Ken Borland

Daryn Dupavillon called it “incredible” while the religious might even have said it was miraculous as Marques Ackerman’s last-ditch boundaries earned the Pretoria Capitals a bonus point win over the Sunrisers Eastern Cape on a pitch which had many batsmen praying for help in their SA20 match at Centurion on Tuesday.

Sunrisers needed all the help they could get as they lost the toss and were sent in to bat on a damp pitch, understandably so after all the rain that has fallen in Gauteng in the last month. Their confidence-lacking batting line-up did not help themselves either though, and they crashed to 26 for five.

It was only thanks to a determined but fiery 51 off 35 balls by Marco Jansen that they managed to post 113 all out, their second-lowest total ever and also the second-lowest at Centurion.

Will Jacks (27 off 23) gave Pretoria Capitals a confident start to their chase, but the loss of Kyle Verreynne (12) off the last ball of the powerplay saw them slip from 44 for one to 61 for four. Mindful of how they had messed up a run-a-ball chase in Kingsmead in their opening game, the home side went into crisis mode.

Liam Livingstone (14* off 14 balls) and Ackerman successfully completed their first job, which was to ensure victory was in the bag. But a crucial, and very attainable bonus point, seemed to have passed them by when they needed 32 runs off 18 balls for the bonus point.

They then went into attack mode but struggled to make much headway on the two-paced pitch against tight, determined bowling that still asked plenty of questions. They came to the 16^th over needing 15 from it for the bonus point.

Ackerman managed to swot Marco Jansen’s second delivery over long-on for a flat six, but two dot balls followed, meaning the left-hander needed to score nine off the last two balls for that crucial extra point.

First he flicked the left-arm quick off the stumps, behind square on the leg-side for four, before swinging the last ball clean-as-a-whistle over long-on for six. In just his second SA20 innings, and his first since 2023, Ackerman finished on a tenacious, highly impressive 39 not out off 30 balls.

“It was a tricky pitch, you couldn’t just walk in and start hitting, you had to spend some time getting the pace of the wicket. When we lost a few wickets, I was just thinking of us getting the win,” Dupavillon said after the victory by six wickets with 24 balls to spare.

“We played the situation badly in Durban, but Liam and Marques really did what was required today. They hit the ball on the ground initially and we were always ahead of the rate because of Will going hard at the front. But Marques was incredible at the end there.”

While SA20 matches at Centurion are usually a festival of runs, Tuesday was very different. At the start of the game, the ball was ‘sticking’ but there was still some steep bounce, as well as swing and a little bit of movement off the deck.

Dupavillon and new-ball partner Eathan Bosch used the conditions perfectly, with Dupavillion taking three for 32 and Bosch two for 18.

Bosch had Zak Crawley (1) caught at mid-off off the last delivery of the first over, unwisely trying to hit a back-of-a-length ball over the top. Dupavillon then struck with his second and third deliveries as David Bedingham (2) edged a nurdle outside off-stump and Aiden Markram jabbed his first ball to deep backward square-leg.

For a team that has lost their first two games, crashing to four for three was always going to be a very difficult hole to climb out of. Jansen’s excellent innings, featuring four fours and three sixes, meant they weren’t totally embarrassed, but Migael Pretorius (4-1-21-1), Jimmy Neesham (3.4-0-11-2) and Senuran Muthusamy (4-0-29-2) all provided fine support to the new-ball bowlers.

The back-to-back defending champions, having lost three matches in a row now, need to urgently arrest their slide otherwise they will be praying for a miracle of their own.

“We need to find our blueprint soon because we haven’t played well in our last three games. You need to make your own luck and we need to do the basics better. Fortunately there are still seven games to go and we know we are in for the long run.

“We haven’t started well before but have managed to find a way. But we are running out of time to make a play,” assistant coach Russell Domingo said.

The SA20 is meant to be a ray of hope for the embattled coffers of South African cricket, but it is also going to provide a global platform for local players to display their talents and hopefully further their careers.

The good news for the country’s best T20 players is that the competition for their signatures is expected to be most fierce in Monday’s auction in Cape Town, which should drive up prices. It has been noticeable how, due to the weakness of the rand, overseas players’ reserve prices are much higher, meaning in many cases, South African players represent better value.

“You play half your matches at home, so that has a big impact,” Sunrisers Eastern Cape coach Adrian Birrell said. “You need to get the right players for the right venue, and we’ll be trying the best we can to buy for St George’s Park, players who have done well there. I’m sure the Wanderers and SuperSport Park will do the same thing.

“The opportunity to go for one or two big South African players we would like to have is why we did not spend up front and have only pre-signed Aiden Markram and Ottneil Baartman.

“I think us and the Pretoria franchise [who have just pre-signed Anrich Nortje and Migael Pretorius] have the most money. You can strategise well with that extra money and we have a good chance of getting the players we want,” Birrell said.

