Picking the best playing 11 from SA20 2024 ft. Heinrich Klaasen and Daniel Worrall
The second edition of the SA20 finished with a flourish as the Sunrisers Eastern Cape successfully defended their title by thrashing the Durban Supergiants by 89 runs in the Final.
In what was an extremely entertaining tournament where the playoffs' qualification went down to the wire, there were plenty of stellar performances with both bat and ball that captured the imagination of fans. The quality of cricket was top-notch, and there was a decent balance between bat and ball throughout the season.
It's now time to make the best combined XI of SA20 2024 featuring the best and most successful players of this edition of SA20:
Top Order: Ryan Rickelton, Jos Buttler (WK), and Leus du Plooy.
MI Cape Town finished at the bottom of the points table and yet, Ryan Rickelton finished as the highest run-scorer, making 530 runs at an average of close to 60 and a strike rate of 173.77. He had one of the best T20 tournaments ever for a player, and deserved better support from his teammates.
Another wicket-keeper batter was often the lone ranger for his side, and it's none other than Paarl Royals' Jos Buttler. The Royals had some good momentum in the first half of the campaign, but when the going got tough, it was mostly Buttler doing the bulk of the run-scoring. He finished with 408 runs, averaging 40.80, and scoring at a strike rate of 143.66.
Leus du Plooy was one of the main reasons the Joburg Super Kings even made the playoffs, and the southpaw was in blistering form throughout the tournament. While he batted in multiple positions, he seemed most comfortable opening or coming in at No.3, and he was the 5th-highest run-scorer of the season, with 377 runs at a strike rate of close to 160.
Honorable Mentions: Kyle Verreynne and Tom Abell.
Middle-Order: Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, and Marco Jansen
This team simply can't exist without Heinrich Klaasen, who's undoubtedly one of the best white-ball batters in the world right now. Klaasen was simply insane, scoring 447 runs at a strike rate of more than 200, and a lot of this came with him coming in to bat in the 15th or 16th over. If he consistently batted at No. 4, these numbers would be even more mind-boggling.
Tristan Stubbs performed a Klaasen-esque role for SEC, and did so wonderfully, scoring 301 runs, averaging 60.20, and scoring at a wonderful strike rate of 168.16. He played several crucial knocks, including one in the Finals and is one of South Africa's brightest talents.
Another promising Proteas star is Wiaan Mulder, who really came into his own in the second half of the season, playing some crucial knocks for DSG. The middle-order batter amassed 297 runs, striking at close to 160, and was also handy with the ball whenever he was called upon.
Marco Jansen is the first prong in a three-pronged SEC pace attack that wreaked havoc with the ball. Jansen was very handy with the bat, scoring 105 runs, and striking at 177.96, with his promotion up the order against Paarl allowing him to score an unbeaten 71.
But more importantly, Jansen was the highest wicket-taker of the tournament, picking up 20 wickets in only 10 matches, with a stellar bowling average of 14.30.
Honorable Mentions: Kieron Pollard and Marcus Stoinis.
Bowlers: Keshav Maharaj (C), Ottneil Baartman, Daniel Worrall, and Noor Ahmad.
Keshav Maharaj performed admirably both as a captain and a bowler, and while DSG couldn't go all the way and win the title, it was a very successful campaign for them. Maharaj was the 4th-highest wicket-taker, picking up 15 wickets in 13 matches at a solid economy rate of 7.30, excellent numbers in a tournament where the spinners generally struggled.
However, Noor Ahmad certainly didn't seem to struggle, and barring one bad game against SEC, he had a wonderful, albeit short, SA20 campaign. Another DSG spinner, Noor Ahmad did what the other left-arm leg-spinners like Shamsi and Thomas Kaber couldn't do, picking up 12 wickets in only six matches at a wonderful economy rate of 5.82.
On to the other two prongs of the SEC pace attack, Daniel Worrall and Ottneil Baartman. Worrall was simply sublime with the new ball and delivered in every match, making batting in the powerplay against SEC a nightmare. He finished with 17 wickets in 11 matches at a solid economy rate of 7.23.
Even more impressive was Ottneil Baartman, who's arguably the best strike bowler in the league. Picking up 18 wickets in only 8 matches is no joke, especially with an economy rate of 6.95 for someone who operates a lot during the death overs.
Honorable Mentions: Junior Dala and Lizaad Williams.