A clinical bowling performance, powered by Roelof van der Merwe&rsquo;s 4/31, and Adam Rossington&rsquo;s breathtaking 57 off 30 balls has made the Sunrisers Eastern Cape maiden SA20 champions. In a low-scoring final on Sunday (February 12) in Johannesburg, the Sunrisers raced to a 4-wicket win, chasing down Pretoria&rsquo;s 135 with 22 balls remaining.&nbsp;Rossington&rsquo;s quickfire fifty was the difference between both sides. Modest totals can be tricky to chase especially on slow tracks as Johannesburg&rsquo;s New Wanderers Stadium has produced all season. However, Rossington broke the back of the chase in the powerplay itself, scoring 52 off 20 balls at the six-over mark. In the sixth over itself, he hammered Migael Pretorius for 26 runs (6 4 0 6 6 4).&nbsp;Thanks to his blitzkrieg, Sunrisers were already 76/1 at the end of the powerplay. On a pitch that aided spinners, Sunrisers were already halfway through their target before Pretoria could bring in their ace leg-spinner, Adil Rashid.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676221140081-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Sunrisers&rsquo; progression was halted as soon as the spinners came in the attack when the field spread out. Post powerplay, the Sunrisers scored 61/5 in 10.2 overs with the spinners picking 29/2 in six overs between them (Rashid and Colin Ingram). Meanwhile, Pretorius and Eathan Bosch conceded 63 runs in four overs between them in the powerplay and Pretoria could never recover from that.&nbsp;&ldquo;With the small totals, we have to break the back up front, and Rossington is the right guy to do that,&rdquo; skipper Aiden Markram highlighted Rossington&rsquo;s contribution post match.&nbsp;Earlier, with the bat, no Pretoria batter got going once the pitch slowed down. In eight overs between them, van der Merwe and &nbsp;Markram picked 5/48. Pretoria lost wickets in quick succession, losing both their openers at the score of 33, then their third and fourth wicket at 64 and 66 respectively.&nbsp;They still gave themselves a chance to get closer to 150 but skittled from 127/6 to 127/9 which crippled their final score. Kusal Mendis was their highest scorer - 21 off 19 balls. Hence, Pretoria lost out on the battle of spin, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/opposing-modus-operandi-adds-spice-in-maiden-sa20-summit-clash-1676098689017" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">as we mentioned as a threat to their chances in our preview for this fixture</a>.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676221279723-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">&ldquo;If we had 155-160, it would have been a better game. In the end it looks close, but with 135 if someone has a great hit in the powerplay, it is difficult to put it back. In hindsight, probably would have bowled Nortje and Rashid earlier, but we needed 20 runs more,&rdquo; said Pretoria&rsquo;s skipper Wayne Parnell assessing the defeat in the final.&nbsp;Van der Merwe was adjudged as Player of the Match for his 4/31. Markram won the Player of the Tournament award for his all-round contributions throughout the season. Alongside scoring 366 runs, including a hundred in the semi-final, he pouched 11 wickets at an economy 6.2. Even in this final, he scored a crucial 26 off 19 after picking 1/17 with the ball.&nbsp;In other awards, Jos Buttler was the Batter of the Tournament, scoring the most runs in the tournament - 391 runs. Van der Merwe, joint highest wicket taker in the tournament (20 wickets) but at a lower economy than that of Anrich Nortje (5.6 against Nortje&#39;s 6.2) was awarded the Bowler of the Tournament. Pretoria&rsquo;s Eathan Bosch was picked as the Rising Young Star of the season.&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Adam Rossington's quickfire fifty after van der Merwe's four-for staged a comfortable win for Sunrisers Eastern Cape 

Roelof van der Merwe

Aiden Markram

Adam Rossington

Eathan Bosch

Adil Rashid

Wayne Parnell

SA20 League, 2023

Pretoria Capitals

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers lift maiden SA20 title with resounding win over table-toppers

The SA20 final between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Pretoria Capitals at The Wanderers, Johannesburg has been postponed to Sunday (February 12) due to wet weather conditions. The game was due to be played on Saturday (February 11), but the pitch was under covers for a few days leading up to the final and the ground conditions too were not ideal.The good news is that the weather forecast for tomorrow seems to be good and we can expect some action.&quot;The ground preparation for the match has been compromised, with the pitch remaining under covers for three days and over 200ml of rain falling since Wednesday this week. The SA Weather Service has predicted more showers for the remainder of Saturday, with a clearer outlook predicted for Sunday,&quot; a media release from SA20 stated.Former South Africa captain and the current SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith added, &quot;We&#39;ve engaged the match officials, teams, groundsman, stakeholders and the SA Weather Service, and postponing the match is the best decision to allow for the possibility of a full match in drier conditions. We want to give the teams and spectators a memorable Final.&quot;Pretoria Capitals defeated Paarl Royals by 29 runs in the first semi-final on Wednesday (February 8) in Johannesburg to book their place in the final while the Aiden Markram Sunrisers edged past Joburg Super Kings by 14 runs at the SuperSport Park, Centurion to progress.&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The weather forecast for Sunday seems to be promising and we could have a full game

