BOWLER OF THE SEASON OTTNEIL BAARTMAN: ALL ABOUT SUPPORT

It is often said change is as good as a holiday, and so it proved Ottneil Baartman in Betway SA20 Season 4.

Having been an integral part of Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s success during the first three seasons, Baartman undertook a new challenge at Paarl Royals.

The seamer relished the responsibility of being levelled up to the leader of Royals’ attack after previously being the supporting act to Marco Jansen.

In fact, Baartman passed his good friend and former teammate Jansen as the most successful bowler in Betway SA20 history with 61 wickets in 34 matches at an average of 15.14 and economy of 8.32.

It included 20 wickets in Season 4, which earned Baartman the Bowler of the Season Award.

“Obviously, when I was bought at the auction, I took a look at the team and thought that I’d probably have to lead the attack. Hardus (Viljoen) is an experienced bowler, and then we had young Mokoena,” Baartman said.

“But leading the attack is all in the mindset. Paarl was such a pleasure for me. I picked up a lot of wickets, but I think the two backup-seamers also made an impact which allowed me to settle in.”

The highlight of the campaign for Baartman was the sensational hat-trick, which formed part of a 5/16 haul, against Pretoria Capitals at Centurion.

The soft-spoken seamer does not want to reflect on his individual feat, but rather give praise to his strong support system back home.

“Oh, it means so much to me. Obviously, the support I got from home as well,” Baartman said.

“I'm not a numbers guy, but to be receiving this award, I think the credit needs to go to the family as well for the support throughout the competition.

“And yeah, like I say, I'm not a stats guy. But if you're a leader, we can take it. Most definitely take it any day.”