SA20 TEAM GUIDE: The England white-ball captain holds the batting order together but there are encouraging signs in the seam attack, writes NICK HOWSON
Coach: JP Duminy
A logical appointment to lead the Royals in the maiden campaign having been installed to lead Boland last June. That followed a stint as a batting consultant for Lions and as a strategic consultant with South Africa men at the 2021 T20 World Cup. Enjoyed a successful playing career spanning 18 years, including more than 300 appearances for The Proteas across formats and spells in the PSL, IPL and CPL.
Captain: David Miller:
After leading South Africa to a T20I series win against world champions England and laying the foundations for Barbados Royals to reach the CPL final, Miller will hope to draw on his recent success at the helm. With more than 400 T20 outings his reputation goes before him and having played a major role in Gujarat Titans winning the IPL, Royals will be hoping for a repeat of that performance.
Overseas stars
Jos Buttler: England's World Cup-winning captain is the standout overseas star in the inaugural edition of the SA20. Essentially Buttler's return to action after that tournament (if you ignore the Australia ODIs and frankly we all do) and a rare domestic overseas appearance.
This will be his first foreign franchise tournament appearance outside of the Indian Premier League since the 2018/19 BBL. One of his country's greatest men's white-ball cricketers, if not the best who barely requires an introduction.
Jason Roy: From one player looking to build on an impressive 2022 to another hoping to forget it altogether. The Surrey batter went from England's premier white-ball opener to lose his T20I place and concerns are growing over his role in the 50-over World Cup defence.
Given the assembled cast and conditions (though he doesn't have an outstanding record in South Africa) this feels like the perfect stage to rebuild. A 33-ball unbeaten 57 to sign off his Abu Dhabi T10 stint is hopefully a sign of things to come. For Royals, this is perhaps not the marquee signing that it might have been a year or so ago.
Eoin Morgan: The architect of England's white-ball revival but 2022 didn't go exactly to plan. A second world title in Australia saw Morgan's blueprint followed expertly but not before he retired from international cricket and suffered a stop-start summer. Found some form in The Hundred leading London Spirit before turning out for New York Strikers in Abu Dhabi, where he rolled back the years with a sparkling 87 not out from 35 deliveries. Will be a crucial leadership voice alongside Miller.
Ramon Simmonds: Another left-arm seamer from the Caribbean who enjoyed a breakthrough in 2022. Simmonds played his first and only eight T20s to help Barbados Royals reach the CPL final. One of the players of Qualifier 1, he took 3 for 17 and can count Shakib Al Hasan among his victims.
A spindly quick who generates plenty of pace via his action, surprising batters with the occasional short ball. Has a dose of experience of bowling in South Africa, having played three Under-19 World Cup matches in 2020. Might have to wait for his opportunity, but it should be a good learning experience nonetheless.
Jos Buttler will open the batting and keep wicket (SURJEET YADAV/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)
BATTING
Power hitters
With six T20 hundreds, a strike rate of 145 and two World Cup winners medals, Buttler is just about as perfect an opener as you could hope for. Last season's highest IPL run-scorer has little left to achieve so will arrive in South Africa playing with freedom - a dangerous prospect.
Opening partner Roy has a point to prove and while recent struggles are a concern, they overshadow what he has achieved in white-ball cricket. Still striking at above 140, Roy is closing in on the top 30 run-scorers in T20 history and has five tons in this format of the game. He still holds England's highest individual ODI score of 180 in Melbourne and is one of only two to pass 150 on three separate occasions.
And if opportunity knocks, Evan Jones has shown in his brief T20 career (strike rate 145.76) and during the recent CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge, when he averaged 148 and scored at 149.49 per 100 balls, that he is capable of setting a white-ball innings alight.
Anchor
Thirty-year-old Wihan Lubbe can be relied upon to be the calming influence while the fireworks go off around him in the top five. Quick runs in his two South Africa T20I appearances aside, Lubbe won't take undue risks. For Warriors in the recent CSA Challenge, he scored at 92.50 (only one of the top fifty run-scorers went slower) and it was a similar story in the one-day competition.
