Tag: Patrick Kruger

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Kyle Simmonds Crowned Overall Division 1 SACA MVP

The 2025/26 domestic cricket season concludes with Western Province all-rounder Kyle Simmonds named Division 1 Overall SACA MVP. Simmonds earned…

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Liam Alder Named Overall SACA MVP for Domestic Division 2

Following the completion of all domestic fixtures, Liam Alder of the Garden Route Badgers finished at the top of the…

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TWELVE YEARS OF RESEARCH-BASED PLAYER SERVICE

Over the past 12 years, the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) has cemented its dedication to evidence-based practice through a…

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Kyle Simmonds Crowned Overall Division 1 SACA MVP

The 2025/26 domestic cricket season concludes with Western Province all-rounder Kyle Simmonds named Division 1 Overall SACA MVP. Simmonds earned the title after a strong season, finishing with 335,487 MVP points in 13 matches.

Simmonds led an impressive top three, joined by Duan Jansen and Daniel Smith. Throughout the season, Simmonds showcased skills with both bat and ball across all formats, earning 107,677 batting points and 201,809 bowling points, contributing in the field and delivering key moments.

Simmonds’ standout performances in the 4-Day Series helped him secure the SACA MVP title for the format, earning 266,363 MVP points in seven matches. His main strength was red-ball bowling, which earned him 149,089 points, while his batting earned him 98,273 points. He finished ahead of Matthew Boast and Wiaan Mulder, building a lead that lasted all summer.

Titans Duan Jansen won the 1-Day Cup SACA MVP, collecting 121,581 MVP points in nine matches. His strong bowling earned him 70,304 points, with 30,278 from batting and six from match wins. Jansen was a top performer, finishing as the joint leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets. He ranked ahead of Malcolm Nofal and Patrick Kruger.

Matthew de Villiers of the Warriors led the T20 Challenge SACA MVP rankings with 122,051 MVP points in nine matches. He dominated with the bat, scoring 99,051 batting points without bowling. Captaincy, winning, and fielding points added to his total, putting him ahead of Imraan Manack and Eathan Bosch. His steady batting at a high strike rate helped him top the T20 leaderboard and stay competitive throughout the season.

The SACA MVP ranking recognises player achievements by measuring player impact in CSA’s domestic competitions using data analysis led by statistician Andrew Samson. The system calculates points for batting, bowling, and fielding based on match context and opposition strength, so recognition reflects real contributions.

SACA CEO Andrew Breetzke said: “We congratulate Kyle, Duan, and Matthew for winning the SACA MVP in their respective formats. It is a great achievement to be recognised as the most valuable player for the season. This season, players have challenged themselves, and we wish all players a restful off-season.”

 

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VERREYNNE STEERS COBRAS TO VICTORY AGAINST THE KNIGHTS

A masterclass maiden century by Kyle Verreynne anchored a superb chase by the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras as they edged out the VKB  Knights by three wickets for their first win of the Momentum One-Day Cup season in Bloemfontein on Tuesday night.

The young right-hander carved out an unbeaten 114 from 119 balls (12 fours) as the visitors chased down 283 with three deliveries to spare.

His hugely mature innings, which well surpassed his previous best of 84, came after his side had slipped to 15 for three, but the 21-year-old shared in three 50 plus partnerships that dragged his side out of trouble and to the first win of their 2018/19 campaign.

Earlier there were three half-centurions for the home side that lifted them to a competitive 282 for six. Andries Gous (60 off 79 balls, 7 fours), Keegan Petersen (52 off 75 balls, 1 fours, 2 sixes) and Ryan McLaren (56 off 56 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) all shone for the Central franchise after they had won the toss and elected to bat first at the Mangaung Oval.

Grant Mokoena (20) and Gous put on 57 for the first wicket, while there were 71 added by the third-wicket pair of Petersen and McLaren, who was promoted to bat at four.