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

SA20 final postponed to February 12 due to wet conditions

What&rsquo;s made the headlines?Women&rsquo;s Premier League less than a month away&nbsp;The wheels continue to be in motion to stage the maiden season of the much-awaited Women&rsquo;s Premier League. After the announcement of the team owners towards the end of January, the second week of February saw BCCI confirm the base itinerary for the tournament. We don&rsquo;t have the fixtures out yet but we now know the tournament will begin on March 4, with the final scheduled on March 26. The tournament will be played entirely at Mumbai&rsquo;s Brabourne Stadium and the DY Patil Stadium.&nbsp;BCCI also confirmed the auction on February 13 in Mumbai. Read our piece on <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/wpl-2023-auction-players-who-could-go-for-the-big-bucks-1675862526074" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">players who could potentially attract a bidding war in the auction</a>. Considering that the T20 World Cup has just begun, right after the inaugural edition of the U19 Women&rsquo;s World Cup, you can say that Women&rsquo;s cricket has been under the limelight in the past few weeks.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676107947278-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">WTC FinalMeanwhile, ICC have confirmed that the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship Final will be played between 7 and 11 June 2023, as two years of Test cricket reaches its conclusion at The Oval in England. Australia currently top the standings, with India in hot pursuit in second place.&nbsp;Finch retires&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4196/aaron-finch/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aaron Finch</a> has called time on his 12-year long international career. The T20 World Cup winning skipper retired from ODIs late last year. Now, announcing his retirement from T20Is, Finch has brought an end to his Australia career.&nbsp;He last played for Australia on October 31, when he led Australia in the 2022 T20 World Cup&rsquo;s group game against Ireland. Considering that Australia were not scheduled any T20 cricket until August 2023, Finch decided to draw curtains on his career citing the gap.&nbsp;&quot;Realising that I won&#39;t be playing on until the next T20 World Cup in 2024, now is the right moment step down and give the team time to plan and build toward that event,&quot; Finch said while announcing his selfless decision.Lamichhane returns<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66066/sandeep-lamichhane/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sandeep Lamichhane</a>, former captain of the Nepal side, is included in the national side for the tri-series against Namibia and Scotland in Kirtipur.&nbsp;The 22-year-old can make his first appearance after being arrested on 6th October 2022 on the charges of sexual harassment against a 17-year-old girl. Lamichhane spent the rest of the year behind the bars and was granted bail last week, following which he resumed his cricket training. The tri-series, a part of the ICC&#39;s Cricket World Cup League 2, will begin on February 14.&nbsp;What&rsquo;s going on in international cricket? &nbsp;- Moving on to actual cricketing action, we had a couple of Test matches scheduled in the second week of February. Rain allowed only 89 overs of play on the first two days of the first Test between Zimbabwe and West Indies in Bulawayo. But we still had plenty to cherish - a grand 336-run stand between <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63709/tagenarine-chanderpaul/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tagenarine Chanderpaul</a> and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/7858/kraigg-brathwaite/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kraigg Brathwaite</a> with massive hundreds for both the openers, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/64264/alzarri-joseph/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alzarri Joseph</a>&rsquo;s fiery spell of reverse swing that almost had Zimbabwe on the mat before we saw an admirable fightback from the hosts to draw the game.&nbsp;The fightback was engineered by <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4617/gary-ballance/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gary Ballance.</a> He marked his return to Test cricket after six years with a timely hundred for his new team - Zimbabwe. He thus became only the second cricketer after Kepler Wessels to score a Test hundred for two different nations. In another second, Tagenarine and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/766/shivnarine-chanderpaul/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shivnarine Chanderpaul</a> have forged only the second father-son pair to score Test double hundreds, following the suit of Pakistan&rsquo;s Hanif (father) and Shoaib Mohammad (son).&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676107986247-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">And last but not the least, there was also Brandon Mavuta, who pouched a 5/140 and then scored 56 with the bat, becoming only the fourth Zimbabwean to score a fifty and pick a five-for in the same Test innings.