Thursday, January 18, 2024: Marcus Stoinis, the Australian World Cup winner, has signed a contract to play SA20 with Durban’s Super Giants (DSG). With three wins out of three, DSG is presently second on the table. The devastating all-rounder replaces West Indian Nicholas Pooran.The 34-year-old Perth native has played in 250 T20 matches in addition to 127 international matches for Australia across all formats.
Additionally, Marcus Stoinis is a player for the Lucknow Super Giants of the Indian Premier League, which is Durban’s Super Giants’ affiliate.
Naveen-ul-Haq of Afghanistan has also reconnected with the DSG team in front of their crucial Thursday night matchup against the Pretoria Capitals. Richard Gleeson is replaced by Ul-Haq, who brings a wealth of international T20 experience.
Betway SA20 League Commissioner Graeme Smith made the following statement on the new players: “We’ve had an action-packed start to the opening week of Season 2 with some high-quality cricket and entertainment on show.” It’s fantastic to see players of this caliber joining the League; we can see the teams going above and beyond to add some elite players to their rosters.
Paarl Royals are led by Jos Buttler and Lungi Ngidi to the top of the SA20 points standings.
Speaking about the most recent SA20 game, at Boland Park on Wednesday night, Jos Buttler and Lungi Ngidi led the Paarl Royals to a seven-wicket bonus point triumph over the Johannesburg Super Kings (JSK).
After three straight wins, the Royals kept their perfect record, while JSK has lost their last four games. The victory was set up by the Royals’ seamers, as opposed to prior games at Boland Park where the spinners had the upper hand.
Obed McCoy (2/31) got the Royals going by getting rid of Reeza Hendricks, and in the last over of the Power Play, the formidable Ngidi entered the picture. The league’s top wicket-taker, who first clean bowled Faf du Plessis (9) and then had debutant Wayne Madsen caught by Mitchell van Buuren at third man for a first-ball duck, held the men in yellow at bay with wickets in consecutive deliveries.
When Moeen Ali guarded the following delivery and came back to take his third wicket of the night, Ngidi (3/17) was unable to achieve the first hat-trick of the championship. In addition, JSK was run out three times, with leading scorer Leus du Plooy (71 off 43 balls) being removed for 134.
Jos Buttler, the wicketkeeper for the Royals, was crucial to the run-outs because he twice removed the stumps while the visitors were attempting to take a single. Jos Buttler orchestrated the pursuit brilliantly, leading the Royals to an undefeated 70 off 37 balls (8×4, 3×6), so the chase was never in jeopardy.
Before this weekend’s Cape Derbies matchup with MI Cape Town, the captain of England, who finished first in the championship and was named Batter of the Season in Season 1, appeared in dangerous form.
Support came from Wihan Lubbe, who scored 39 runs off 30 balls, until experienced leg-spinner Imran Tahir trapped him for LBW. But that turned out to be just solace for the visitors, who now aim to salvage something from their season when they play Pretoria Capitals in the Jukskei Derby on Saturday at the Wanderers.
India
