Tuesday's SA20 auction saw Proteas opener and back-to-back CSA T20 Player of the Year, Reeza Hendricks go for the top price of R4.3 million.
He was won by MI Cape Town whose bidding made it clear they were keen on uniting the Proteas opener with his international opening partner Ryan Rickelton.
But it was the second-highest fee on the day that really caught the eye as reigning champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape paid R2.3 million for English quick Richard Gleeson.
It’s a name that might not be familiar to many cricket fans in South Africa, but it looks like an inspired purchase by coach Adrian Birrell and the management of SUN Group.
There’s certainly no shortage of quick bowling talent in England but ask most fans to name their favourite player and few are likely to come up with Gleeson. You’ll hear names like Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Reece Topley and Mark Wood.
You are unlikely to hear the name of Gleeson, but he is a quality player, and it seems that the Gqeberha side have acquired a gem of a player for a very good price.
In case you are wondering exactly who Gleeson is, here’s the lowdown on a cricketer who wasn’t playing professionally until he was 27 years old – but who has made up for lost time in the years since.
Indeed, not only was Gleeson late in making his professional debut, but he was almost past retirement age when he made his international debut at 34 years of age, in a T20 International against India in Birmingham in 2022.
His first game for England was the stuff of dreams as he returned figures of three for 15 in four overs.
But there weren’t any three wickets, Gleeson announced himself on the international stage by claiming the scalps of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant.
While Gleeson only played a further five T20 Internationals after his stellar debut – largely due to players considered first choice returning from injury – he was still part of the England side that went on to win the T20 World Cup in Australia.
But despite his lack of international success, he has established an impressive body of work in the shortest form of the game, where he has featured for amongst others Northamptonshire, Chennai Super Kings, Melbourne Renegades, Rangpur Riders and Peshawar Zalmi. He also played a handful of games for the Durban Super Giants.
It must be stressed that he’s the real deal, he’s not just a well-travelled drinks carrier.
Most South Africans would probably rate Proteas quick Kagiso Rabada as their number one quick bowling pick for T20 cricket, and when you compare Gleeson’s statistics to Rabada’s, they stack up very favourably.
While Rabada has played more games and therefore taken more wickets – the Proteas man has played 211 T20 games compared to Gleeson’s 102 – their average per wicket and strike rates are almost identical.
In short, Gleeson has taken 115 wickets at an average of 23.68, an economy rate of 8.02 and a strike rate of 17.7. Rabada, who plays for MI Cape Town has 264 wickets at an average of 23.55, an economy rate of 8.05 and a strike rate of 17.5. There really isn’t a lot in it at all.
In signing for Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Gleeson joins a group of quicks that includes Ottniel Baartman, Marco Jansen and Andile Simelane.
It seems safe to say that with the acquisition of Gleeson the SA20 champions have just got a lot stronger.
