HEALTHY BETWAY SA20 CONTINGENT SET TO HAVE A BLAST

While the ICC T20 World Cup will be hogging the cricket headlines throughout June, a number of Betway SA20 players will still be in prominent T20 action.

The English domestic T20 competition, the Vitality Blast, gets underway on Thursday and 23 players from South Africa’s premier T20 cricket league will be looking to show off their quality.

None so more than Dawid Malan (Sunrisers Eastern Cape) who form-permitting could have been part of the England team at the global showpiece in the West Indies and the USA. Instead, the 36-year-old batter will hope to prove for Yorkshire Vikings that he still has ‘it’.

The same could arguably be said for Jason Roy (Paarl Royals), but the 33-year-old opener has been out of the national T20 team for two years now. Surrey will hope to benefit from any world-class performances he delivers over the next month or so.

As it happens, speedsters Olly Stone (MI Cape Town) and Richard Gleeson (Durban’s Super Giants) and spinner Liam Dawson (Sunrisers Eastern Cape) were also last in international action for England two years ago. All in their 30s, they may not hold out great hope of being part of England’s future, but have shown in SA20 that, respectively, Nottinghamshire Outlaws, Birmingham Bears and Hampshire Hawks will be able to rely on them.

Dawson’s Sunrisers teammate, Adam Rossington finds himself well down a talented list of English wicketkeeper-batters, not least fellow SA20 players Jos Buttler and Phil Salt, but is a key player for Essex Eagles

While the players above add experience to their respective teams, those on an upward trajectory include Paarl Royals quick John Turner (Hampshire Hawks), Joburg Super Kings seamer Sam Cook (Essex Eagles), MI Cape Town wicketkeeper-batters Tom Banton (Somerset) and Chris Benjamin (Birmingham Bears) and Sunrisers Eastern Cape batter Tom Abell (Somerset).

The South African contingent, meanwhile, includes Matthew Breetzke (Durban’s Super Giants) who will turn out for Northamptonshire Steelbacks fresh off playing for the Proteas in their World Cup warm-up series against co-hosts West Indies. As does his DSG teammate Wiaan Mulder, who will play for Leicestershire Foxes.

Another South African ‘coming in hot’ is Donovan Ferreira, who arrives at Yorkshire Vikings having been part of the Rajasthan Royals squad which reached the Indian Premier League playoffs.

Their compatriots, Pretoria Capitals speedsters Daryn Dupavillon (Derbyshire Falcons) and Migael Pretorius (Somerset) and Sunrisers Eastern Cape bowling allrounder Beyers Swanepoel (Kent Spitfires) have already established relationships with their Blast teammates having featured in the County Championship since the end of the South African domestic season. As does veteran Capitals batter Colin Ingram, who has lengthy association with Glamorgan.

Meanwhile a trio of South African expats will be in action too: Colin Ackermann skipped on playing for Netherlands at the T20 World Cup having been a new signing for Durham Dynamos this year, Wayne Madsen (who plays for Italy internationally) will improved his record as Derbyshire Falcons’ leading T20 run-scorer and Middlesex will hope Leus du Plooy (who qualifies for England this year, but has played associate level cricket for Hungary) carries his outstanding SA20 Season 2 form into his first T20 campaign with them.

SA20 PLAYERS IN THE BLAST

Durban’s Super Giants (3): Matthew Breetzke (Northamptonshire Steelbacks), Richard Gleeson (Birmingham Bears), Wiaan Mulder (Leicestershire Foxes)

Joburg Super Kings (4): Sam Cook (Essex Eagles), Leus du Plooy (Middlesex), Donovan Ferreira (Yorkshire Vikings), Wayne Madsen (Derbyshire Falcons)

MI Cape Town (3): Tom Banton (Somerset), Chris Benjamin (Birmingham Bears), Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire Outlaws)

Paarl Royals (2): John Turner (Hampshire Hawks), Jason Roy (Surrey)

Pretoria Capitals (4): Colin Ackermann (Durham Dynamos), Daryn Dupavillon (Derbyshire Falcons), Colin Ingram (Glamorgan), Migael Pretorius (Somerset)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape (7): Tom Abell (Somerset), Liam Dawson (Hampshire Hawks), Simon Harmer, Adam Rossington (both Essex Eagles), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire Vikings), Beyers Swanepoel (Kent Spitfires), Dan Worrall (Surrey)