SEC and Paarl Royals have face each other on five previous occasions. The Sunrisers have won three of these games while Paarl have won two.
The most recent encounter between the two sides was on 11 January 2025 and it saw the Royals romp to a nine-wicket win.
This is an intriguing tie as it is the last pool game for both sides. Paarl are already through to the play-offs and are guaranteed of a top two place. For SEC it is a must win if they want to guarantee their place in the play-offs.
If they lose it doesn’t mean that the SEC are out, but their fate will no longer be in their own hands. Aiden Markram’s side currently have 19 points, as do the Joburg Super Kings. If the Capitals win on Friday night they will also have 19 points with one game to play.
St Georges’ Park is a venue that offers something for everyone. It rewards good cricket, be it from quicks or spinners or from the batsmen.
There is also no major discrepancy between sides batting first and those batting second. From the last 13 games played there, seven games have been won by the side batting first while six have been own by the side batting second.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape v Paarl Royals | SA20 Game 28 | Saturday 1 February 2025 | St George’s Park, Gqeberha | 13:00
Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Momentum is such a critical thing in the SA20 – it breeds confidence and consistency. SEC struggled at the start of the competition losing each of their first three games. But they did the hard work to arrest that and bring about a run of four consecutive win.
But that form has evaporated once again, and they have lost their last two games – while in turn their play-off chasing rivals each posy wins in their last outings. There is a genuine sense frailty about SEC and while they may yet progress to the knockouts, the chances of them defending their title seem unlikely.
The Sunrisers are the only side in the competition not to have managed at least one 50 run opening stand. Tony Di Zorzi replaced Zak Crawley at the top of the order last time out and he was out for just two.
In fairness it is hard to go from three weeks on the sidelines to top of the order and be expected to fire immediately. Expect Di Zorzi to get another crack at the opening slot alongside David Bedingham, who has grown in stature as the tournament has progressed.
SEC batting is very dependent on a couple of players – Bedingham, Markram and Marco Jansen have been their biggest contributors, but the worry is that when they have failed the whole team has struggled. Tristan Stubbs has been erratic while Tom Abell is averaging just 14. If SEC hope to defend their title they will have to find a way for their batsman to deliver as consistently as their bowlers.
Speaking of the bowlers, this is where SEC have excelled with their bowling unit keeping them in the competition. A quick look at the tournament’s top ten wicket takers shows that four of the bowlers come from SEC. Marco Jansen is second, Richard Gleeson fourth, Liam Dawson seventh and Ottneil Baartman tenth.
Last time out though, the entire attack drew blanks as MICT won by ten wickets – but in fairness that was more a product of the batting unit failing to set any sort of score, which meant there wasn’t much for the bowlers to defend.
Paarl Royals
The Royals lost their last outing when they went down to the Super Kings on Thursday. They posted a good score, but they aren’t quite the same force away from home as they were at home.
The Royals are also not quite the same force when shorn of two of their biggest stars – Joe Root and David Miller. Root is done with SA20 2025 having left camp to join up with the England team, while Miller is looking after a groin strain.
He should be back before the end of the competition, but he may well opt to sit out of Saturday’s game given the fact that his team are through – there’s no point doing further damage in a game that counts for nothing.
Although Paarl lost their last outing it did give some of their senior players a chance to shine. Dinesh Karthik has had a quiet tournament – largely because he’s had very few opportunities to bat, but he was needed at the Wanderers, and he showed his class with an excellent 53 from 39 balls.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius started the tournament like a house on fire, and while he is still the tournaments leading scorer the size of knocks has decreased. In his last four innings he has managed scores of 19, 43, 0 and 25.
That’s an average of 21 runs in his last four knocks, which is not poor, but he’s definitely less prolific than he was at the start of the competition. What is important to note though is that his strike-rate remains excellent. At a rate of 172.04 there is only one batsman in the top ten ahead of him and that’s Ryan Rickelton.
The St George’s Park pitch could play to the strengths of the Paarl attack – spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 14 scalps, and he should enjoy himself on the surface. But while Boland Park offered little for the quicks like Kwena Mphaka, Lungi Ngidi and Dayyaan Galiem, the Gqeberha surface should offer them something.
Paarl Royals have had a terrible run at toss time. They have played nine games this season but have won the toss just twice.
Verdict: Sunrisers Eastern Cape
The Gqeberha team have too much to play for, while for Paarl there is only pride and momentum at stake. That’s not to say that Paarl won’t be wanting it, they most certainly will, but there’s a difference between being hungry and enjoying food. Playing in front of the Orange Army SEC should edge this. They will need a bonus point to give themselves the best possible chance of advancing.
