SA20 TEAM GUIDE: Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen lead a group of talented players who must bring their domestic successes to the franchise game, says NICK HOWSON
Coach: Adrian Birrell
A product of Eastern Cape so it only feels right that the franchise of the same name are led by the 62-year-old. A former legspinner who took 75 first-class wickets for EP - "Not that I'm a Shane Warne but I don't think I was given a fair go" - Birrell has gone about building a decent coaching CV.
Currently leading T20 Blast champions Hampshire in county cricket, he led Ireland in the 2007 World Cup, worked as an assistant with South Africa was more recently leading Boland at home. Seeking victory is a second different South Africa T20 franchise tournament having led Paarl Rocks to Mzani Super League glory in 2019.
Captain: Aiden Markram
The all-format South Africa international will get the chance to press a case for the Sunrisers Hyderabad captaincy in the SA20. In 2014, he became the first Proteas captain to lift a World Cup at the men's Under-19 showcase. Has led the seniors on just five occasions, the last coming in 2018, returning four defeats against India. Among the leading T20I players this decade, he was named in the 2021 ICC team of the year. Comes into the event off the back of an impressive One-Day Challenge when he averaged 68.20 for Titans.
Overseas stars
Mason Crane: The Hampshire legspinner, part of the T20 Blast winners last summer, is heading overseas to test his skills. Economical and canny in equal measure he will likely bring up a century of T20 appearance in 2023. Has a single Test appearance - during the 2017/18 Ashes - which followed his only two T20Is outings for England but regular Lions call-ups mean he is anything but completely out of the picture.
Jordan Cox: Two impressive campaigns with Kent and eye-catching displays with Oval Invincibles has opened new doors for Cox. He was named in the England squad for the pre-T20 World Cup Pakistan series and though he didn't get make an appearance, he followed that with spells in the Abu Dhabi T10 and Lanka Premier League. The Blast final MVP in 2021, he has carved out a role in the middle order and can also be relied upon with the gloves. An excited few weeks beckon.
Roelof van der Merwe: The Dutch-South African returns home. He represented Tshwane Spartans in the Mzansi Super League but it is in England where he's made his name. Since re-joining Somerset in 2016, he's helped them scoop the One-Day Cup and reach the Blast final in 2021. Part of the Netherlands setup since 2015 he's been involved in three T20 World Cup campaigns. A passionate performer whose left-arm spin and aggressive lower-order hitting can be a real asset.
Tom Abell: The Somerset skipper has only played 10 matches in overseas T20 leagues. But it is a tribute to his improvement in the shortened format that he is now among the conversation for these competitions.
He's surpassed 1,000 T20 runs across the last three English summers, earning him deals in Bangladesh, Australia's BBL and the Pakistan Super League - though he is yet to play in the tournament. Three matches in the LPL is an indication of the struggle for regular playing time but he will hope for a change in 2023.
Brydon Carse: The rapid Durham quick saw his 2022 season curtailed due to a toe injury but bound for Sri Lanka with the Lions shows how highly he is regarded. Has already played nine ODIs for England and returns to his country of birth hoping to continue his development. Indeed, he made his senior debut for Eastern Province back in 2014 before moving to Chester-le-street. Though he has a modest record in the Blast - 25 wickets at 46.28 - his ability to break the 90mph barrier means he stands out in the crowd.
Adam Rossington: Another product of English cricket's wicketkeeper-batter factory. With a strike rate of 143, there can be no doubting Rossington's attacking instincts. While the ex-Northamptonshire captain will blow hot and cold at times he is a decent watch once in full flow, preferring bludgeoning strikes down the ground and taking bowlers on rather than working the field. Being close to 250 first-class dismissals means he likely starts the competition with the gloves, despite the competition around him.
Tristan Stubbs was the most expensive player at the auction (Isuru Sameera Peiris/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
BATTING
Power hitters
Tristan Stubbs was the most expensive player in the SA20 auction, a reward for his stunning returns in T20s over the past year. Bar a quiet IPL, Stubbs stunned onlookers in last year's CSA T20 Challenge, cracking 293 runs at a strike rate of 183 and then going to England to hammer a 28-ball 72 at Bristol. Went a bit cold at the T20 World Cup but returned to form in the One-Day Challenge, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer after signing off with 144 against Lions.
