It's make or break time on Thursday as Paarl Royals look to bounce back from three consecutive defeats while the defending champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, look to find a way to turn an average season into a good one
With MICT already qualified for the final, there’s just one spot left, and Thursday’s game at SuperSport Park will decide who gets to play for the trophy.
In the context of SA20, SuperSport Park is a high-scoring venue. It holds the record for the tournament’s highest ever score (254 for four by DSG in 2023), the highest total by a side batting second (214 for eight by PC v MICT in 2024) and the highest individual score (116* by Kyle Verreynne for PC in 2024).
Expect runs to flow again on Thursday, as they did last Friday when MICT beat the Capitals after posting the highest score of SA20 2025 with an imposing 222 for three.
In recent games the side batting second at SuperSport Park has fared the best with the chasing side winning 71% of games. It looks likely that whoever wins the toss will field first.
It was the side batting first who won last time out, although the team that won the toss did indeed choose to field first.
Paarl Royals v Sunrisers Eastern Cape | SA20 Game 33 | Thursday 6 February 2025 | SuperSport Park, Pretoria | 17:30
Paarl Royals
Momentum is a key thing in the SA20 and after a great start to the tournament Paarl have suddenly lost three games in a row. While two of those games were in games that had no bearing on the league table, they were still losses – the second was to SEC, and it will take something special to return to winning ways.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius is still the second highest run-scorer in the tournament, but he is not looking nearly as good as he did three weeks ago, where everything hit the middle of his bat.
He is struggling for consistency now and although he scored 15 from six balls against Cape Town on Tuesday, you can’t help but think he needs to show a bit more discretion at the top of the order. He scores his runs very quickly and Paarl will need him to fire if they are to have a hope of making the final.
David Miller is the key for Paarl. He has an average of 76 this tournament and has only been dismissed three times. He is one of the best finishers South Africa has ever seen but he needs to launch from a platform and with Joe Root now playing for England in India, the Royals’ top order looks a little light on experience.
The big unknown for Paarl is Australian Mitchell Owen at the top of the order. He has arrived in South Africa as the replacement for Joe Root with a big reputation.
Little more than a week ago Owen was smashing a 42 ball 108 on the way to leading Hobart Hurricanes to their first ever Big Bash title. The Royals will be hoping that he is able to repeat his magic on the way to the SA20 final. They will be desperate to see him fire and SuperSport Park could be the perfect wicket for him.
Paarl’s home form was a major talking point in the pool stages of SA20. They went undefeated at Boland Park. But they lost three on the road and they lost away from home in the first game of the play-offs, which calls into question their form on the road.
They were heavily reliant on their spinners at home, but they will have to look at revising some of their game-plans to best suit the conditions at SuperSport Park.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape
As the only side ever to have won SA20, the SEC are back-to-back champions. What that means is, they have never lost a knockout game in the competition.
They are undoubted experts at the business end of the tournament, and they will feel confident as they face up to Paarl.
Speaking to SuperSport after their win on Wednesday night, SEC skipper Aiden Markram said: “We haven’t put a complete game of cricket together yet, but tonight we came closer to it. We are moving in the right direction.”
It’s an astute observation because it really doesn’t feel like SEC have fired properly yet. It feels like key players (primarily Aiden Markram and Marco Jansen) have saved them on multiple occasions.
SEC have yet to have a meaningful opening stand this season. They are the only team in the tournament who have yet to manage a 50-run opening partnership.
Their best effort of the competition came on Wednesday when Tony de Zorzi and David Bedingham managed a stand of 48. Before that their best effort was 38 in their second game. They have tried out four different players at the top of the order, but it looks like Bedingham and De Zorzi are growing in confidence, and they should continue for the knockout game.
Aiden Markram is the SEC leading scorer, and he has been a major player for the men from Gqeberha. He’s the tournament’s third highest scorer this season and after his undefeated knock of 62 on Wednesday he is now averaging 40.38 runs.
He will be a key figure in the game – and a good bet to be the games’ top scorer.
The SEC bowlers have been excellent all tournament and they were once again on the money as they saw off JSK on Wednesday night.
Marco Jansen is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets. He has been well supported by the likes of Richard Gleeson, Liam Dawson, Ottniel Baartman and Craig Overton.
Wednesday’s win over JSK was at SuperSport Park and Thursday’s game is set to be played on the same pitch. Markram hinted at it in his post-match interview on Wednesday, it could be a slight advantage for his side. Paarl’s first play-off game was at St George’s Park.
Verdict: Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Aiden Markram’s side come into the game on the back of two wins, while the Royals are on a three-game losing streak.
Without Joe Root, away from home, with no momentum and against a side who are experts at knock-out cricket, expect Paarl to go down to SEC who will play in their third successive final on Saturday.
