The SA20 season 5 auction was a smash and grab affair this year, with only 19 slots to fill across 4 Franchises. The fact that the show lasted just one hour talks to the certainty with which the remaining four entered the fray.

Of the R252m purse initially available, only R35.025 remained, with Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) and the Paarl Royals (PR) already announcing their 19-man squads.

The bulk of the auction spend sat with Joburg Super Kings (JSK), now under the tutelage of Former Proteas all-rounder Albie Morkel, who took over when Stephen Fleming moved to coach England. Their R20.6m for 6 players put them in pole position to be able to nominate players they didn’t pick up in the first Marquee rounds.

Their only key opposition was MI Cape Town (MICT), with Robin Peterson also looking to add 6 players to their squad. The remaining spend of R9.35m meant that they were always going to be the main protagonists with JSK. 

Defending Champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) were left with a purse of R3.6m, with which they were expected to buy a pair of fast bowlers, and Finalists Pretoria Capitals had already spent big on their squad, with just R1.475m in the bank for 5 players. 

The format of the auction produced 2 sets of Marquee players, and then nominations for players that the Franchises pre-selected, on which other Franchises could bid, if they wished. 

It would be wrong to call the auction a non-event, but the hype of previous years was toned down significantly, due to the number of slots remaining. The first Marquee round was always going to be the one where the questions about Faf du Plessis, Wiaan Mulder and Rassie vd Dussen were going to be answered.

They were, to some degree, with Faf (R2.7m) and Wiaan (R2.6m) being shared between JSK and MICT, and Rassie initially going unsold. 

The first Marquee round, and in fact the entire auction, belonged to 18-year-old Jason Rowles. The St. David’s Marist matriculant might well have been watching, as JSK and MICT slugged it out to sign the SA u19 Captain. Base Price of R200k, boomed out from Dan Nicholl, any interest?

Interest, you bet! Both needed to fill a remaining U23 slot in their ranks, and Rowles was in their crosshairs. Up, Up and away went the bidding, as they both sought the young all-rounder, for whom a bright future awaits. He became an instant Rand Millionaire, and eventually sold for R2.9m, the highest price at the auction. 


When all was said and done, the Franchises seemed content with their evening’s work. Adrian Birrell got his 2 fast bowlers for just R2m, netting Nandré Burger for R500K and Craig Overton for R1.5m. Shaun Pollock didn’t quite manage an impersonation of Saurav Ganguly’s poker-face of 12 months ago, but he managed to spend just R1.3m, picking up Rassie vd Dussen (R500K), Keemo Paul (R200K), Ackeem Auguste (R200K), Josh Breed (R200K) and the final pick of Temba Bavuma (R200K)

The men from the Cape ended up spending R6.2m on Shimron Hetmyer (R1.5m), Wiaan Mulder, Trent Boult (1.5m), Daniel Smith (R200K), Lehan Botha (R200K) and Oliver Whitehead (R200K). Their Northern rivals JSK spent a meagre R8.975m of the R20.6m available to them, which means they have even more money to spend on their Wild Card. Faf returns to get the fans Whistling for Joburg, with Jason Rowles, Dayyaan Galiem (R375K), veteran Kieron Pollard (R1.5m), Blessing Muzarabani (R500K) and Andries Gous (R1m) making up their squad.

The big takeaways? Reward for relative senior newcomers in Lehan Botha and Josh Breed, with the talent of Rowles and Whitehead being recognized. There is the added West Indian flair of Paul and Auguste, who are going to join Rutherford and Russell at the Capitals. 

Blessing Muzarabani becomes only the second Zimbabwean to play in the Betway SA20, and JSK have bags of experience added to their squad in Faf du Plessis and Kieron Pollard.

The Franchises seem to have what they were looking for. The die is cast. January 17th is a little more than 3 months away. Another epic season awaits.

Full Auction List:

Sold

Unsold

Unsold then sold

Marquee 1

Shimron Hetmyer – base R1.5m MICT

AM Ghazanfar – base R1.5m unsold

Rassie vd Dussen – base R500K unsold

Wiaan Mulder – base R500K R2.6m MICT

Faf du Plessis – base R500K R2.7M JSK

Jason Rowles – base R200K R2.9m JSK

Jordan Cox – base R1.5m unsold

Nqaba Peter – base R200K unsold

Trent Boult – base R1.5m MICT 

Marquee 2 

Burger – base R 500K SEC

Dayyaan Galiem – base R200K R375K JSK 

Kieron Pollard – base R1.5m JSK

Andries Gous – base R1m unsold

Craig Overton – base R1.5m SEC

Nominations

Blessing Muzarabani – base R500K JSK

Daniel Smith – base R200K MICT

Rassie vd Dussen base R500K PC

Andries Gous – base R1m JSK

Lehan Botha – base R200K MICT

Keemo Paul – base R200K PC

Oliver Whitehead – base R200K MICT

Ackeem Auguste – base 200K PC

Josh Breed – base R200K PC

Temba Bavuma – base R200K PC