Anchor
Like the 22-year-old, Aiden Markram arrives off the back of an impressive One-Day Challenge during which he averaged 68.20 at a strike rate of 95.25. Markram is by no means a sebate scorer in T20 cricket - his 2022 strike rate stood at 149 for South Africa - but with Rossington and Stubbs providing the muscle and some inexperience further down his wicket will be a prized one.
If an opportunity arrives for Sarel Erwee, who does have a T20 century to his name from 2017, he would suit the role perfectly as well. But having not played a T20 for more than two years, with his Test career having taken priority, he may mostly have a watching brief.
Finisher
The Sunrisers' lower order looked particularly punchy. Roelof van der Merwe is a reckless batter and scored 104 runs during last year's Blast at 170 - finishing unbeaten five times. Cox averages 30 for Kent, a record that climbed to 52.42 during the Spitfires' title success in 2021 and is a sweet timer of a ball at his best. Marco Jansen hasn't yet replicated his lusty blows in Test cricket in the shorter formats, but innings at The Oval and MCG suggest there is more to come from his long levers.
JJ Smuts meanwhile has in excess of 4,000 T20 runs and three centuries and Capitals and while his international returns have failed to see him nail down a regular place, he is an experienced figure.
Problem areas
There is a lack of proven international class in the Sunrisers squad. Stubbs' rise has been meteoric and Markram is a reliable presence, but they require domestic talent to come good all at the same time.
James Fuller was key to Hants' Blast success (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
BOWLING
Speed merchants
In a competitive field, Fuller was as influential as any in Hampshire's run to last summer's Blast title. He finished with 23 wickets and 290 runs and he returns home looking to back up that return. Countryman Carse might be kept back for the middle-overs but offers the extreme pace option and will hit the bat hard.
Jansen has shown flashes of class in T20 cricket but at 22 can only be expected to improve in both facets of the game. Standing at more than two meters tall he'll be the intimidatory arm of the attack.
Ottneil Baartman's career economy rate means he will be an asset while Sisanda Magala, who has played six internationals, was the leading wicket-taker in the One-Day Challenge with 17 in seven matches for the victorious Lions side.
Variation
Sunrisers have a decent blend of youth and experience, with bowlers able to contain, take wickets and threaten both sides of the bat.
In the leg-spin corner are Crane and Junaid Darwood, who passed a century of career wickets during the one-day competition.
Smuts and van der Merwe, with a combined age of 74, will prove to be canny left-arm orthodox options. Stubbs proved during The Hundred his off-spin can complement his destructive batting and Markram has proven he can exert control, having returned a career economy rate of 7.07.
Problem areas
While the entire cartel, across seam and spin, offers variety and several modes of attack it lacks a quality wicket-taker. It might be that it blends together nicely and unseats batters with skill and guile but it's a clear chasm in this squad.
JJ Smuts will offer a dual threat (RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images)
Who takes the gloves?
Sunrisers are blessed with three options which will allow them to be flexible with the formation of their XI. That said, it would be a surprise to see Stubbs given the responsibility such is his importance in the other facets of the game. It will come down to a straight fight between two Englishmen - the experienced Rossington and Cox, the impressive Kent youngster. The former is likely to start behind the stumps, particularly given Cox's expertise in the field (who could forget that catch in the 2021 Blast final).
Squad: Tom Abell, Marques Ackerman, Ottniel Baartman, Brydon Carse, Mason Crane, Jordan Cox, Junaid Dawood, Sarel Erwee, James Fuller, Aya Gqamane, Marco Jansen, Jordan Hermann, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Adam Rossington, Jon-Jon Smuts, Roelof van der Merwe
Possible starting XI: Adam Rossington, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Marques Ackerman, Jordan Cox, JJ Smuts, Marco Jansen, James Fuller, Brydon Carse, Sisanda Magala, Mason Crane
Fixtures: January 12 - Pretoria Capitals (St George's Park, 7.30pm), January 14 - Pretoria Capitals, (Centurion, 3.30pm), January 16 - MI Cape Town (St George's Park, 7.30pm), January 18 - MI Cape Town (Newlands, 3.30pm), January 19 - Paarl Royals (Boland Park, 7.30pm), January 21 - Joburg Super Kings (St George’s Park, 7.30pm), January 22 - Durban Super Giants (St George’s Park, 7.30pm), January 24 - Paarl Royals (St George's Park, 3.30pm), February 3 - Durban Super Giants (Kingsmead, 1:30pm GMT), February 5 - Joburg Super Kings (Wanderers, 3.30pm)
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