&nbsp;- India have romped to a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, rolling over the touring Aussies in a three-day finish. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3850/ravindra-jadeja/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravindra Jadeja</a> (5/47, 70 and 2/34), <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3852/rohit-sharma/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rohit Sharma</a> (120), <a href="http://Axar%20Patel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Axar Patel</a> (0/28, 84 and 1/6) and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4555/ravichandran-ashwin/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravichandran Ashwin</a> (2/42, 23 and 5/37) were the prominent stars. Australia were bowled out for scores of 177 and 91.&nbsp;Women&rsquo;s cricketWithin a space of eight days, the fortunes of South Africa&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s cricket team have fluctuated from north to south. On February 2, they clinched the home T20I tri-series, beating India in the final. But South Africa and home World Cups have not gone well together. They crashed out before the semifinals in both 2003 and 2007. And on February 10, they started their Women&rsquo;s T20 World Cup campaign with a shocking 3-run defeat against Sri Lanka. Not a great start for a side that was already under controversy for dropping their regular skipper on grounds of fitness.&nbsp;Franchise cricket- Onto the omnipresent franchise cricket, BBL saw a cracking final last Saturday (February 4). No one expected Brisbane Heat to beat Perth Scorchers at their own den. But the Heat pushed Scorchers to the hilt until Cooper Connolly and Nick Hobson (16 T20 innings between them before the final) hammered 38 off the final three overs. The Scorchers won their fifth BBL title.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676108182640-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">- Both ILT20 and SA20 are reaching the culmination point in the maiden season. Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape will lock horns for the maiden SA20 crown in Johannesburg on February 12. The final was initially scheduled for Saturday but had to postponed due to inclement weather and a waterlogged field. If you haven&rsquo;t followed the league, we have got you covered with<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/opposing-modus-operandi-adds-spice-in-maiden-sa20-summit-clash-1676098689017" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;the road to the final for both sides</a>. In ILT20, Desert Vipers and Gulf Giants will clash in the final on the same date - February 12.- In BPL, Rangpur Riders and Fortune Barishal will kick off the play-offs stage with the Eliminator in Mirpur on February 12. Sylhet Strikers and Comilla Victorians will have a second bite at the final, courtesy of finishing in the top two with 18 points each.&nbsp;Domestic cricket- <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10115/mayank-agarwal/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mayank Agarwal</a>&rsquo;s double hundred deserves all the praise in the semi-final stage of the ongoing Ranji Trophy. But 160 from the veteran Sheldon Jackson and 202 from skipper Arpit Vasavada has put Saurashtra in with a great chance to advance to the final. They have taken a 120-runfirst innings lead. &nbsp;- In the other semi-final, Bengal has a tight grip over Madhya Pradesh in Indore. Again, the stage was set in the first innings itself. MP were rolled over for 170 in response to Bengal&rsquo;s 438. Akash Deep picked 5/42 after centuries from Sudeep Gharami (112) and Anustup Majumdar (120).Articles&nbsp;1525 players had registered for the auction and a total of 409 cricketers - 246 Indians and 163 overseas - are set to go under the hammer. The five franchises, based out of Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Delhi, and Bengaluru, will be contesting for 90 slots with 30 being slotted for overseas players. Here is Bastab Parida with all major and minor details regarding the first ever WPL Auction which <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/hola-bring-on-the-wpl-1676024899500" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">could be the beginning of something special</a>.Let&rsquo;s not forget the Women&rsquo;s T20 World Cup amidst the razzmatazz of T20 cricket. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/ten-teams-one-trophy-and-a-chance-for-india-to-rewrite-history-1676003355809" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ten teams, one trophy and a chance for India to rewrite history</a>. Shweta Haranhalli presents you India&rsquo;s chances at the showpiece event in the Rainbow Nation.&nbsp;Meanwhile, Pramod Ananth had a <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/adam-zampa-disappointed-with-snub-but-test-cricket-remains-a-burning-desire-1675774794616" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">candid conversation with Adam Zampa</a>. It is a must read. The leg-spinner talked about his special connection with Rajasthan Royals, his new IPL franchise and his emotions regarding Test cricket and not making it to Australia&rsquo;s Test squad for the series in India.&nbsp;Watch This<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JVmpg0-WuZk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

