Latest news with #SunrisersEasternCape
Time Out
6 days ago
- Sport
- Time Out
Cape Town, are you ready for SA20?
Cape Town might be firmly in the grip of winter, but the first hint of summer has arrived with the unveiling of the fixture list for the fourth season of the Betway SA20 tournament. Betway SA20 is South Africa's premier 20-over cricket league, featuring six all-star teams competing for the title. In 2025, MI Cape Town (whoop whoop!) emerged victorious over Sunrisers Eastern Cape, and this year, we're betting that our local boys will bring the goods to hold on to the trophy. But whoever takes the title, the real winners are the thousands of fans who are in for a treat. And there's good news for local cricket lovers, with at least 10 of the 34 games set to be played at Cape Town or Boland Stadium. And while the cricket is electric, the event itself is always a blast, with action on the pitch and plenty of entertainment beyond the boundaries. Think live DJs spinning tunes, fireworks for when the wickets fall, and the chance to win big by taking a one-handed catch. "Season 4 of Betway SA20 will be unique," League Commissioner Graeme Smith said. "We've carefully planned the fixtures to make the most of the festive season and school holidays, we want SA20 to be part of the holiday season festivities in our once-off window for this year. Season four of the Betway SA20 tournament begins a little earlier than last year, with defending champions MI Cape Town hosting Durban's Super Giants for a festive event at Newlands on Boxing Day, Friday 26 December 2025. The very next day, Paarl Royals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape will face off at Boland Park in Paarl in what promises to be a thrilling clash. But, we're not done! Settle in for a pre-New Year's celebration at Newlands as MI Cape Town and Pretoria Capitals take to the pitch at 5.30pm on New Year's Eve, 31 December. You'll then have one day to recover before a rocking 'Tweede Nuwe Jaar' rolls into Boland Park for an all-Cape derby between Paarl Royals and MI Cape Town on 2 January 2026. All eyes are then on the finals, which will take place on January 25. Venues for the Final and the Playoffs will be confirmed at a later date. And don't forget: if you want access to cheaper prices and the best seats before tickets go on sale to the general public, register for the Season 4 pre-sale over here. Tickets to all Group Stage matches as well as the Playoffs and Final will be available during the pre-sale window, which will open on September 17 and close on October 9.
IOL News
24-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
SA20 Auction: Big names join SA20 as blockbuster auction looms
After winning the SA20 with MICT, Kagiso Rabada is off to Pakistan to play for the Proteas in the ICC Champions Trophy. Photo: Sportzpics The defending Champions, MI Cape Town, have added Nicholas Pooran to their squad, roping in the left-handed batter from the Durban's Super Giants. Allah Ghazanfar, the latest addition to the long list of Afghanistan's mystery spinners, also joins the SA20 for the first time. He has signed with last season's runners-up Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC). Among the players who have been pre-signed for the upcoming season are West Indies all-rounders Andre Russell (Pretoria Capitals) and Sunil Narine (Durban's Super Giants), both who have sparkling T20 careers. This season, the SA20 barely clashes with any T20 leagues, meaning the world's top T20 cricketers are available to grace the South African cricket with their presence and skills. OVER the past three seasons, the SA20 has grown in leaps and bounds, and the upcoming fourth edition promises to be even bigger with some of the biggest names in franchise T20 cricket having committed to the league already. Proteas stars Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde and Corbin Bosch, along with former New Zealand quick Trent Boult, have kept their spots in the Newlands-based side. In other exciting news, heading into the auction, the two-time SA20-winning captain Aiden Markram has opted to enter the lucrative auction, opting not to take the pre-signing offer that the Sunrisers offered. Markram led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) to three consecutive SA20 finals, winning the first two editions before going down to MI Cape Town in the previous edition of the competition. The 30-year-old heads into the auction with the chance to play for a different franchise in the fourth edition of the tournament after his heroics for the 'Orange Army'. However, with the SA20 having introduced the Right to Match strategy this season, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape could retain the Proteas T20I captain by matching the winning bid. The Season 4 Auction is set to be a blockbuster event after the six franchises laid down an early squad marker with the announcement of the pre-signed and retained players for the upcoming SA20 campaign. Each of the teams were permitted a maximum of six retained or pre-signed players, comprising of a maximum of three South African and three overseas players during the player retention window, which closed on July 18. The teams also strategically completed their six Wildcard signings, with all the focus now on the remaining slots and the collective maximum purse of R131 million to be spent on the 84 available slots at the auction on September 9 in Johannesburg. For Season 4, a wildcard player could be any overseas player or a South African player who was part of the team's squad in Season 3. A complete list of players and remaining salary cap follows: Durban's Super Giants (R29.5 million) *Sunil Narine, *Noor Ahmad, *Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen (Wildcard) Joburg Super Kings (R21.5 million) Faf du Plessis, *James Vince, *Akeal Hosein, *Richard Gleeson, Donovan Ferreira (Wildcard) MI Cape Town (R11.5 million) Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, *Rashid Khan, *Trent Boult, *Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada (Wildcard) Paarl Royals (R14.5 million) Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin, *Mujeeb Ur Rahman, *Sikandar Raza, Rubin Hermann (Wildcard) Pretoria Capitals (R32.5 million) *Will Jacks, *Sherfane Rutherford, *Andre Russell (Wildcard) Sunrisers Eastern Cape (R21.5 million) Tristan Stubbs, *Allah Ghazanfar, *Adam Milne, *Jonny Bairstow, Marco Jansen (Wildcard) *Indicates overseas players.
