SA20 2025 in review – all the winners and losers

The third season of the SA20 came to an end on Saturday as MI Cape Town completed their rags-to-riches fairytale to lift the title. After finish bottom of the table in both of the tournament’s first two seasons, their win on Saturday was nothing less than deserved.

That they beat the two-time defending champions to claim the crown was all the more poetic.

With the tournament now receding into the distance, let’s take a moment to look at the winners and losers from the last month’s action.

SA20 winners

MI Cape Town

It is kind of obvious, but we have to say it. They were the best team in the pool stage, and they were the best team in the play-offs. They also won the award for the spirit of the game which is a wonderful endorsement. After struggling badly in the first two seasons, MI Cape Town got it right third time around.

It shows just how important balance and experience are in building a team, because the side that won on Saturday was very similar to the side that lost so badly in the two previous seasons. The key additions were Reeza Hendricks at three and Trent Boult as opening bowler. Like a seatbelt is a racing car they were great additions – allowing those around them to go flat out with confidence.

Robin Peterson

He may have played 15 Tests and over 70 ODIs for South Africa, but Robin Peterson, was always an understated performer. Like so many of the top coaches around the world, it is guys like Peterson who shine once their playing days come to an end.

Peterson, who many may not know, was the MI Cape Town coach and, as the players will tell you, he and his team deserve a lot of credit for the work they did in the background to ensure to ensure the right plans were in place and that for every eventuality there were always options. And it’s not just Peterson who deserves special mention, there is also batting coach Hashim Amla, bowling coach Mitchell McClenaghan and fielding coach Kruger van Wyk.

Marco Jansen

He started the tournament as a bowler who could bat a bit, and he ended it as an allrounder to be feared. Jansen is a fantastic cricketer and it’s probably fair to say that without him, finalists Sunrisers Eastern Cape may not have made the final. He was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 19 wickets at an average of 18.42. To put his performance into context he was five wickets clear of second placed performer, Hardus Viljoen.

But Jansen didn’t just bowl up a storm, he was excellent with the bat, ending at the 17th highest scorer in the tournament with 204 runs at a strike rate of 125 and a highest score of 51.

Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen

They were a great opening combination last time out as MICT struggled, but they proved that they were the real deal when they replicated their run-scoring achievements from season two again in season three.

They know each other well and they complement each other perfectly. One of the key’s to MICT’s success was their ability to get good starts – and by good we mean big and fast. They passed 50 in six games with a highest stand the undefeated 110 against the SEC in the second pool game between the sides.

Also read: Who has taken the most wickets in T20 cricket?

Dewald Brevis

In his own words Brevis had a tough time in season two, by all accounts taking too much advice from too many people. But he was superb in season three with almost everything he touched turning to gold.

He took the catch of the tournament, he was named Young Player of the Tournament, he averaged 48.5 with the bat at a strike rate of 184.18 and he even grabbed a few wickets for good measure. All good things; but what really stood out was his energy and verve. Like a buzzing live wire, he was full of energy and wherever he went, things seemed to happen.

Delano Potgieter

Before the tournament you would have been forgiven if you had asked ‘Delano Who?’ But the MICT allrounder finished SA20 2025 with his reputation massively enhanced. He averaged 86 with the bat at a strike rate of 168.63. With the ball he took six wickets at an average of 10.83. Those are all sensational numbers.

Alongside George Linde in the MICT middle order these two were vital cogs in the winning machine. Unsung heroes who all too often had to come and bash it around at the tail of the innings they were able to contribute whenever needed.

Joe Root

Root is an incredible cricketer who doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves. He’s great in all formats and by all accounts he is a fantastic human. Paarl’s teenage opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius ended the tournament as the leading scorer, but he could not speak highly enough of Root, crediting him for all sorts of good things.

Another Paarl batsman who took giant strides forward was Rubin Hermann, who also sang the praises of Root very highly. The former England skipper is reportedly looking to buy a house in Paarl, which bodes well for the Royals.

Faf du Plessis

Du Plessis is no longer a younger man, but he played like one. A genuine leader, Du Plessis is well on his way to 41-years-old, but his performance in the field and with the bat showed that there is scope in T20 cricket for elder-statesmen.

And if Du Plessis was an inspiration, then another who deserves special mention was Imran Tahir. The leggie is now 45 years old, but he put himself about like a teenager and he celebrated each wicket as if it was his first – although, with hindsight, maybe he was celebrating like each could be his last.

The commissioner and his team

A quick mention should be made of tournament commissioner Graeme Smith and his team at SA20 for another immaculately executed event. Despite the rain, over which they had no control, the tournament appeared to run smoothly in all spheres.

Online, in broadcast and at the various venues this was a marvelously packaged event that fans could rally behind and be proud of. SA20 season four will have a lot to live up to.

SA20 losers

Rilee Rossouw

Rossouw came into the tournament as the newly appointed captain of the Pretoria Capitals. He had a big reputation, and lots was expected of him. It didn’t come to pass however as he struggled repeatedly to get going.

He ended the season with a total of 32 runs and the highest score of 14. Paternity leave arrived a couple of games shy of the end and Kyle Verreynne took over the leadership.

Brandon King and Zak Crawley

The two openers arrived in South Africa with big reputations. Brandon King, who played for the DSG, has done some serious damage to SA before, while Zak Crawley who featured for SEC, was known as a mercurial batsman who could do anything when he got going. Neither of them left with reputations enhanced as they both failed repeatedly.

It’s tough when you arrive as a foreign player in Franchise cricket as there is always a degree of expectation that you will deliver something big. Neither of these guys did anything to inspire confidence and both ended the season carrying drinks. Repeated failures, particularly at the top of the order tend to be very high-profile. King managed just 24 runs all tournament with an average of six, while Crawley made 88 runs with an average of 11.

SEC openers

All things considered; the SEC had a great tournament. When you lose your opening three games, and you still make it to final you must have done plenty of things right. But the one thing that never clicked for SEC was their opening combination.

They used multiple combinations and, while there were some individual success stories, they never managed to put together a first wicket stand of more than 50. They were the only side in the competition that couldn’t manage that, and, without a doubt, it left them on the backfoot on numerous occasions.

Lance Klusener and Allan Donald

Anyone who watched the 1999 World Cup will know that the Durban Super Giants 2025 SA20 campaign was not the biggest disaster Klusener and Donald have shared – but it comes close. A team packed with stars who just could not get it right.

They won their opening game, but it was downhill from there with their startling lack of form hampered by a mix of weather and some curious decisions around their batting order – Quinton de Kock not used as an opener and the tournament’s all-time leading run scorer Heinrich Klaasen coming in way down the order.

Aussie imports

Mitchell Owen and Marcus Stoinis both arrived in South Africa very late in the day. Owen arrived having led his team to Big Bash glory in Australia. Sadly, for both they travelled a long way for not too much, as neither of them were able to impact the tournament in the short time they were here.

Stoinis was rushed into action on arrival and got a first baller as DSG looked to him to revive their season, while Owen, replaced Joe Root at Paarl and simply didn’t have time to find his rhythm in the play-offs.

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