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COUNTING DOWN THE BETWAY SA20 MVP TOP 50 PART 5: Players 1-10

31 May 20243 mins

During Betway SA20 Season 2, the League partnered with cricket’s leading analytics specialists, CricViz, to use their unique Most Valuable Player (MVP) data science model to help rank the players across the season.

The CricViz MVP model is a performance evaluation measure that is used to assess the performance of players across different roles (batting, bowling and fielding) and phases of the game. Additionally, players are rewarded for winning the match, with the captain of the winning team receiving an additional bonus.

Having already recapped numbers 11-50, in Part 5 we take a closer look at the top 10 ranked players during Season 2 of South Africa's premier T20 league.

The strength of the League is evident by the fact that six of the top 10 are set to star for their national teams during the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA - much like they did for their SA20 franchises.

WHO RANKS WHERE: 41-50 | 31-40 | 21-30 | 11-20

Wiaan Mulder slots in at number 10 after a fantastic all-round output for Durban's Super Giants. The 26-year-old scored 297 runs at a strike rate of 157.14, with a best of 59 in Qualifier 2 against Joburg Super Kings. While his handy seamers only claimed two wickets, he bowled at a relatively economical 9.50 runs per over. Significantly, Mulder held onto seven crucial catches, including a League record of four as DSG broke Paarl Royals' home winning record.

WATCH: Mulder takes four record-breaking catches against Royals

The Bowler of Season 2, Ottniel Baartman comes in at number 9 on the back of a campaign where the 31-year-old claimed 18 wickets including two four-fors, with a best of 4/10 when Sunrisers Eastern Cape dismissed Pretoria Capitals for a League record low of 52 at St George's Park. Baartman's consistent wicket-taking, at a paltry 6.95 runs per over was rewarded with a place in South Africa's T20 World Cup squad.

Matthew Breetzke's return of 416 runs for Durban's Super Giants placed him third on the season's run chart and earned him plenty of plaudits for the step-up in his game since his bit-part role in Season 1. Breetzke, like Mulder, has been unlucky to miss out on the Protea's final squad for the T20 World Cup but considering he's only 25 there should be a few global showpieces in his future.

Tom Abell had a similar 'glow-up' to Breetzke in that he was reduced to a single appearance in the inaugural season but had a significant impact on Sunrisers Eastern Cape going back-to-back in 2024. The energetic Englishman contributed 286 runs to the Orange Army's cause, often adding impetus to their innings from first drop - most notably with his Player of the Match-winning 55 in the Final. Add that to his excellence in the outfield, which brought three catches, and many runs saved and the 30-year-old is a worthy top-tenner.

Wrapping up the back-end of the top 10 is Joburg Super Kings Leus du Plooy, the South Africa-born Hungary international who qualifies for England this year. Du Plooy (29) started the season in the middle order and stood head and shoulders above the batters in the JSK line-up, prompting a move up the order to open with his captain Faf du Plessis. Duly, the duo kick-started JSK's rearguard qualification for the playoffs - Du Plooy having contributed 377 runs along the way at a strike rate of 159.07 and a highest score of 71 against Paarl Royals.

Will Jacks takes the number 5 spot on the countdown, an was easily Pretoria Capitals' most consistent performer through an indifferent campaign for the Season 1 runners-up. The Englishman's main job was with bat in hand, and his destructive play saw him rack up 245 runs including a memorable 101 off 41 balls against Durban's Super Giants. There was also the obligatory Betway Catch R2 Million winners off his bat - two more in 2024 taking his overall tally to five and he also topped the Zoho Longest Six chart with two 108m efforts. The 25-year-old also picked up six wickets (Capitals' fourth-most) with his off-spin while snaffling seven catches to mark himself out as one of the world's most preeminent all-rounders - a big T20 World Cup is in the offing.

WATCH: Jacks' 101 off 41 | ALSO READ: Who Jacks smacked the longest six against

Equally talented is Sunrisers Eastern Cape's Marco Jansen, who claimed the Rising Star of the Season award for his contribution to them retaining the trophy. The lanky left-armer finished the season as the highest wicket-taker, with his 5/30 in the Final taking his tally to 20. With the bat, Jansen scored a memorable 71 after being promoted to number 4 (his position on this countdown) against Paarl Royals while his safe hands brought an end to eight batters' innings.

At third place in the countdown comes Jos Buttler, Paarl Royals' inimitable wicketkeeper-batter. Following a tough 50-over World Cup, the England captain arrived in South Africa low on confidence but ended the campaign bang-in-form having scored 408 runs at a strike rate of 143.66 (and a high score of 70 not out against Joburg Super Kings), to remain SA20's overall highest scorer on 799 runs. Similarly, his 10 dismissals in Season 2 took his overall tally to 19 - also the highest after two seasons of South Africa's premier T20 cricket league. All told, the 33-year-old proved that the likes of Phil Salt and other pretenders to his national team thrown will have to wait their turn still.

ALSO READ: Buttler SA20's best wicketkeeper after two seasons

Ryan Rickelton, meanwhile, proved for MI Cape Town during Season 2 that his turn in Proteas colours is imminent. The left-hander played with freedom and purpose and it brought him a League-high yield of 530 runs including four scores over 85 - but the highest was 'only' 98, as he and Rassie van der Dussen combined for a record-breaking 200-run stand against Joburg Super Kings.

Unfortunately, his personal success couldn't inspire MICT to the playoffs but he did claim a domestic T20 title with the Lions and heads to the T20 World Cup itching to make an impact as he has done throughout the 2023-24 season.

The talk before every Durban's Super Giants match in Season 2 focussed on Heinrich Klaasen and how to stop him. Looking at his numbers, very few bowlers managed it. 'Klaasie', despite being moved up and down the middle order, helped himself to 447 runs - second only to Rickelton. His average, 40.64, and strike rate of 207.91 were peerless however and the 37 times he deposited bowlers - spinners and pace bowlers in equal measure - into, on top of, and over stands also set a new record in a campaign full of them.

Of course, it wasn't just his batting which helped him finish atop the MVP rankings, to claim the Betway Player of the Season award. Klaasen also claimed a season-high 10 catches, meaning it was other batters who also looked to avoid him.

Klaasen, in unusual orange, was key to Sunrisers Hyderabad reaching the IPL final so Proteas fans will be keenly hoping his form holds out through June as they chase an elusive world title - if they do, Klaasen undoubtedly will have a big say.

ALSO READ: Klaasen credits 'hard work' for success | WATCH: All 10 of Klaasen's catches