The in-form Petersen then added a further 49 with captain Pite van Biljon (25), before Patrick Kruger’s late flourish of 39 from 19 balls gave the home side a competitive total.

Akhona Mnyaka was the pick of the bowlers with two for 61.

Marchant de Lange (three for 45) and Mbulelo Budaza (one for 33) then knocked over the top three of the Cobras for next to nothing, bringing Verreynne to the middle in only the fourth over of the chase. He then went on to bat for more than 45 overs, first sharing a partnership of 83 with Jason Smith (40) for the fourth wicket.

Aviwe Mgijima (38) brought more support after the dismissal of the latter with a 69-run fifth-wicket partnership, while 21 by George Linde helped keep the momentum going after the next wicket fell.

Dane Piedt then played a vital hand with his 36, which enabled the Cobras to bolster their total by another 67 for the seventh wicket and, even after the skipper fell, the victory was in sight for Verreynne.

Dane Paterson helped add the finishing touches – the visitors getting home in the final over.

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MZANSI SUPER LEAGUE ANNOUNCES FINALISED T20 SQUADS

The inaugural Mzansi Super League (MSL) T20 Player Draft was held today at Montecasino in Johannesburg today.

Each team had already been allocated a Marquee Standard Bank Protea player. Today the teams made their picks from the six International Marquee Players and then filled the remaining 14 places in each squad from the foreign and South African players who had applied to enter the draft.

In the mini-round to select the International Marquee Players, the Durban heat had first call and went for Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, the No. 1 ranked bowler in the current ICC T20 rankings. They were followed by the Jozi Stars who went for Chris Gayle of the Windies. Paarl Rocks followed with another Windies player, Dwayne Bravo. Cape Town Blitz then took Dawid Malan of England followed by Tshwane Spartans with England white ball captain Eoin Morgan and Nelson Mandela Bay Giants with England opening batsman Jason Roy.

In round one proper, the Giants led off with Chris Morris, followed by the Spartans with Lungi Ngidi, the Blitz with Andile Phehlukwayo, the Rocks with Tabraiz Shamsi, the Stars with Kolpak star Dane Vilas and the Heat with David Miller.

Lutho Sipamla became the first rookie to be chosen in Round Eight by the Spartans and they followed with another rookie in Tony de Zorzi in Round Nine. Other rookies signed were Sinethemba Qeshile for the Stars, Dyllan Matthews for the Giants, Okuhle Cele for the Heat, Eathan Bosch for the Rocks, and Kyle Verreynne for the Blitz.

The resulting teams are a unique blend of both local youth and international experience which is sure to make for some very exciting cricket.

The Draft order was predetermined by a weighted Player Matrix system. The players who are eligible for the main Draft are those who entered into a binding agreement to enter the Draft.

FINAL SQUADS

(in order of Protea Marquee Player, International Marquee Player, and then the 14 draft rounds, making a total of 16 players per squad)

CAPE TOWN BLITZ: Quinton de Kock, Dawid Malan (England), Andile Phehlukwayo, Dale Steyn, Samuel Badree (Windies), Asif Ali (Pakistan), Farhaan Behardien, Anrich Nortje, Janneman Malan, Malusi Siboto, George Linde, Ferisco Adams, Jason Smith, Sibonelo Makhanya, Kyle Verreynne (rookie), Dane Piedt.

DURBAN HEAT: Hashim Amla, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Kyle Abbott (kolpak), Keshav Maharaj, Khaya Zondo, Albie Morkel, Marchant de Lange (kolpak), Vernon Philander, Brandon Mavuta (Zimbabwe), Temba Bavuma, Morne van Wyk, Okuhle Cele (rookie), Sarel Erwee, Tladi Bokako.

JOZI STARS: Kagiso Rabada, Chris Gayle (Windies), Dane Vilas, Rassie van der Dussen, Daniel Christian (Australia), Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Dwaine Pretorius, Eddie Leie, Pite van Biljon, Duanne Olivier, Ryan Rickelton, Sinethemba Qeshile (rookie), Simon Harmer, Calvin Savage, Alfred Mothoa.

