Announcements

YOUR BETWAY SA20 AWARD WINNERS ARE...

13 Feb 20232 mins

SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE (SPIRIT OF CRICKET TEAM AWARD)

Not only did the Sunrisers Eastern Cape claim the inaugural Betway SA20 title but also earned the Spirit of Cricket Team Award.

The premise behind the award is that it is awarded to the team who best upholds the spirit of the game taking into account the respect of themselves, the opposition, the umpires, the Laws of the game and indeed the playing of the game itself.

The way the Orange Army recovered from losing their two opening matches to march to the title, their interactions with their passionate support base and the rapport they had on the field made them well-deserved winners.

EATHAN BOSCH (RISING STAR)

If you think of iconic celebrations from Betway SA20 Season 1 then Eathan Bosch will undoubtedly feature prominently. The Pretoria Capitals speedster had rights to be gee'd up after castling some of the biggest names in the game, never mind just the League.

All told the 24-year-old picked up 15 wickets, with best figures of 3/12 in the away derby against Joburg Super Kings. Bosch also contributed a handy 90 runs with the bat, but it's with the ball that he will undoubtedly be one to continue looking out for.

JOS BUTTLER (BATTER OF THE SEASON)

Considering the talent lured to Betway SA20 Season 1, the batter of the season award was always going to be fiercely contested... and so it proved.

Four batsmen scored more than 350 runs through the campaign, three of whom having scored a century along the way, but it was the non-centurion, Jos Buttler, who was the deserved winner of the award.

His 391 runs at the top of the order for Paarl Royals came at a rapid strike rate of 132.54. The England white-ball captain's consistency was evident by the fact that he not only faced the most balls during the League (295) but was also the only batter to pass 50 four times.

ROELOF VAN DER MERWE (BOWLER OF THE SEASON)

Roelof van der Merwe's 'bulldog' spirit reputation goes before him and, indeed, was on show throughout the season but so was were his bowling expertise.

Now 38, the former Protea represents the Netherlands these days and his craft was there for all to see as he claimed the joint-most wickets during the campaign - 20 - alongside Pretoria Capitals' Anrich Nortje.

More than just the wickets, 'Roelie' produced the best individual bowling figures (6/20 against Durban's Super Giants), maintained remarkable economy rate of just 5.61 and his strike rate of 10.20 was bettered by only two other regular bowlers.

AIDEN MARKRAM (PLAYER OF THE SEASON)

Campaigns don't come much better than the one Aiden Markram just had. Team wins the title? Check! Show exemplary leadership? Check! (see Spirit of Cricket Award). Claim the overall Player of the Season Award? Check!

The 28-year-old's efforts with the bat saw him rack up the third-most runs of the League, 366, and he also klapped one of the three centuries. That innings against Pretoria Capitals at Centurion showed his ability at its maximum: the first 50 came in 40 balls, before he exploded to life and raised his bat to adulation just 17 balls later.

Then there was Markram's exploits with ball in hand... his canny off-spinners brought him and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape 11 wickets at an average of just 14.63 and economy rate of just 6.19.

Cricket statistician WhatsApp groups are undoubtedly abuzz whether his designation should change from just batter to allrounder...!