Roelof van der Merwe (International)
Not a name too many South African fans will show love to, Roelof van der Merwe will forever be remembered as the curse that played a major role in the Proteas’ exit from the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Playing for the Netherlands, he took the catch of the tournament that dismissed David Miller and ended SA’s hopes of reaching the semifinals.
A former Protea himself with 13 ODIs and the same number of T20s for his country of birth, the 37-year-old has been on the block for 18 years after first coming to prominence for South Africa at the 2004 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. A feisty cricketer, he switched allegiances in 2015 and has never looked back. The allrounder has provided the Dutch with some invaluable pedigree and experience that has helped them steadily grow to a point where they are among one of the best associate teams around.
Van der Merwe’s qualities are genuinely all-round and well suited to T20 cricket – he can strike a long ball, bowl more than useful left-arm spin and is a fine fielder, as that catch in Australia illustrated.
He has also played in every major T20 league in the world and that experience will undoubtedly see him be among the first names on the Sunrisers’ team sheet.
Brydon Carse (International)
The Gqeberha-born paceman is a man that brings pace and power to the table.
Carse, whose father James was a South African first-class cricketer that played for Rhodesia, regularly hit 145km/h plus speeds bowling for his country Durham in 2019, forcing the England selectors to take notice and hand him a debut in 2021.
He has since gone on to win 12 ODI caps for his adopted country and went on to claim a career-best five for 61 against Pakistan when he really cranked up the pace, utilising his bounce to great effect in Birmingham. He is also a useful lower-order batsman with a top score of 51 and a 20-over average of nearly 18 in his 51 matches. This record is not too surprising considering he started his career as a batsman, who bowled part-time seam.
Carse’s growing stock prompted the Sunrisers to fork out R425 000 for him at the auction and he will be determined to make an impact when he returns to play in his city of birth, this time on a completely different stage compared to his amateur days for EP.
Tristan Stubbs (Capped)
A dream year is the only way to describe the past 12 months for this maverick young batsman. Thrust into the national team in July, he tore England apart in Bristol with an innings that rained sixes and made the international world sit up and ask Tristan who?
Part of a new breed of global batsmen, the 22-year-old had weeks earlier turned out for one of the most successful domestic franchises, Mumbai Indians, in the Indian Premier League (IPL). A few weeks later Stubbs became the most expensive purchase at the SA20 auction where he was signed for an incredible R9.2 million. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, a World Cup call followed, before he became a member of the Proteas’ starting XI at the finals in Australia.
Stubbs, who initially made a name for himself as an unknown playing for the Warriors in the 2021 T20 Challenge staged in Durban, did not have a great time at the tournament and will be keen to show his value at the SA20.
No doubt his price tag will bring pressure, but he undoubtedly will have the determination and drive to prove otherwise. His 360° game has already been displayed and it is only a matter of time before he will turn it on again. Will the Sunrisers be the beneficiaries?
Marco Jansen (Capped)
One of South Africa’s brightest prospects, the stage seems all set for Jansen’s star to shine even brighter at the SA20. Super-tall, super-quick and left-armed, his type is a rarity in the game. Added to this arsenal is his ability to bat, making the 22-year-old fully worth the R6.1 million paid for him by the Sunrisers.
He has already played for the Proteas, becoming the first born in the 2000s to do so, and he has also since gone on to feature in all three formats for his country. The allrounder is part of a strong group of fast bowlers in the national set-up where he is learning with every session, both in matches and on the training field.
Jansen, who has a twin brother named Duan that is almost as good, is more than two metres tall and naturally generates an exceptional amount of bounce to go with his speed. He initially made his mark playing amateur cricket for North West and finishing as their lead wicket-taker in the 2018/19 season. More doors opened from there, including the Mumbai Indians signing him up for the 2021 IPL, before he won his maiden South Africa cap in tests, playing against India at Centurion that same year.
In 11 international games, Jansen has 40 wickets already, a remarkable return that only bodes well for those playing alongside him in the same team.
Ayabulela Gqamane (Uncapped)
A steady domestic player, home-grown Gqamane has been around the local South African block for over a decade. Now 33, he is a consistent bowling allrounder often contributing with one of his three disciplines.
Not extravagant or exaggerated by any stretch of the imagination, he is a reliable performer that will almost always deliver for his captain, irrespective of the circumstance. This is something the diminutive seamer has done time and again, whether it was for the Warriors, Border or his new team, the Momentum Multiply Titans.
He recently claimed his 200th first-class wicket while playing for the Tshwane-based franchise and his record too at that level is of a man that is always there when you need him. Gqamane averages a strong 23.40 in the long format and his domestic numbers in recent T20 seasons have also been improving.
Just as some things get better with age, so it seems is the case with this veteran of the local game, who always seems to be short-changed when it comes to opportunities. But when he does get them, the King William's Town-born player almost always takes them. Certainly, a fighter that will add value to the Sunrisers.