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Early Stars of 2023 SA20

The 2023 SA20 is the inaugural season of the new South Africa franchise league in T20 cricket. It got underway way on January 10 and there have already been some big individual and team performances.

T20 cricket is now one of the most popular formats of ICC-affiliated cricket. Here is a look at some of the early stars of the South African competition.

Ottniel Baartman (Sunrisers Eastern Cape)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape bowler Ottniel Baartman has made an excellent start to the campaign with the ball, taking nine wickets from his opening nine matches. The South African is in contention for the leading wicket-taker award at the competition.

Baartman’s best figures through his first four games are 3/45, which he picked up in his side’s success against MI Cape Town. He dismissed Grant Roelofsen, Delano Potgieter, and Rashid Khan in that game. The latter of those three was a big wicket as the Cape Town captain can cause damage at the back end of the innings.

The 29-year-old was called up to the South Africa Test squad for the first time in 2021 but he did not feature for the national team. If he continues to shine in this year’s SA20 and other cricket leagues, it may not be long before he is selected for the South Africa white-ball teams in 2023.

Will Jacks (Pretoria Capitals)

There has been no century through the opening 12 games of SA20, but the highest innings to date came from Will Jacks. He hit a spectacular 92 from 49 deliveries, going at a strike rate of 200.0 during his time at the crease, as you can read in the SuperSport match report.

Jacks was one of the international players the Pretoria Capitals purchased at the SA20 Auction leading into the competition. He is proving to be an excellent buy, as he has formed a great opening partnership with fellow English compatriot Phil Salt. The pair will be key to the Capitals’ chances of reaching the knockout stages of the event.

The all-rounder has played two Test matches and two T20Is for England. His most recent ECB call-up came against Pakistan. This is the fifth international franchise league he has featured in, so he has a lot of experience now playing on pitches that vary in condition.

Evan Jones (Paarl Royals)

Paarl Royals bowler Evan Jones has taken nine wickets from his opening three matches at the 2023 SA20. The 26-year-old plays his domestic cricket for Northern Cape and this competition is giving him the chance to shine to an audience around the world. No player has picked up more wickets than the Royals man after just three games.

Jones had an exceptional match against Durban’s Super Giants when he took four wickets for 32 runs. It includes the wickets of Jason Holder and Keshav Maharaj, two men who are dangerous with the bat in this format of the sport.

With Jones as part of a strong bowling attack, the Paarl Royals are one of the leading contenders for the trophy this year. As of January 18, they are +200 in the Betway sports betting to win the competition. They sit top of the standings following four games, and after defeat in their opening game, they look to be making strong strides now toward the last four.

Heinrich Klaasen (Durban’s Super Giants)

Having played 36 T20 internationals for South Africa, Durban’s Super Giants knew they were getting a player with a lot of experience at the highest level when they signed Heinrich Klaasen. The 31-year-old is paying them off with some big performances with the bat. He is the leading runscorer in the 2023 SA20 after four games, having amassed 162 runs.

In two of his opening four innings, Klaasen has ended his team’s innings unbeaten. He has hit two fifties, with his highest score being his 56 not-out against the Paarl Royals. As you can see from the BBC scorecard, unfortunately for the Super Giants, it was not enough to win that game.

As you may have seen in the sports news on the 2023 IPL league, Klaasen has been purchased by the SunRisers Hyderabad to feature in the IPL later this year. He will continue playing with the Super Giants until South Africa’s home ODI series against England in late January. Their talented batsman will be keen to score as many runs as he can before he leaves the Durban-based team, which will put them handily placed to qualify for the semi-finals.

With several group games remaining, and then the knockout stages of the competition to come, we could be set for more fireworks before the opening year of the SA20 concludes.

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