So what good-value buys should the six franchises be targeting as they look to spend what is remaining of their R34 million budget to fill all 17 spots on their playing rosters? Ten of those places must go to South Africans.

Daryn Dupavillon

All six franchises will have their eyes on people who can bowl flat-out fast. While Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have been pre-signed, and competition will be intense for Marco Jansen, KZN Dolphins star Dupavillon represents good value. Arguably the fastest bowler in South Africa, his sheer pace will bring plenty of heat to opposition batsmen and test their ability to choose and execute the correct stroke in a split-second.

Dwaine Pretorius

The 33-year-old provides an ideal T20 package as an experienced all-rounder. As a bowler, he can bowl up front with swing, in the middle overs with cutters or at the death with his wide yorkers. And as a batsman, he is a power-hitter and can hit boundaries from ball one, which is crucial for that role.

Lungi Ngidi

Unburdened by injury, Ngidi has been in superb form for the Proteas, having the batsmen in chains in the opening overs. He will be even more dangerous in South Africa, where his steepling bounce from a good length comes into play, while his clever slower balls will still be effective.

Tabraiz Shamsi

Shamsi’s brilliance as a white-ball bowler, one of the best in the world, should be recognised and Sunrisers Eastern Cape could make a big move for him, thanks to his excellent record at St George’s Park – in 14 T20s there he has taken 19 wickets and concedes just 6.74 runs-per-over. Pretoria Capitals could get involved in a bidding war though to get him back to his current home ground.

Tristan Stubbs

This 22-year-old is so exciting, people are now going to matches just to watch him bat. Sunrisers Eastern Cape no doubt want him to play at his home ground, but every single franchise is going to be after his services. He has taken to international cricket with aplomb, showing his ability to clear the boundary and also keep his run-rate high with ones and twos.

Reeza Hendricks

In magnificent form at the moment and marvellous to watch when in full flight, Hendricks scored back-to-back centuries in the 2018 Mzansi Super League. He’s probably a better batsman now and most of the franchises will be thinking long and hard about getting him in at the top of the order.

A career-best 11-wicket haul for fast bowler Daryn Dupavillon paved the way for the Dolphins to beat the Knights by five wickets in their 4-Day Domestic Series match at Kingsmead in Durban on Wednesday.

Dupavillon claimed four for 66, to back up his phenomenal first-innings figures of seven for 38, as the Knights second innings collapsed from their overnight 150 for two to 213 all out, leaving the Dolphins with just 77 to get for victory on the third day.

It was a bit of a struggle for the home side as leg-spinner Shaun von Berg took three for 12, but Keegan Petersen scored 28 not out to ensure a five-wicket win for the Dolphins.

Dupavillon stamped his mark in his first over of the day when he had in-form nightwatchman Migael Pretorius caught behind for 8, off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen then bowled Patrick Botha for 6, and when opener Matthew Kleinveldt was run out for a tenacious 77, the Knights were really on the skids inside the first hour of play.

Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy also chipped in with a three-wicket haul as the Knights lost their last eight wickets for just 63 runs on Wednesday.

The Imperial Lions, meanwhile, will have to put in another day at the office as a determined batting display by the Warriors held them up at St George’s Park.

Set a mammoth 513 for victory, the Warriors had reached 219 for five at stumps thanks to captain Yaseen Vallie’s defiant but positive 85 and Rudi Second’s obstinate 76 not out.

The in-form Sisanda Magala dismissed Vallie and claimed the big wicket of opener Ed Moore to lead the Lions bowling.

Earlier, Wiaan Mulder showed why he is one of the country’s most promising batting all-rounders as he cruised to a brilliant 100 not out off 109 balls to set up the Lions declaration on 241 for five shortly before lunch.

Mulder and Rickelton (59) put on 93 for the fourth wicket before Mulder cut loose with 13 fours and three sixes.

A draw looks the most likely result at Centurion, although there is still space for a Titans win as the Cape Cobras go into the final day on 33 without loss, a lead of just four runs.

The pitch is starting to misbehave, with Cobras openers Jonathan Bird and Pieter Malan having to keep their wits about them in the nine overs they had to face before stumps as deliveries started to keep low.

The Titans had earlier made it to 440 all out with two centuries being scored: Aiden Markram reached three figures for the third consecutive innings as he stroked a commanding 113, and Neil Brand showed great judgement in sticking around for six-and-a-half hours and scoring 115.

Sibonelo Makhanya played some marvellous strokes in his run-a-ball 55 and there were useful contributions too from Theunis de Bruyn (35) and Dayyaan Galiem (38) as the Titans took the lead.

New Cobras signing Calvin Savage was always at the batsmen in 22.4 persevering overs and was rewarded with five for 77, his first five-for for his new franchise.