In this newsletter, we take you through all important cricket updates, providing a one-stop destination to satiate the cricket nerd in you

Ravichandran Ashwin

Aaron Finch

Axar Patel

Gary Ballance

Tagenarine Chanderpaul

Ravindra Jadeja

Rohit Sharma

Sandeep Lamichhane

Adam Zampa

Mayank Agarwal

Big Bash League, 2022/23

Australia tour of India, 2023

West Indies tour of Zimbabwe, 2023

Ranji Trophy, 2022/23

International League T20, 2023

Bangladesh Premier League, 2023

India

Australia

India Women

Sri Lanka Women

South Africa Women

Zimbabwe

West Indies

Perth Scorchers

Brisbane Heat

Nepal

Desert Vipers

Gulf Giants

The Cricket.com Weekly – Edition 17

An exciting maiden season of SA20 is set for its grand final on a Saturday evening (February 12th) at Johannesburg&rsquo;s New Wanderer&rsquo;s stadium. No, we are not calling it exciting just for the sake of it. If you don&rsquo;t believe us, you just need to read Rashid Khan&rsquo;s words at the end of his team, MI Cape Town&rsquo;s final league game.&nbsp;&ldquo;I feel after IPL this is gonna be a massive competition and the second-best league,&rdquo; he said, bidding farewell to the maiden season.&nbsp;The crowds have turned up to create an electrifying vibe around the cricketing action. There have been enough thrillers to keep the non-South African cricket fans interested as well. Such has been the thrill that the fourth semifinalists - Paarl Royals - sealed their spot only in the final over of the league stage.&nbsp;Now the spicy battle for the title is set up between the table-toppers Pretoria Capitals and the third-placed Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Both teams have taken different routes to the final which we will explore in this piece, and while at it, we provide you a summary of what to expect in the final.&nbsp;Pretoria &lsquo;pace&rsquo; their way to the topPretoria Capitals took such a head start in the tournament that despite losing their penultimate league game by a margin of 151 runs, their top spot on the table hardly faced any threat. Their motto has been striking the hammer when the iron is hot.&nbsp;With the bat, their opening partnership has batted at a strike-rate of 174.1 while maintaining a healthy average of 30.5. As a result, their powerplay run-rate is far ahead of any other side in the tournament. Will Jacks, Pretoria&rsquo;s highest run-scorer, left after seven games but since then, Kusal Mendis has racked up over 202 runs in six games (average 33.7, strike-rate 152.2).&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676097274434-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">With the ball, they have believed in taking wickets. Their bowling strike-rate of 14.8 as well as their average of 20.2 is the best in the season. Anrich Nortje&rsquo;s power-packed season (18 wickets in 10 matches, economy of 6.3) has framed Pretoria into one of the most professional pace bowling units of the season. But that doesn&rsquo;t make them a one-trick pony. In the semi-final in Johannesburg, the venue for the final as well and one of the slower pitches this season, Pretoria defended 153 against Paarl. The key on such tracks has been Adil Rashid. The wily leggie has 13 wickets in nine games at an economy of 8. In the semi-final against Paarl, Rashid snaffled 2/15 in his four overs.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676097341995-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Threat: Pretoria have the lowest batting average in the middle overs (20.7). Thus, a good start could be critical for them, especially on the slow track of Jo&rsquo;burg, making Mendis and Phil Salt key batters for them. Also, there is no word on the fitness of the regular skipper Wayne Parnell who has missed the last three games due to injury.&nbsp;Sunrisers &lsquo;rising&rsquo; out of miserySunrisers Eastern Cape had a slow start. They lost their first two games and incidentally, both were against Pretoria. After two heavy defeats, they made a strong comeback - four wins in the subsequent five matches. The same reflects on their batting fortunes as well.&nbsp;They have the least batting average in the powerplay - 21.2. Their openers have also averaged the least - 20.7. However, they average the best in the middle-overs at 26.6 runs per wicket. And the same goes in the death overs where Surisers&rsquo; average (27.9) and run-rate (10.9) are both the best. Hence, they dont start well but know how to come back. It is in complete contrast to how Pretoria have gone about their batting.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676097373860-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Maintaining the contrast, Sunrisers&rsquo; pace bowling setup has been rather ineffective - the highest average and the joint-most expensive economy. The spinners have compensated in terms of the best economy in the tournament alongside the best average as well.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676097407861-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Roelof van der Merwe has pouched 16 at 10 runs apiece while bowling at an economy of only 5.3. Aiden Markram has pulled a rabbit out of the hat every time he has taken the ball in his hands - 10 wickets, 14.4 bowling average, 6.5 economy. Markram&rsquo;s tally of 340 runs with the bat (average 34, strike-rate 127.3, a hundred in the semi-final) is over 100 runs better than any other batter in the side. Hence, no doubt that the skipper will be Sunrisers&rsquo; MVP heading into the final.&nbsp;The Orange Army in South Africa will aim to strangle Pretoria&rsquo;s attacking approach with spin. However, Pretoria also boast the best run-rate against spin in this tournament (8). That is what makes this contest an exciting prospect.&nbsp;Threat: On a pitch that may not aid the pacers a lot, Sunrisers&rsquo; underperforming pace unit will be under huge threat bowling to the pace-bashing Pretoria batters. Even if they are not able to overcome their misfortunes with the ball, they need to make sure they don&rsquo;t lend the opposition a quick start.&nbsp;*the final was initially scheduled for February 11th but has been postponed due to a waterlogged field and inclement weatherPowered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

With contrasting playing styles and similar goals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape frame an interesting final for the maiden SA20 crown

