SA20 Season 1 (2023): Sunrisers Eastern Cape Win Inaugural Title, Van der Merwe Takes 4/31 in the Final

Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the inaugural SA20 title on 11-12 February 2023, defeating Pretoria Capitals by 4 wickets in the SA20 Season 1 final at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The final spanned two days due to a rain interruption — a fittingly dramatic backdrop for South African franchise cricket's most significant moment. Pretoria Capitals posted 135 all out; Sunrisers chased it down in 16.2 overs at 137/6, with 22 balls to spare. Roelof van der Merwe — Sunrisers' Dutch-born left-arm spinner — was Player of the Match with 4/31, and also finished as the season's joint-leading wicket-taker with 20 wickets.

Roelof van der Merwe: 4/31 and Player of the Match

Roelof van der Merwe's 4/31 in the SA20 Season 1 final was a performance that reflected both his experience and his versatility. Van der Merwe — who qualifies for the Netherlands internationally despite being born in South Africa and spending most of his career at Eastern Cape — has been one of the most effective slow-left-arm bowlers in franchise cricket over a long career. His 4/31 restricted Pretoria Capitals to 135 all out and gave Sunrisers Eastern Cape a target that, while competitive in conditions that can be unpredictable at the Wanderers, was never beyond their batting resources. His joint-leading 20 wickets across the full tournament confirmed him as the SA20's inaugural bowling champion.

Aiden Markram: Player of the Season

Aiden Markram (Sunrisers Eastern Cape) was named Player of the Season for SA20's inaugural edition — the South Africa captain and right-handed batter who anchored the Sunrisers' batting across the competition's eight weeks. Markram's combination of classical technique and T20 adaptability — he can dominate in the powerplay or construct a patient innings when conditions demand — made him the natural choice for the tournament's individual award. His captaincy of both Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20 and South Africa in international cricket during this period also reflected how central he was to the competition's credibility in its first season.

SA20's Historic Launch

The SA20 was launched in January 2023 as one of the most ambitious franchise T20 competitions ever attempted: six teams, all owned by or affiliated with IPL franchises, playing across South Africa's major cricket venues (Newlands, the Wanderers, SuperSport Park, Boland Park, St George's Park, and Kingsmead). The competition's January-February window gives it a unique slot in the global cricket calendar — overlapping with ILT20 in the UAE and preceding PSL in Pakistan. Sunrisers Eastern Cape's inaugural championship set the template for what the competition would become: an event where South Africa's best players compete alongside world-class international talent in a genuinely competitive professional T20 league.