If they can ensure that all the moving parts are maintained, there is no reason the Sunrisers Eastern Cape cannot claim an unprecedented three-peat of Betway SA20 titles, bowling coach Dale Steyn believes.
The former Proteas fast bowler was speaking at a media briefing after the Betway SA20 player auction in Cape Town ahead of season three starting in January.
The Sunrisers added three players to their ranks, including pace bowlers Richard Gleeson and Okuhle Cele, during the main auction while also selecting a young upstart in Daniel Smith from the Rookie Draft selections.
Those purchases completed their 19-man squad.
Most of the squads were initially populated during the pre-signing and retention window which ended on August 1.
This period also determined how much of the R39.1m salary cap was still left and how many slots needed to be filled.
“Three would be nice,” Steyn said, after the Sunrisers successfully defended their title in the second edition of the competition earlier in 2024.
“Having played in some of these competitions, it is always tough to fly players in from all around the world and get them to gel as quickly as possible.
“Often when you get that right, those teams go on to win the tournament, but in SA, that process seems to happen a lot quicker.”
Steyn believes the speed at which they find that perfect team cohesion would be a key factor in their pursuit of silverware in season 3.
The Sunrisers may not have the biggest names on paper, however, their ability to fight for each other and the badge, under the tutelage of head coach Adrian Birrell, has set them apart from the rest in the past two editions.
Their belief in sourcing specific types of players for their squad has been another factor in their success, Steyn said.
“[In] our first season we tried to get a lot of local players, a lot of the players were born in and played in that area, or had some kind of connection with the venue or the team itself.
“I feel like that helped us get to a final, we had a good day and won that final.
“So if we can try to do that again, we can get things working in our way with the new, exciting players [we have], we can make it three in a row,” he said.
Sunrisers squad for season 3: Aiden Markram, Zak Crawley, Tristan Stubbs, Jordan Hermann, Tom Abell, David Bedingham (Wild Card), Daniel Smith (Rookie), Okuhle Cele, Richard Gleeson, Roelof van der Merwe, Liam Dawson, Ottniel Baartman, Caleb Seleka, Craig Overton, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Beyers Swanepoel, Patrick Kruger, Andile Simelane.
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No reason Sunrisers can’t achieve three-peat — Steyn
Image: DARREN STEWART/GALLO IMAGES
If they can ensure that all the moving parts are maintained, there is no reason the Sunrisers Eastern Cape cannot claim an unprecedented three-peat of Betway SA20 titles, bowling coach Dale Steyn believes.
The former Proteas fast bowler was speaking at a media briefing after the Betway SA20 player auction in Cape Town ahead of season three starting in January.
The Sunrisers added three players to their ranks, including pace bowlers Richard Gleeson and Okuhle Cele, during the main auction while also selecting a young upstart in Daniel Smith from the Rookie Draft selections.
Those purchases completed their 19-man squad.
Most of the squads were initially populated during the pre-signing and retention window which ended on August 1.
This period also determined how much of the R39.1m salary cap was still left and how many slots needed to be filled.
“Three would be nice,” Steyn said, after the Sunrisers successfully defended their title in the second edition of the competition earlier in 2024.
“Having played in some of these competitions, it is always tough to fly players in from all around the world and get them to gel as quickly as possible.
“Often when you get that right, those teams go on to win the tournament, but in SA, that process seems to happen a lot quicker.”
Steyn believes the speed at which they find that perfect team cohesion would be a key factor in their pursuit of silverware in season 3.
The Sunrisers may not have the biggest names on paper, however, their ability to fight for each other and the badge, under the tutelage of head coach Adrian Birrell, has set them apart from the rest in the past two editions.
Their belief in sourcing specific types of players for their squad has been another factor in their success, Steyn said.
“[In] our first season we tried to get a lot of local players, a lot of the players were born in and played in that area, or had some kind of connection with the venue or the team itself.
“I feel like that helped us get to a final, we had a good day and won that final.
“So if we can try to do that again, we can get things working in our way with the new, exciting players [we have], we can make it three in a row,” he said.
Sunrisers squad for season 3: Aiden Markram, Zak Crawley, Tristan Stubbs, Jordan Hermann, Tom Abell, David Bedingham (Wild Card), Daniel Smith (Rookie), Okuhle Cele, Richard Gleeson, Roelof van der Merwe, Liam Dawson, Ottniel Baartman, Caleb Seleka, Craig Overton, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Beyers Swanepoel, Patrick Kruger, Andile Simelane.
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