Anrich Nortje

Philip Salt

Kusal Mendis

Opposing modus operandi adds spice in maiden SA20 summit clash

Even though Test cricket has failed to democratize itself, the top teams like India, Australia, and England have made sure the format is in good health in their respective countries. T20 cricket is mushrooming like never before and having multiple leagues at the same time is the normal order of the day. The format that hurt the most due to lack of innovation is the ODI format and it is at a stage where, beyond the World Cup, there has been no interest in it whatsoever.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3665/kevin-pietersen/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kevin Pietersen</a>, while stating that not winning the 50-Over World Cup was one of the regrets in his career, added that the format is hurting because it doesn&rsquo;t provide any instant gratification.&quot;We can&#39;t say that cricket would be better off without ODIs because we&#39;re not there yet. We may see it in the future though the World Cup is such a valuable item. In my career, I was able to win everything except for the 50-over World Cup. We won the Ashes, we beat India in India, and we won the T20 World Cup. I never got the 50-over World Cup. So, it&#39;s one of those regrets,&rdquo; Pietersen told Cricbuzz.&quot;Earlier, once we boarded a plane we would not know what was happening to a game. Now we&#39;re on an aeroplane and I&#39;m speaking to people in three different planes in three different places talking about work. So that instant gratification is what is actually, I think, hurting the longer format of the games. I think it&#39;s hurting 50 over cricket in particular.&rdquo;The biggest cricketing story of 2022 was the way England <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/ben-stokes-men-out-to-expand-baz-ball-beyond-england-1669782606302" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">changed their Test approach</a> and became successful in changing the results around, under the captain-coaching combo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Pietersen stated that India need to learn the same from the England team and make Test cricket exciting.&quot;I think it&#39;s a mindset. I think they&#39;ve got a coach that is making sure that they&#39;re not scared of failing. They don&#39;t care about getting out, they just go out and play.&quot;I think India should follow it. I think India bats too slowly despite having the players. They have the players but still... I think they must go out there and emulate what England are doing. You saw what Australia used to do in cricket all those years ago, people started to match Australia or England or change the way the shortest form of the game was played. Even Test match cricket can be played that way by the Indian team,&rdquo; Pietersen, who is in South Africa to commentate in the ongoing SA20, added.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

While Test and T20s have held their own, ODIs have become the biggest victim of the cultural shift in cricket fandom

Kevin Pietersen

Instant gratification is hurting 50-over cricket in particular: Kevin Pietersen

After going unsold in the SA20 auction, South Africa white-ball skipper <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/12492/temba-bavuma/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Temba Bavuma</a> has been snapped by by Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) for the remainder of the tournament as a replacement for England batter Tom Abell, who is currently part of the England Lions squad on their Sri Lanka tour.&nbsp;SEC have two more games in the group stages next and are placed second in the table with 17 points from eight games so far. They take on Durban Super Giants (DSG) on Friday (February 3) and Joburg Super Kings (JSK) on Sunday February 5).<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🗣️ &quot;I&#39;m sure good memories will be made.&quot; Here&#39;s to having a memorable campaign, Temba! 👊💥<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SEC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SEC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SunrisersEasternCape?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SunrisersEasternCape</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PlayWithFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PlayWithFire</a> <a href="https://t.co/stxzB3aSPZ">pic.twitter.com/stxzB3aSPZ</a>&mdash; Sunrisers Eastern Cape (@SunrisersEC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SunrisersEC/status/1621112078848397315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a></blockquote>Bavuma&#39;s inclusion in the tournament comes after an impressive performance in the One-Day International (ODI) series against England, which the Proteas won 2-1. He scored a match-winning hundred in the second game in Bloemfontein that saw South Africa chase down 343. He also finished with 180 runs in the series, which is his personal best.Often criticised for his inability of big-hitting, Bavuma scored at a strike-rate of over 100 in all the three matches. After being overlooked by the franchises initially, Bavuma had said that he felt let down.He revealed he had been working closely with head coach Shukri Conrad on changing his mindset and taking on the bowlers more often.Bavuma has scored more than 2,000 runs in T20 cricket at a strike-rate of more than 123 that includes eight fifties and a century in his 98 innings.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The South Africa white-ball captain was initially overlooked in the auction

