We take a look at the top five performers from the 2016-17 CSA T20 Challenge campaign that saw the Titans crowned as champions.
1. Jon-Jon Smuts
The Warriors’ captain led by example, ending top-scorer in the competition with 371 runs on his side’s march to the final. He scored at an average of 41.22 and was one of two players to have scored a ton in the tournament, and ended with a strike rate of 144.35. Smuts also managed to take nine wickets in 11 matches, which helped him receive his first Proteas cap in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
2. Morne van Wyk
The wicketkeeper-batsman was the only Dolphins batsman to pass the 200-run mark in the tournament, and ended second on the top-scorer list. The 38-year-old smashed 352 runs @ 39.11, at a strike rate of 136.96, which included three half-centuries. He also managed four dismissals in his nine innings as wicketkeeper.
3. Hardus Viljoen
Top wicket-taker in the competition. Despite his side’s qualifier exit, Viljoen ended with 19 wickets in 11 matches @ 16.63, an economy of 7.64 and a BBI of 3-16.
4. Andrew Birch
Arguably the best bowler in the tournament, Birch took 17 wickets @ 7.64, an economy of 7.05, and was the only bowler to take a five-for. The 32-year-old played only nine matches out of 11, and was surprisingly left out of the qualifier against the Lions and the final against the Titans as his side finished runners-up.
5. Heinrich Klaasen
The Titans wicketkeeper-batsman had a balanced tournament in his role, scoring 219 runs in 11 matches, and the second most dismissals with seven, three behind the Warriors’ 22-year-old wicketkeeper Clyde Fortuin (11). Klaasen scored at an average of 27.37 and a strike rate of 144.07, his only half-century coming against the Knights in the Titans’ third match.
Special mention: David Miller for hitting 120, the highest score of the campaign.
Who will star in the 2017-18 Ram Slam T20 challenge?
The first match gets under way on Friday between the Warriors and the Knights at 18:00 pm.