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YEAR END WRAP: Kicking off the new year Betway SA20

cricket30 December 2024 07:31| © MWP
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After the Proteas tied the test series against India 1-1 at home on a spitting cobra of a pitch at Newlands in Cape Town for the New Year’s test, attention turned to the second edition of the Betway SA20. The big question on everyone’s lips was: can the second edition live up to the hype of the inaugural season?

The answer was a resounding yes as the Betway SA20 returned bigger and better. Semifinals were replaced with an Eliminator and two Qualifiers to reward the teams finishing in the top two of the initial rounds, giving them a buffer that was not there in the first season.

The crowd-favourite Betway Catch R2 Million returned, resulting in some spectacular catches. Eight clean one-handed catches were taken, with half of them coming at the catching haven that is SuperSport Park in Centurion. There was plenty of entertainment for the spectators with balloon artists, face painters, stilt walkers and much more.

However, the main spectacle remained the high-quality cricket on the field. The defending champions, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, showed exactly why they held the coveted trophy as they topped the table with seven wins from 10 matches for a total of 33 points. Durban’s Super Giants were hot on their heels, ending on 32 points with an equal number of wins.

The Paarl Royals secured third position, having won half their matches, and the Joburg Super Kings snuck in thanks to three victories and two no-results. MI Cape Town once again took home the wooden spoon, despite Ryan Rickelton ending as the tournament’s leading run scorer with 530 at an average of 58.88 and a strike rate of 173.77.

Ultimately, it came down to the best two teams in this year’s tournament for the final showdown in front of a packed Newlands stadium. The Sunrisers Eastern Cape put on an exhibition as they plundered 204 for three against Durban’s Super Giants before dismantling them for 115 all out.

The Sunrisers Eastern Cape once again proved that while it might be batters that win you games, the bowlers win you tournaments. The top three leading wicket takers all came from their side as Marco Jansen (20), Ottneil Baartman (18) and Daniel Worrall (17) made sure that the Orange Army could celebrate opposition batters walking back at regular intervals. Having won back-to-back trophies, the question now is: can the Sunrisers Eastern Cape make it a threepeat?

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