Temba Bavuma

Temba Bavuma joins Sunrisers Eastern Cape for remainder of SA20

Following a lab test on South Africa and Joburg Super Kings (JSK) spinner <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/5304/aaron-phangiso/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aaron Phangiso</a> it has been deemed that the spinner bowls with a &quot;non-compliant-action.&quot; As a result, Phangiso&#39;s ban from bowling in competitive cricket is set to continue. The lef-arm spinner underwent a test at ICC Accredited Bowling Action Test at the University of Pretoria on January 27, which was overseen by Dr Helen Bayne, according to a media release from SA20.&quot;Phangiso will work through a rehabilitation process on his bowling action and the Independent Panel will determine the process regarding re-testing of the action once the rehabilitation work is complete,&quot; the release said.&nbsp;&quot;All the various stakeholders in Phangiso&rsquo;s career - Northerns Cricket Union, Cricket South Africa, the South African Cricketers&rsquo; Association, Joburg Super Kings and Betway SA20 - are aligned in their commitment to support the player in whatever manner is required, acknowledging that such a process is incredibly difficult for a player,&quot; it further added.Brought in as a wildcard signing by JSK for the SA20, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/jsks-aaron-phangiso-reported-for-suspect-bowling-action-1674143389558" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">his action was reported</a> following his side&#39;s clash against Pretoria Capitals on January 18. However, he continued to play in the tournament as the matter was still under review, but on January 27, he <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/jsks-phangiso-suspended-from-bowling-in-sa20-1674579050973" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">was banned from bowling</a> in the tournament.&nbsp;Phangiso was in impressive form in the tournament, having picked up 10 wickets at 14.10 in six matches including best figures of 4 for 20.JSK have sought all-rounder Kyle Simmonds as a replacement for Phangiso for the remainder of the tournament which has been approved. Simmonds, who like Phangiso is a left-arm orthodox bowler in his 20 T20 matches so far has picked up 20 wickets at an economy rate of 6.29 and with the bat has struck at a strike-rate of 121.49.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

JSK have sought all-rounder Kyle Simmonds as a replacement for the spinner for the remainder of the tournament

Aaron Phangiso

Johannesburg Super Kings

Aaron Phangiso's bowling ban set to continue following lab test

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4195/matthew-wade/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matthew Wade </a>and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63853/ben-mcdermott/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben McDermott</a> join fellow Hobart Hurricanes teammate<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/tim-david-joins-mi-cape-town-for-sa20-remainder-1675099597179" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Tim David as the latest Australians to feature </a>in the inaugural edition of the SA20 as they&rsquo;ve been roped in as replacements by Jo&rsquo;burg Super Kings and Durban&rsquo;s Super Giants respectively. While Wade replaces paceman Alzarri Joseph, McDermott has been roped-in as replacement for Kyle Mayers. DSG will also be without the services of Jason Holder, who will instead be replaced by England&rsquo;s David Willey.All three of Joseph, Holder and Mayers are unavailable for the remainder of the SA20 due to national duties; the Windies will lock horns with Zimbabwe in a two-Test series starting February 4th.Meanwhile, table-toppers Pretoria Capitals have opted to replace the rampant Will Jacks with the experienced Colin Ingram. Ingram is currently representing Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the inaugural edition of the ILT20.&nbsp;SA20 is currently in the midst of an eight-day break owing to the three-match ODI series between England and South Africa. The season will resume on February 2 (Thursday).&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The trio will be replacing Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers and Jason Holder respectively

Matthew Wade

Ben McDermott

David Willey

Jason Holder

Durban's Super Giants

Wade, Ben McDermott and David Willey to feature in second half of SA20

Despite bolstering a star-studded squad, MI Cape Town are not exactly where they would wanted to be on the points table in the inaugural edition of the SA20. The franchise finds themselves fifth, with just 13 points from seven games, with three wins and four losses.&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TimTime?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TimTime</a> 😇💙<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MICapeTown?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MICapeTown</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneFamily?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OneFamily</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/timdavid8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@timdavid8</a> <a href="https://t.co/57zAxF4PE1">pic.twitter.com/57zAxF4PE1</a>&mdash; MI Cape Town (@MICapeTown) <a href="https://twitter.com/MICapeTown/status/1620093240203689986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></blockquote>Not just that, the franchise did not have the English all-rounder, Liam Livingstone for the first half of the SA20. With the all-rounder&rsquo;s recovery uncertain, the franchise has named Australian all-rounder Tim David as his replacement. David scored 345 runs at a strike rate of 160.90 and also picked up one wicket with the ball.&nbsp;Olly Stone, who started the tournament too has been injured, and Henry Brookes will replace the English pacer. Brookes has picked up 46 wickets in the format, having played 37 times, for Warwickshire and Birmingham Phoenix.&nbsp;The franchise will resume their season against the bottom-placed side, Durban&rsquo;s Super Giants on February 2, with a chance to move up the table.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

David is set to replace the injured Liam Livingstone in the squad for the remainder

