SA20 Final and the Ncakos316 SA20 2026 Team of the Season
- Ncakos316
- Jan 26
- 8 min read
Wow. If the fourth edition of the SA20 is remembered for anything, it will be the final that we have just witnessed. I was lucky enough to be at Newlands for it and I can tell you the energy in that stadium could have generated enough electricity to run a small city. The game ebbed and flowed to such an extent that you never truly knew what the outcome would be and it was only once Tristan Stubbs, the much-maligned Tristan Stubbs, hit the first ball of the 20th over of the second innings for a massive 6 that we knew who would be crowned champions. Now that the dust has settled, let's talk about the final, and the tournament itself.
The fourth season of SA20 was met with a huge wave of excitement. This is pretty much the only chance South African cricket fans will have to see high-quality international stars in the country until September when Australia arrive for a multi-format tour. Perhaps this is why every match of the tournament has been sold-out or near-sold-out, but then again, the cricket itself can speak a lot for that. There had been a lot of talk about the lack of close or marginal games in the tournament and those detractors do have a point: everyone wants to see an exciting, close finish. But one should also look at the quality in each game itself. Yes, there were some one-sided victories this season such as SEC's 137-run victory against Paarl in game 3, but look at the performances in that game; a 28-ball 60* by Jordan Hermann and a 4-13 by speedster Anrich Nortje. Keep in mind that Paarl put this behind them and reached qualifier 2!
Another one-sided affair was the game in which Joburg blew Durban away for 86 in game 6, but I remember this for Richard Gleeson's incredible spell of 3 wickets for only 2 runs. Pretoria's 85-run trouncing of Cape Town in game 8 should be remembered for the whirlwind, unbroken partnership of 86 off a mere 27 balls by Dewald Brevis and Sherfane Rutherford. Cape Town were dismissed for a paltry 88 in game 13 by Paarl, a mismatch by normal standards but Sikandar Raza took 4-13 in an immaculate spell of spin bowling. In game 14 Pretoria would have thought they had set a decent total against SEC with their 176, but it was brutally chased down by Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow in less than 15 overs. So yes, there were some matches during this edition that were one-sided, but don't let this be a complaint. Look at the enthralling performances within the match that made these fixtures one-sided, and choose to remember that instead!
Defending champions MI Cape Town will be disappointed with their campaign, as will Durban's Super Giants. Both teams stacked with superstars and top T20 performers had seasons to forget, finishing in 6th and 5th place respectively. Cape Town have now finished three SA20 editions in last place to go with their victory in 2025. Joburg Super Kings will rue the injury to Faf du Plessis, their unshakeable leader. His misfortune seemed to align with the misfortune of his side, who rely so much on him for guidance. The Paarl Royals did so well after the aforementioned annihilation in their first game of the campaign against SEC. They made it all the way to qualifier 2 only to lose to the same opposition. And so it was down to the final two sides to play a repeat of the 2023 final: Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Pretoria Capitals.
The day could not have been any better. Hot, as Cape Town is in summer, with a delightful breeze blowing just steadily enough to keep your mind off the heat. SEC won the toss and chose to field first. This was the first time they have fielded after winning the toss this season. Both sides chose to go into the fixture with unchanged XIs, therefore Pretoria opened up with Bryce Parsons and Conor Esterhuizen.
The first two overs were frantic. Marco Jansen angled the 4th delivery of the match across Esterhuizen who pushed at it only to get an edge to James Coles at slip before a run had been scored. Sipamla took the new ball in the 2nd over and struck with his first ball, getting Shai Hope to drive one uppishly straight to Bairstow at short cover. SEC would have felt that they were on top, and they were, but then Dewald Brevis arrived. From his very first ball which he simply punched to the man at sweeper, Brevis looked in sublime touch. As an SEC fan, I wanted his wicket early but was also dead keen to see him on full display. I was both disappointed and elated.
His first boundary came at the end of the 2nd over, flicking a full-pitched Sipamla delivery with ease wide of mid-on. He then took three more boundaries off Sipamla's next over before absolutely dismantling James Coles in the final powerplay over with two boundaries and two sixes for 20 runs. All of a sudden Capitals were on 49/2 at the end of the powerplay with Brevis on 40 off just 18. A six off Muthusamy followed in over 7. He then brought up his half-century in 26 balls at the end of the 9th over. He then hit another six and four off Chris Green's first over. Brevis did not let any bowlers settle and it seemed as though SEC had forgotten to use the short ball against him, an area he has struggled in. Bryce Parsons was eventually brilliantly run out in the 13th over but Brevis put that behind him to put the final ball of the over over long-on for a 97-meter six. Jordan Cox was then unfortunately run out after a Brevis straight drive ricocheted off James Coles' hand and into the stumps, catching non-striker Cox out of his ground. That didn't bother Brevis and three balls later he made room on the leg side to deposit a Coles delivery over extra cover for six. Sherfane Rutherford was out in the 17th over after a brisk cameo of 17 off 11 balls. Brevis continued his lone hand by bringing up his century in the 18th over with his 7th six of the innings. However, the party came to an end the following over when Brevis attempted a reverse scoop off Jansen only to miscue and be caught by de Kock. The innings fizzled out after this and Pretoria finished with a total of 158/7. A special mention for Marco Jansen here as he bowled exceptionally well. There was chaos all over while Brevis was in but Jansen was not flustered at all and returned figures of four overs for 10 runs, and 3 wickets which included a double wicket maiden in the 19th over.
