SA20 AUCTION SMART BUYS: BEYERS SWANEPOEL

The Betway SA20 Season 3 auction is almost upon us with October 1 saved as the date when the hammer will be brought out again.

The first two auctions certainly had the tongues wagging with some big-money purchases.

However, teams have also made some shrewd purchases with players delivering performances that far outweigh their price tags.

In a new six-part series, SA20 will highlight the bargain buys that have shot the lights out.

In the fourth instalment of this series, we focus on Sunrisers Eastern Cape allrounder Beyers Swanepoel, who was bought for R600 000 at the Season 2 player auction.

Swanepoel missed out on Season 1 and desperately wanted to be part of South Africa’s premier domestic T20 competition.

The Season 2 auction was therefore a pivotal moment in the young allrounder’s fledgling career.

“My wife and I were sitting on the couch (watching the auction),” Swanepoel fondly remembers. “We were very nervous, very anxious, because my name did not come up in the first round. It came in the second bunch.

“And when the Sunrisers were the first team to bid for me, my wife started to cry. She’s very emotional like that. She is a true champion and supports me a lot. Best day of my life!”

Being signed up by his hometown team - Swanepoel plays his domestic cricket for the Warriors out of St George’s Park - was a huge relief.

He was walking into a dressing room where he knew the majority of the players along with some of the coaching staff and was well-acquainted with the unique brass band. 

It certainly helped him acclimatise quickly to the unique Sunrisers environment and not be overawed by joining a championship-winning team. 

Furthermore the welcoming nature of the Sunrisers management made his job out on the park a lot easier. 

“The Sunrisers management, and especially the owners, they interact with us a lot and it's like a family. If you ask anyone who they want to play for … they will all say it's the Sunrisers,” he said. 

“Also playing at St George’s Park is special. The band is amazing. It brings the best out of us. We don’t want to lose at our home ground.”

Having played five matches during the Sunrisers’ title defence last season, Swanepoel is hoping to make a bigger impact in Season 3 in trying to help the Eastern Cape side complete an unprecedented hat-trick of titles next year. 

“We’ve only lost about four guys. The new guys coming in … (David) Bedders and Zak Crawley … they will fit in nicely. I would like to play more games. It was an unreal experience,” he said.

“I think we are the underdogs for the third one. Everyone will look at us.

“But I am confident we have a good squad. Coach Adi (Birrell) and the support staff will definitely look after us. If we do the basics for long enough, it will go okay.”

BEYERS SWANEPOEL BETWAY SA20 STATS

Matches: 5 | Wickets: 5 | BB: 2/21 | Economy: 8.13 | Ave: 24.40 | Runs: 8 | SR: 88.89