Tim David

MI Cape Town

Tim David joins MI Cape Town for SA20 remainder

We&rsquo;ve got no time to waste. Let&rsquo;s get to business RIGHT AWAY!What&rsquo;s made the headlines?IT&rsquo;S HAPPENED &mdash; WPL IS A REALITY! <img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674888288066-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">I know me, you and everyone else love to rip into the BCCI the first opportunity we get (frankly, why not?) but this week, it is only fair that we set our agenda aside.Thanks to the BCCI, the <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/mi-rcb-and-dc-confirmed-as-ipl-franchises-to-have-w-ipl-representation-1674640221608" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WOMEN&rsquo;S PREMIER LEAGUE IS NOW A REALITY!</a>The bidding process for the five WPL teams took place in Mumbai on Wednesday and, in total, the board managed to sell the franchises off for a record sum of INR 4669.99 crore 🤑🤑🤑RCB, MI and DC fans, rejoice &mdash; you can cheer for YOUR FAVORITE IPL team in the WPL too (if you want, that is).CSK and KKR fans, my condolences as the other two franchises have been bought by the Adani Group (Ahmedabad, 1289 crore) and Capri Global (Lucknow, 757 crore).&nbsp;Yeah, this WPL franchise sale has broken the internet because what&rsquo;s just happened is truly unprecedented and ABSOLUTELY BONKERS!&nbsp;A watershed moment in women&rsquo;s sport in the country, and perhaps the world.U19 cricket, YOU BEAUTY!<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674888358173-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"> Mark your calendars, folks: Sunday, January 29 is the day. India and England will lock horns with each other as both sides eye becoming the inaugural ICC Women&rsquo;s U19 WC champion.The Indian side, led by Shafali Verma, have breezed their way through to the final but England? We need to talk about England and what they did in the semi-final against arch-rivals Australia.To quote good ol&rsquo; Pommie Mbangwa, they were dead and half-buried. They were bundled out for 99 and, in response, Australia were at one point 48/3.&nbsp;Eventually, though, they triumphed by 3 runs!&nbsp;Revenge successfully taken for what Australia did to them in the Men&rsquo;s U19 WC 5 years ago (heck, I feel old) when Lloyd Pope (oh yeah, remember him?) took 8/35 and helped his side defend 127.JADDU IS BACK &mdash; WITH A BANG! 💥💥💥<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674888406405-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"> Ravindra Jadeja returned to professional cricket for the first time since August and it did not take long for Jaddu to start doing Jaddu things. On a surface tailor-made for him in Chepauk, the 34-year-old marked his comeback with a seven-fer (7/53) against TN in the second innings. Saurashtra still went on to lose the game, but OUTSTANDING NEWS for India ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.SKY scripts history; Renuka caps off dream year with deserved accolade<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674888470231-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">&nbsp;On the field, Suryakumar Yadav has been shattering records left, right and center but he&rsquo;s now started to do it off the field too. Earlier this week, he became the FIRST EVER INDIAN TO WIN THE ICC T20I CRICKETER OF THE YEAR AWARD! &nbsp;The awards didn&rsquo;t stop there for India as Renuka Singh was named the ICC Emerging Women&#39;s Cricketer of the Year. On the Men&rsquo;s side, the award went to Marco Jansen.ICC&rsquo;s decision to name Ben Stokes the Test cricketer of the year did not go down well with everyone, but no one had any complaints with Babar Azam winning both the ODI Cricketer of the year and Men&rsquo;s Cricketer of the Year award.What (else) has been happening on the field?International cricket (Men)<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674888553105-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"> &gt; After getting battered in the ODIs, the Kiwis have responded well in the T20Is, beating India by 21 runs to go 1-0 up in the series. Ranchi dished out a rank turner and Mitch Santer said thank you very much.&gt; South Africa came back from the dead in Bloemfontein to stun England and keep their hopes of automatic WC qualification alive. Thanks to a Rassie ton, the Proteas had posted 298 but England were cruising at one point at 146/0.&nbsp;Jason Roy finally found some form as he smashed a 91-ball 113. However, the visitors collapsed spectacularly; they lost their last 10 wickets for 125 runs to end up losing the contest by 27 runs. Make that 7 defeats in 9 ODIs for England.&gt; And oh, Jofra Archer&rsquo;s international comeback was a forgettable one. A 80% fit Archer was taken apart by the Proteas: 10-0-81-1.&gt; Zimbabwe and Ireland shared the spoils in the ODI series after the decider in Harare got abandoned. A tame end to the series as Ireland did really well to level the series after a stinging loss in the first game.Domestic cricket<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674888656085-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"> So, the Ranji quarter-finalists have been decided and Hanuma Vihari&rsquo;s Andhra are among the final eight. But how they got there is just&hellip;&hellip;.. &nbsp;Not able to put that into words, really.