South African cricket is set for more cricket fever as the country’s premier T20 competition, the SA20 makes its return on Thursday.
While the Proteas have carried South Africa on the festive mood into the new year after confirmation of their place in this year’s World Test Championship final, the conclusion of the ongoing New Year's Test match will only lead to more exciting and entertaining cricket from all parts of the country as some of the best in the world will take to the field for some white ball cricket.
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape have done a little bit more than set the benchmark with their back-to-back wins of the first two editions of the competitions, and the honours will be on the rest of the sides to attempt to break through the Orange Army brick wall with a feather and take the crown away from the Eastern Cape Province for the first time.
Under the leadership of Aiden Markram, the defending champions have shown no signs of coasting on cruise control, but they have rather shown clear intentions of keeping their foot flat down on the gas with a few new signings, including that of destructive English opener Zak Crawley.
MI Cape Town had a season to forget in 2024, but they will get a chance to get this season off to a better start than they ended the last with a trip to Gqeberha.
The Cape side has been on the receiving end of four defeats from the Sunrisers, and they will need to hit their straps quickly, or ‘The Friendly City’ might not be so kind as they stare at a fifth defeat in a row.
The acquisition of Ben Stokes and T20 specialist Trent Boult are arguably the signings of the third edition, and the expectations will be for them to improve on the seven defeats they suffered last season to mount a stronger challenge for the crown.
It is a crown that the Durban Super Giants came within one match of claiming, but they tripped at the top of the ladder, falling to an 89-run defeat in the final after they were neck and neck with the champions throughout the season.
Quinton de Kock will make a return to take guard for the first time on South African shores since the 2024 T20 World Cup. The elegant left-hander could form a destructive opening partnership with Caribbean big hitter Brandon King, who was snapped up earlier this year.
The Super Giants will be home against last season's underperformers, the Pretoria Capitals, at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground on Friday.
The Capitals failed to back up their 2023 effort, where they lost the inaugural final to the Sunrisers by four wickets to only end second from last last season.
The long trip to Durban will bring its challenges, but under the new leadership of Jonathan Trott and captain Rilee Rossouw, the aim will be to hit the ground running.
Wildcard Liam Livingstone will bring the power and all-round abilities, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz will display some of his brutal power that saw him rise to fame at the T20 World Cup.
Cross-town rivals The Joburg Super Kings were one of the busiest teams in the off-season, and some of their most notable additions to their side were England’s Jonny Bairstow and South African-born New Zealand batter Devon Conway.
The Super Kings have not always lived up to expectations in the last two editions, but the balance to their team could bring some success when they kick off their season at home against MI Cape Town on Saturday.
Meanwhile MI Cape Town's neighbours, the Paarl Royals, could be out to shift gears and break the speed limit after being a bit of a mid-table team for the last two seasons. Proteas batter David Miller will lead an exciting youthful side that will not be short of experience with England’s Joe Root set to make his debut appearance in the tournament.
Wicketkeeper/batter and tournament ambassador Dinesh Karthik will be the first Indian player to make an appearance in the tournament if he makes the team against the Sunrisers on Saturday.