The Herald
23-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Bairstow, Milne and Afghan mystery spinner join Sunrisers East Cape
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape revealed their early hand for the Betway SA20 Season 4 by retaining two regulars and bringing in three new international players when the pre-signings and retained lists were released on Wednesday ahead of the September 9 auction. Proteas power-hitter Tristan Stubbs will remain at St George's Park and will be joined by all-rounder Marco Jansen, who was strategically named as a wild card. The fresh international faces are mystery Afghan spinner Allah Ghazanfar, New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne and English wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow, who is no stranger to orange having previously turned out for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. The teams were each permitted a maximum of six retained or pre-signed players, comprising a maximum of three South African and three overseas players during the player retention window, which closed on July 18. The teams also strategically completed their six wild-card signings, with all the focus now on the remaining slots and the collective maximum purse of R131m, to be spent on the 84 available slots at the auction on September 9 in Johannesburg. For season 4, a wild card player could be any overseas player or a South African player who was part of the team's squad in season 3. The list of players and remaining salary cap is: Durban's Super Giants (R29.5m): Sunil Narine, Noor Ahmad, Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen (wild card) Joburg Super Kings (R21.5m): Faf du Plessis, James Vince, Akeal Hosein, Richard Gleeson, Donovan Ferreira (wild card) MI Cape Town (R11.5m): Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada (wild card) Paarl Royals (R14.5m): Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sikandar Raza, Rubin Hermann (wild card) Pretoria Capitals (R32.5m): Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell (wild card) Sunrisers Eastern Cape (R21.5m): Tristan Stubbs, Allah Ghazanfar, Adam Milne, Jonny Bairstow, Marco Jansen (wild card) Some SA players available to be picked up at the auction include Proteas World Test Championship Final heroes Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder and Keshav Maharaj, along with top young talent Dewald Brevis and Kwena Maphaka. T20 specialists Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi are also available. Betway SA20 league commissioner Graeme Smith said: 'When the league first drafted its regulations in season 1, we always saw this forthcoming season as an opportunity for a strategic reset — and this is exactly where we envisioned being. 'There's now a strong balance between pre-signed and retained international and Proteas players, alongside a significant purse available for the auction,' he said. 'After three seasons, the franchises have developed a good understanding of the South African cricket ecosystem and adopted a distinct strategy which sets the stage for the most exciting auction yet.' The season 4 auction will be live on SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa and JioHotstar in India with rolling coverage of all the action across all Betway SA20 social media platforms. — SA20 Media
India Today
23-07-2025
- Sport
- India Today
SA20: Aiden Markram heads to the auction pool, Durban retain big names
Two-time SA20 title-winning captain Aiden Markram was amongst the names that will head to the auction pool ahead of the fourth season of the league. Markram led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to three consecutive finals in the SA20 and won the first two does have a chance to join a new team in the upcoming auction, but with SA20 having the Right to Match card, the Sunrisers do have a chance to retain the South Africa T20I captain by matching the winning bid. SEC decided to retain Tristan Stubbs, Allah Ghazanfar, Adam Milne, Jonny Bairstow and Marco Jansen in their side. advertisementThe Durban's Super Giants made some big signings ahead of the new season. DSG have roped in West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine and Jos Buttler, while retaining Noor Ahmad and Heinrich Klaasen as their wildcard signing. The wildcard player could be an overseas signing or someone who was part of the squad last season. Each of the SA20 franchises was permitted a maximum of 6 retained or pre-signed players,comprising of a maximum of 3 South African and 3 overseas players during the player retention window, which closed on 18 July. Nicholas Pooran, who was part of DSG, has completed a switch to current champions MI Cape Town, who also retained Ryan Rickleton, Rashid Khan, George Linde and Kagiso Rabada. The Pretoria Capitals brought in Andre Russell into the mix, alongside Will Jacks and Sherfane Rutherford. Russell recently retired from international cricket. SA20: Complete list of retained players and remaining salary capDurban's Super Giants (R29.5 million)Sunil Narine, Noor Ahmad, Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen (Wildcard)Joburg Super Kings (R21.5 million)Faf du Plessis, James Vince, Akeal Hosein, Richard Gleeson, Donovan Ferreira (Wildcard)MI Cape Town (R11.5 million)Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada (Wildcard)Paarl Royals (R14.5 million)Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sikandar Raza, Rubin Hermann (Wildcard)Pretoria Capitals (R32.5 million)Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell (Wildcard)Sunrisers Eastern Cape (R21.5 million)Tristan Stubbs, Allah Ghazanfar, Adam Milne, Jonny Bairstow, Marco Jansen (Wildcard)- EndsMust Watch
IOL News
23-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Proteas T20 captain Aiden Markram decides to throw his name into lucrative SA20 auction
Captain Aiden Markram could not inspire the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a third SA20 championship after they lost to the MI Cape Town on Saturday at the Wanderers. Photo: Sportzpics Two-time SA20 winning captain Aiden Markram will go under the hammer in the upcoming SA20 auction after the Sunrisers Eastern Cape announced their list of retentions, wildcards and pre-signings, which does not include Markram. Markram led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) to three consecutive SA20 finals, winning the first two editions before going down to MI Cape Town in the previous edition of the competition. The 30-year-old heads into the auction with the chance to play for a different franchise in the fourth edition of the tournament after his heroics for the 'Orange Army'. However, with the SA20 having introduced the Right to Match strategy this season, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape could retain the Proteas T20I captain by matching the winning bid.
