SA20 is a T20 franchise league in South Africa organized by the Cricket South Africa. The inaugural tournament was held in 2023 and contested by 6 teams from different cities around the country. In this first edition of the tournament, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the title beating Pretoria Capitals by 4 wickets in the final. In this article, we will have a look at the top 10 South African batsmen who featured in this inaugural edition.
1. David Miller
This left-hander hard-hitting batsman from South Africa is a top-notch player in the limited overs of the game. He has represented his country in over 150 ODIs and over 100 T20Is. For the first edition of the SA20, he was bought by the Paarl Royals. He did not disappoint the fans as scored 227 runs in 11 innings at an average of 32.42. He however failed to score a half-century in the tournament, having a best score of just 42 runs.
2. Dewald Brevis
Brevis is a right-handed 20-year-old batsman born in Johannesburg, South Africa. This youngster has much to offer when it comes to batting in the limited-overs games, which has earned him a lot of fame. His batting skills and ability to hit the ball all around the ground has earned him the name ‘Baby AB’ due to his batting resemblance to AB de Villiers, another South African great. For the inaugural season of SA20, he was bought by the Mumbai Indians Cape Town franchise. Though his team finished last in the points table, he scored 235 runs in the tournament, having an impressive strike rate of 117.50 and a highest score of 70.
3. Theunis De Bruyn
de Bruyn is a 30-year-old right-hander batsman representing the Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 league. He did not get much opportunity to prove himself in the national team. However, his performance in this franchise league was quite decent. He scored 238 runs in 12 matches at an average of 21.64 and a strike rate of 120.81. His highest score this season had been 53.
4. Reeza Hendricks
Born in Kimberley, South Africa, Reeza Hendricks was bought by the Johannesburg Super Kings franchise for the inaugural season of the SA20. He had an abysmal start to the season and his team suffered batting collapse on more occasions than one. His strike rate initially was also not up to the mark. However, in the semi-final against the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, which also happened to be his team’s last match of the tournament, he was in absolute sublime form. He scored 96 off just 54 balls, scoring 11 boundaries and 4 sixes. He ended the season accumulating a total of 239 runs in 10 innings.
5. Rassie Van Der Dussen
van der Dussen was bought by the Cape Town franchise ahead of the inaugural season. He is a right-hand batsman who has represented his national team in all the 3 formats. In his 10 innings for the team, he scored 243 runs at an average of 30.37 and scored just a single half-century.
6. Leus Du Plooy
du Plooy is a left-hand batsman who represented JSK in the first edition of the SA20. In the 8 innings he played for his team, he accumulated a total of 249 runs and scored 2 half-centuries in the process. His highest score of 81 runs came off just 48 balls in the match against MICT, which helped his team win the game and also earned him the Player of the Match award.
7. Quinton De Kock
Quinton is a bashing opener and an integral part of the South African national team. He plays as a wicketkeeper-batsman. For the first edition of the league, he was bought by Durban Super Giants and also made their skipper. He was pretty impressive throughout the tournament, scoring 271 runs in 9 matches at an average of 30.11 and scoring 3 half-centuries. His highest score of 78 runs came in just 52 balls in his team’s opening game of the season against JSK. However he ended on the losing side. DSG finished the campaign in 5th position.
8. Heinrich Klaasen
This 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman represented the franchise of Durban in the inaugural season of the SA20 league. He scored 363 runs in the 9 innings he played, including 3 half-centuries and a century as well. His best score of 104 not out came against Pretoria Capitals in a winning cause. However, his team failed to qualify for the semis.
9. Aiden Markram
Markram is a 28-year-old right-hand batsman and the captain of his national team in the shortest version of the game. He also led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the inaugural season and won the title as well. Leading from the front, Markram scored 366 runs in the 12 matches he played, which also includes a superb ton against the Johannesburg Super Kings in the semi-final, in which the top-order batters failed miserably. However his blistering knock helped his team win the semi and reach the final. Markram also scored a quickfire 26 off 19 balls in the final. He was adjudged the Man of the Tournament for his splendid performance this season.
10. Faf Du Plessis
Faf is one of the most sought-after name in the shortest format of the game. He has played in almost all the franchise leagues worldwide, from the IPL, BPL, and PSL to the CPL. As expected, he was in great demand during the auction of the SA20 league. He was picked up by the Johannesburg side and was made the captain as well. He didn’t disappoint his fans as he was the most consistent batsman of the side, scoring 369 runs in 10 innings with an average of 41 and a good strike rate of 147.60. He scored 2 half-centuries and a century. His highest score of 113 came against the Durban Super Giants which helped his team chase down a mammoth total. He ranks 1st in this list of top South African batsmen to play this year’s SA20.
