The Cricket SA T20 Challenge is nearing the knockout stages, which are scheduled to take place next week. Ongama Gcwabe picks five top performers from the last week’s action.
David Wiese
Wiese has played only five games for the Titans in this season’s T20 Challenge and has already put himself in the top three wicket-takers’ list with a tally of 15 wickets.
Ten of those wickets came in the Titans’ three fixtures. The experienced campaigner recorded his first T20 five-wicket haul at Kingsmead in Durban despite the Titans losing by three runs on DLS method.
The 38-year-old then returned figures of 2-9 (vs Rocks) and 3-21 (vs Tuskers) in Centurion to conclude what was a successful week for himself and the Titans.
Matthew Breetzke
Breetzke has been a consistent performer in the shortest format of the game. The right-handed batter had a fruitful SA20 as well, where he amassed 416 runs to put himself in the top three run-scorers’ list in the tournament.
The opening batter has continued his rich vein of form in the ongoing T20 Challenge where he also sits in the top three run-scorers’ list with 361 runs in 11 innings.
Last week, Breetzke smashed 72 off 41 at home against the Tuskers to guide the Warriors to a ninth victory. The captain then smashed a 38-ball 48 against the Rocks in Paarl, a knock that was not enough to secure a victory for the Warriors.
Nqaba Peter
Peter’s talents have shone brightly in this competition. The right-arm wrist-spinner has 10 wickets in five matches thus far, a run that has also seen the 22-year-old record career-best figures of 4/7 earlier in the tournament.
In his five games, Peter has had an impressive economy rate of five runs per over, a rare feat for a spinner in T20 cricket. During the one fixture that the Lions played last week, Peter returned yet another impressive 3/22 against the North West Dragons at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
Rivaldo Moonsamy
Moonsamy has been in fine form across all formats this season.
In the T20 Challenge, he sits at the top of the run-scorers’ list with 376 runs in 12 innings, a tally of runs that has seen the wicketkeeper-batter record a strike rate of 145. Last week, Moonsamy smashed a 41-ball 90 against the Tuskers, a knock that included 11 boundaries and five sixes to guide the Titans to a much-needed victory.
Beyers Swanepoel
Swanepoel leads in the top wicket-takers’ list with a tally of 19 wickets, a run that has seen the right-arm seamer record one five-wicket haul thus far.
Last week, Swanepoel returned figures of 2/34 (vs Tuskers) and 2/8 (vs Rocks) to solidify his spot at the top of the leading wicket-takers and to help the Warriors stay at the top of the standings with only three rounds of fixtures remaining.