Finisher
Miller is a stone-cold killer in the death overs, striking at 186 in men's T20s while crashing more than 400 boundaries. Left not out for Gujarat Titans in the last IPL when he has a defined role, Miller was one of the driving forces behind their title triumph. The balance for Royals will be ensuring they build a solid foundation which allows him to flourish.
Problem areas
When the Royals used the flex biceps emoji to introduce Buttler on social media it might have been a glimpse into the future. It feels as though the England skipper will be having to do plenty of heavy lifting in this XI, for there are few other reliable run-scorers across the squad. It might even be that Miller is needed higher up the order than was originally intended.
Can Lungi Ngidi repeat his World Cup heroics? (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
BOWLING
Speed merchants
There was a period during the T20 World Cup when South Africa were playing like tournament favourites. Lungi Ngidi's performance against India, where he produced a player-of-the-match 4 for 29, was central to that. It was the moment he became more than just part of the supporting cast to Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Quick, able to bowl tight lines and with a fearsome short ball, the 26-year-old is the leader of the Royals attack.
Andile Phehlukwayo is a skilful operator in the middle overs but hasn't played a T20 since July and was only a reserve at the World Cup. Ferisco Adams' economy rate at the death (7.59) gives them a specialist in a key position while a controlling role beckons for Corbin Bosch. The wildcard comes in the form of the quick, yet erratic, Simmonds.
Variation
Tabraiz Shamsi ensures the Royals will be a threat after the fielding restrictions. The wrist spinner has a tonne of tricks, including a top spinner which generates pace off the pitch and a googly that constantly befuddles batters.
It might end up being a left-arm spin from both ends with Bjorn Fortuin having arrived. The pair bowled Paarl Rocks to the MSL title in 2019, taking 24 wickets between them at an economy rate below seven an over.
The right-arm off-spin cupboard is covered by Imran Manack and Lubbe but this is not an area that is particularly well stocked.
Problem areas
A squad including too many specialists, who can only perform a single role, sees the bowling department come off worse. Plenty rests on Shamsi and Ngidi after Obed McCoy's withdrawal, so if one of them goes down or struggles to hit form, you worry if there is an attack there capable of doing anything other than making up the numbers. How Adams copes amid esteemed company will be fascinating.
Obed McCoy is out of the tournament (Matt Roberts/Getty Images)
Who takes the gloves?
With more than 200 T20s behind the stumps, Buttler will start the competition with the gloves. The Englishman is currently eighth on the all-time dismissals list on 163, one ahead of Mushfiqur Rahim. Only MS Dhoni and Quinton de Kock have more in T20Is. Lancashire and captain Dane Vilas is not far behind with more than 100 and will act as the backup option.
Squad: Ferisco Adams, Corbin Bosch, Jos Buttler, Bjorn Fortuin, Evan Jones, Wihan Lubbe, Imraan Manack, David Miller, Eoin Morgan, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jason Roy, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ramon Simmonds, Mitchell van Buuren, Dane Vilas, Codi Yusuf
Possible starting XI: Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Wihan Lubbe, David Miller, Dane Vilas, Corbin Bosch, Andile Phehlukwayo, Ferisco Adams, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ramon Simmonds
Fixtures: January 10 - MI Cape Town (Newlands, 7:30pm GMT), January 13 - Joburg Super Kings, (Boland Park), 7:30pm GMT), January 15 - Durban Super Giants (Kingsmead, 3:30pm GMT), January 17 - Durban Super Giants (Boland Park, 3:30pm GMT), January 19 - Sunrisers Cape Town (Newlands, 3:30pm GMT), January 21 - MI Cape Town (Boland Park, 3:30pm GMT), January 22 - Pretoria Capitals (Boland Park, 3:30pm GMT), January 24 - Sunrisers Cape Town (St George’s Park, 3:30pm GMT), February 3 - Joburg Super Kings (Newlands, 1:30pm GMT), February 7 - Pretoria Capitals (Centurion, 7:30pm GMT)
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