Durban Super Giants set to bow out of SA20 – but do they go down fighting?
Preview: Joburg Super Kings v Durban Super Giants
When you are fighting to stay alive in a competition like SA20, who would you rather play? A top team that has already qualified for the knockouts (which is who the SEC face in Saturday’s early game), or a team that has struggled all tournament and which has already been knocked out… but in turn who have nothing to lose and who can play without restraint. That’s who JSK face on Saturday as they host the Durban Super Giants in their final game of SA20 2025.
A loss for JSK will not necessarily end their hopes of advancing, but it wil certainly make for an interesting last day of pool play. Pretoria Capitals are scheduled to face MICT home and away this weekend.
The Wanderers is a venue that’s well known to most South African players. It is generally regarded to be batsman friendly, although the last few games have not seen huge scores posted. Last time out Paarl posted a score of 150 in the first innings but saw JSK chase it down with relative ease.
In recent times it’s been the team that bats second at the Wanderers that has won – so expect whoever wins the toss to field first – as happened last time out when JSK inflicted a second loss of the season on the Paarl Royals.
Joburg Super Kings v Durban Super Giants | SA20 Game 29 | Saturday 1 February 2025 | Wanderers, Johannesburg | 17:30
Joburg Super Kings
Faf du Plessis looked excellent last time out against Paarl. He has made starts in multiple innings this season but has seldom managed to take a game by the scruff of the neck and dominate it – but that is exactly what he did on Thursday when he broke the back of what could have been a challenging chase by hitting 87 from 55 balls at the top of the innings.
Du Plessis is now up to fourth on the list of leading run scorers while his opening partner Devon Conway is seventh and Jonny Bairstow 10th. It is a solid and experienced batting line-up and Conway and Bairstow have worked their way up the list without ever really cutting lose – that could yet happen.
Momentum is critical in SA20 and while JSK’s form has been very patchy, they approach their final pool game on the back of a very convincing win. The victory over Paarl could not have come at a better time for them and they will want to use that result to slingshot themselves up the table, into the play-offs, and then onwards.
Du Plessis is a quality leader and a player with big match temperament. Saturday is the kind of encounter in which he thrives. Expect him to have a big influence on the game.
The JSK bowling unit also seem to be peaking at the right time – after a slow start the tournament Lutho Sipamla has now taken three wickets in a game for the third consecutive match. He has raced up the list of leading wicket-takers (he is now third) and has potentially played himself into contention for a trip to the upcoming Champions Trophy.
There has been plenty of support for Sipamla as well with Hardus Viljoen rolling back the years and the spinners – Donovan Ferreira and Imran Tahir in particular, all contributing in meaningful ways.
Durban Super Giants
Keshav Maharaj’s team are bereft of confidence, and they will undoubtedly be glad to see the back of SA20 2025. They have two options; they can slink away quietly into the night or they can go out with a bang. They will say they are aiming for the latter, but the proof will be in the display itself.
Heinrich Klaasen is the tournament’s all-time leading run scorer. But 2025 has been a bad year for him and he has managed just 122 runs. You don’t become a bad player overnight though and he will want to use the opportunity on Saturday to build some form ahead of his upcoming international duty.
Wiaan Mulder is another player who will want to go out with a big performance. Generally regarded as a bowling allrounder, Mulder has failed to take a single wicket the whole season. With the bat he has scored 115 runs at an average of 19.17. He is a quality player who somehow seems to have gone missing amongst the disappointment of DSG’s underwhelming campaign.
DSG have just a single batsman among the tournament’s top ten scorers, which goes a long way towards explaining why they are last. Their shining light is Kane Williamson, a player of undoubted quality. The Kiwi has managed 211 runs at an average of 52.75, but he needs support.
It was hoped that the arrival of Marcus Stoinis would add some weight to the DSG mix. he failed horribly in Cape Town but after a few nights’ rest to shake off jetlag he looked a whole lot better against the Royals. While it was still a losing cause Stoinis was undefeated on 55 and he took one for 22 with the ball.
One of the biggest issues for DSG has been the unsettled look of their batting order. Quinton de Kock is back at the top of the order where he belongs, but his opening partner for the last few games, West Indian Brandon King is struggling. King has scored 24 runs all tournament at an average of six. He may well be asked to sit out on Saturday.
Verdict: Joburg Super Kings
As much as it would be nice for DSG to bow out with a win, it’s very hard to see that happening. Expect JSK to do the business and to advance through to the play-offs.
