’s Super Giants)
Bowler of the Season: Ottniel Baartman (Sunrisers Eastern Cape)
Player of the Season: Heinrich Klaasen (Durban’s Super Giants)
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.