&nbsp;Heading into the final round of group games, the following had to happen for Andhra to make it through to the QFs:&nbsp;- They had to beat Assam with a bonus point- Both Mumbai and Maharashtra needed to NOT take a first innings lead in their respective matchesBoth things happened; Andhra went through.&nbsp;You know why it&rsquo;s crazy? Because Mumbai and Maharashtra PLAYED EACH OTHER!&nbsp;Somehow, both teams EXACTLY SCORED 384 in the first innings, meaning no first-innings lead point for either side.&nbsp;Cricket is truly the gift that keeps giving!&nbsp;Either way, the QF line-up is as follows&nbsp;&gt; Karnataka vs Uttarakhand&gt; Saurashtra vs Punjab&gt; Bengal vs Jharkhand&nbsp;&gt; Madhya Pradesh vs Andhra&nbsp;International Cricket (Women)<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674888728119-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"> &gt; It&rsquo;s 5/5 for Australia as after wrapping up the ODIs 3-0, they&rsquo;ve taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against Pakistan. It&rsquo;s been an absurdly lop-sided tour thus far; Pakistan haven&rsquo;t even come close to competing.&gt; India and South Africa have both sealed their spots in the final of the ongoing tri-series. The Women in Blue began with a 27-run victory over the hosts and backed it up with a 56-run thrashing of the Windies. South Africa slipped up against India but they, too, rinsed West Indies, hammering the Hayley Matthews-led side by 10 wickets.&nbsp;India and South Africa, as a result, will clash in the final on February 2nd. They&rsquo;ll have a dress-rehearsal before that, later today at Buffalo Park.Franchise cricket<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1674888810293-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"> It&rsquo;s been a surprisingly quiet week in Franchise Cricket. While SA20 is on a eight-day break due to the England-South Africa ODIs, ILT20 has been disrupted by rain. As many as three matches have been washed out due to heavy rains in both Dubai and Sharjah ( yep, BELIEVE IT!), meaning we&rsquo;ve not had any action since Tuesday, January 24th.&nbsp;The BBL, though, is ongoing and the KNOCKOUTS HAVE BEGUN! &nbsp;On Friday, Brisbane Heat knocked the Sydney Thunder out in the Eliminator in controversial fashion (read: through DLS).The showdown between Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers will happen later today in Perth while on Sunday, the Renegades will take on Brisbane Heat in the &lsquo;Knockout&rsquo; to decide who progresses to the &lsquo;Challenger&rsquo;.Nevertheless, you can read our<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/a-break-from-all-the-pandemonium-as-sa20-takes-a-week-off-1674821284169" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;SA20 recap here</a>, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/smiths-successive-innings-of-destruction-lights-up-last-week-of-bbl-12-1674751286985" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BBL recap here</a>, and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/roots-return-to-t20s-hales-agony-and-joy-powell-pollard-moment-and-more-1674658339154" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ILT20 recap here</a>.Articles in focusIt&rsquo;s been a hell of a week in Cricket, and it&rsquo;s been a hell of a week at CDC too. Endless quality content that you simply don&rsquo;t wanna miss out on!&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/womens-premier-league-a-win-for-the-past-the-present-and-the-future-1674712377792" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Women&rsquo;s Premier League - A win for the past, the present, and the future</a> (Gaurav Nandan Tripathi)<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/rashid-khans-dash-towards-500-wickets-1674814669388" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rashid Khan&rsquo;s dash towards 500 T20 wickets</a> (Anirudh Kasargod and Shubh Aggarwal)<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/rohit-sharma-ditches-old-odi-template-to-add-new-dimension-to-indias-batting-1674575891015" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rohit ditches old ODI template to add new dimension to India&#39;s batting</a> (Anirudh Suresh)<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/growing-old-with-a-regular-dose-of-basant-mohanty-1674887080865" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Basant Mohanty - Odisha&#39;s unassuming superstar</a> (Bastab K Parida)And finally, a couple of exclusive interviews to sate your appetite&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/mark-watts-journey-from-football-to-dont-bowl-slot-1674466808149" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mark Watt&rsquo;s journey from football to &lsquo;don&rsquo;t bowl slot&rsquo;</a> (Pramod Ananth)<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/no-better-time-than-now-for-uae-cricketers-karthik-meiyappan-on-countrys-rapid-rise-1674726270251" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">No better time than now for UAE cricketers: Karthik Meiyappan on country&rsquo;s rapid rise</a> (Aakash Sivasubramaniam)Watch this <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/og7E2o0sR6M" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

TEAM	P	W	L	PTS	NRR
Q PRC	10	7	3	32	+0.927
Q JSK	10	6	3	27	-0.111
Q SUNE	10	4	5	19	+0.316
Q PR	10	4	5	19	-0.293
DSG	10	4	5	19	-0.319
MICT	10	3	7	13	-0.500

SA20 LEAGUE 2023

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