Sunrisers Eastern Cape are crowned champions during the Betway SA20 Final match between Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Wanderers Stadium. (Photo by SA20/Sportzpics/Gallo Images)
in the bums
- Evergreen Roelof van der Merwe vividly illustrated that he is still a premium player in the T20 format with a strong performance in the SA20 final.
- Furthermore, the 38-year-old is credited with instigating the turnaround in the Sunrisers Eastern Cape campaign after a poor start with captain Aiden Markram claiming he was a “main character”.
- Van der Merwe has no plans to reduce his stake as his competitive fire is still burning.
Even at 38 years old, the “Bulldog” still has a very serious bite.
Roelof van der Merwe, just months after breaking the heart of Proteas at the ICC T20 World Cup with the impressive catch that saw them knocked out by the Netherlands, has once again endeared himself to the South African public with his infectious enthusiasm and skill. headed by a man of the Match’s performance in the historic SA20 final here on Sunday.
The crafty left-arm tweaker produced an excellent 4/31 spell as Sunrisers Eastern Cape defied expectations with a four-wicket win over Pretoria Capitals, the icing on the cake to finish the wicket-taking leader (20) with Anrich Nortje .
Yet as much as Van der Merwe, who represented Proteas before switching allegiance to the Netherlands, made a decisive contribution when the stakes were higher, it was the turnaround he instigated in the early part of his franchise’s campaign that That stands out.
After losing their first two matches, the Sunrisers’ fortunes turned around once he was picked.
Not that he takes any credit for that.
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“Even if I hadn’t played a match, we probably would have won it. I don’t know. I don’t know what to tell you,” Van der Merwe said.
“We’re sitting here with a trophy and I’m still trying to figure out how we really won it. Nobody gave us a chance when the tournament started, that’s a given. Success.
“In the end, we knew exactly what we were all going to do and we got down to business. Happy days.”
For his skipper, Aiden Markram, his participation in the team’s triumph was absolute.
“He played a huge role in turning our season around. I said it before, after we lost the first two games, we needed characters to be in the park and lead the fight,” said the Proteas star, whose own profitable performances in the tournament saw him being named the Most Valuable Player.
“There’s no better man than Roelof to lead it. It rubs off on everyone else. It gives him a huge role because everyone wants to follow him.”
“You can also talk about his skill set, which is still amazing. But the most important thing for us was having the passion and inspiration to win. And that’s what Roelof brought to the table.”
Van der Merwe’s game-changing skills were on full display in front of a packed house, striking with his first delivery to calm the nerves of a Sunrisers attack that seemingly tried too hard to exploit a good shot to win and a favorable surface.
“The ball shot off the bat in the first few overs and suddenly you wonder if you made the right decision on the pitch,” said Markram.
“It was probably just because we were a bit off with the new ball. But Roelof struck and stopped play during that period. He had a couple of good overs and drove to wickets. He started for us.”
Van der Merwe is likely to return to home shores soon when the Netherlands come to finish off a postponed ODI series against Proteas at the end of March, a skirmish that will determine South Africa’s hope of automatic qualification for the Over-50 World Cup. end of this year. .
And he doesn’t plan to compromise on his focus and performance.
“I love coming back here, I was here in 2019. I love playing in South Africa and it’s very satisfying to be able to help win a trophy. After all, we’re here to win them.”
“Even at my age, I still have some left in the tank. I’m glad I was able to put it to good use,” Van der Merwe said.
“I love competing, whatever I do. I love being a competitor. As long as that desire lasts, I’ll keep coming back. That’s the main thing.”