The SEC reply got off to a shaky start. A de Kock boundary off the opening delivery by Lungi Ngidi was followed by Bairstow's demise, edging one behind for a duck. Matthew Breetzke joined, and he along with de Kock were watchful, knocking around many singles with some boundaries sprinkled in here and there, a highlight of which was a fantastic Breetzke pull for six off a devilishly quick Gideon Peters bouncer. Lizaad Williams started well with the ball and he dismissed de Kock in the final powerplay over with a top-edge being well caught by Cox. Cox was in the action again just nine balls later when Jordan Hermann tried to launch Roston Chase over long-on but could only find the fielder. Suddenly SEC were in a spot of bother at 45/3 and this only worsened 7 balls later when Maharaj got a leading edge off James Coles to dismiss the Englishman for just a single.
That would be the last wicket Pretoria would take, for in walked SEC captain Tristan Stubbs. Stubbs has been in a truly horrendous run of batting form of late but has shown enough form in recent days to have earned a late call-up to the Protea's T20 World Cup squad. What Stubbs has done, though, has shown immaculate composure as captain of SEC. This is a side with a winning reputation so there was a lot on the shoulders of Stubbs after he was handed the captaincy following the departure to Durban of Aiden Markram. For the first 18 balls of the Breetzke and Stubbs partnership, there were no boundaries. What they did manage to do, though, was absorb the pressure and run ones and twos. There was a release in the 12th over when Stubbs deposited a dragged-down delivery by Chase over long-on into the second tier. More singles followed until the 14th over when Stubbs middled a low full toss by Parsons straight over his head for six. Stubbs and Breetzke were being watchful, playing the waiting game, absorbing pressure and most importantly: not giving any chances. Was something brewing?
At the end of the 15th over, SEC needed 62 runs off 30 balls. An immaculate Ngidi over followed where he went only for 6 runs. 56 off 24. Strategic break time. No doubt this was when Stubbs and Breetzke decided to pull the trigger on the run chase. The first over after the break was bowled by Williams. Three fours and two singles later and the target was down to 42 runs off 18 deliveries. Then came the over which, essentially, decided the match. Maharaj threw the ball to the wonderfully talented Gideon Peters. Peters has had a fantastic SA20 season after coming back from a long injury layoff and big things await in the future for this young pace bowler. The first ball was angled down the leg side and went for 4 leg byes. A truly masterful Stubbs reverse-scoop followed two balls later. A wide was then followed by a head-high beamer, signalling a free-hit. This was smashed for six by Breetzke and was followed by two more singles. 21 runs off the over, 21 runs needed from 12 balls. With two set batters in and six wickets in hand, the game was SEC's to lose. Pretoria looked rattled at this point and Ngidi started the penultimate over with a full toss that went for two runs followed by a wide. An extremely well-run three by the surely exhausted Stubbs and Breetzke came next and then a boundary off the final ball all but sealed it for SEC, who now needed just 9 off the final over.
Pretoria captain Keshav Maharaj entrusted Parsons with the final over. This was a huge call as Peters did have overs left but after what had happened in his previous over, Maharaj felt the need to change things up. However, giving the ball to a part-timer was always going to be a gamble which was proven when Stubbs hit the first ball of the final over for a massive six onto the grass embankment. 3 runs needed off 5 now. Stubbs would not be denied and his redemption arc was completed when he hit the next ball for a six in the same area, completing one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in T20 final history. Breetzke and Stubbs put on 114 unbroken runs and etched their names into history. Adrian Birrell can be one helluva proud coach. Cricket is well and truly alive in the Eastern Cape and, indeed, in South Africa. Man, what a final.
I loved every minute of this tournament. I went to a couple games at St. George's and it took me back to my younger days at a packed Kingsmead for a random domestic fixture. The SA20 is making people in South Africa care about cricket again. There are so many youngsters at each game who all have their favorite players. The teams are bringing excitement to their regions as well, cities have been draped in team colors the entirety of the tournament. I may not be a huge fan of T20 cricket, but as long as the SA20 continues to breathe fresh air in the local game, it has its place. Long may it last.
My Team of the Tournament
Quinton de Kock (wk)
Ryan Rickelton
Jordan Hermann
Dewald Brevis
Tristan Stubbs (c)
Sikandar Raza
Sherfane Rutherford
Marco Jansen
Hardus Viljoen
Anrich Nortje
Ottneil Baartman
Comments