NELSON MANDELA BAY GIANTS: Imran Tahir, Jason Roy (England), Chris Morris, Jon-Jon Smuts, Junior Dala, Christiaan Jonker, Aaron Phangiso, Ben Duckett (England), Sisanda Magala, Ryan McLaren, Heino Kuhn, Marco Marais, Dyllan Matthews (rookie), Lizaad Williams, Rudi Second, Carmi le Roux.

PAARL ROCKS: Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo (Windies), Tabraiz Shamsi, Dane Paterson, Aiden Markram, Mangaliso Mosehle, Bjorn Fortuin, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Grant Thomson, Paul Stirling (Ireland), Tshepo Moreki, Henry Davids, Cameron Delport , Eathan Bosch (rookie), Patrick Kruger, Kerwin Mungroo.

TSHWANE SPARTANS: AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan (England), Lungi Ngidi, Robbie Frylinck, Jeewan Mendis (Sri Lanka), Theunis de Bruyn, Rory Kleinveldt, Sean Williams (Zimbabwe), Gihahn Cloete, Lutho Sipamla (rookie), Tony de Zorzi (rookie), Dean Elgar, Andrew Birch, Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Shaun von Berg, Eldred Hawken.

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KNIGHTS PICK UP THEIR FIRST WIN IN MODC

Rudi Second, Patrick Kruger, Grant Mokoena and Andries Gous all hit half-centuries as the VKB Knights ended their seven-match winless streak by beating the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras with a bonus point for their first victory of the Momentum One-Day Cup season in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

The hosts, who had lost five and tied two of their seven matches in 2017/18, were set up for victory after the quartet helped them amass a fixture record score of 320 for four – by far the highest score for the home side this season.

Eddie Leie and Mbulelo Budaza then shared seven wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 245 in 41.4 overs at the Mangaung Oval.

It completed a relieving win for the Central Franchise and kept their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive with two matches to play.

They lost the toss and were asked to bat first, but began well through Mokoena, who scored a franchise cricket best of 75 (96 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes).

David Miller was promoted to open the order but that experiment failed after he made eight, but Gous stepped up with 74 (87 balls, 8 fours) in what was his debut game.

After he departed it was the Second (78 off 58 balls, 5 fours, 4 sixes) and Kruger (64 off 44, 3 fours, 3 sixes) show as they plundered a 135-run unbroken fifth wicket stand in just 12.5 overs.

The Cobras scored quickly in their reply, but lost wickets far too regularly as they fell to 136 just after the halfway stage.

Their highest scorer was Kyle Verreynne with his 54 (49 balls, 2 fours, 3 sixes), but he was one of four wickets to fall to the spin of Leie (4/65), who last week conceded the most expensive figures in the history of the competition when he went for 90 in seven overs against the same opponents.

Budaza bagged three for 40 for good measure to lead the Knights to a timeous win.

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AFRICA T20 CUP KICKS OFF THIS WEEKEND

The third edition of the Africa T20 Cup kicks off this weekend, officially raising the curtain on the new cricket season.

The month-long tournament is the beginning of an exciting 2017/18 domestic campaign, with plenty of fresh talent expected to come to the fore.

Over the past two seasons, the likes of Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi and Andile Phehlukwayo have all played in the competition and gone on to represent the Standard Bank Proteas.

Others like Senuran Muthusamy, Patrick Kruger and Solo Nqweni have used the platform to become more regular players in franchise cricket.

Sahara Park Willowmoore in Benoni is the first stop from Friday to Sunday (August 25-27) where Pool A will be played.

Easterns are the host union for round one with the group also including Western Province, South Western Districts and Namibia.

The competition will then move to Senwes Park in Potchefstroom from September 1-3 when defending champions Eastern Province will begin the defence of their title by playing host union North West, Northerns and Gauteng in Pool B.

Pool C is next in focus with Kimberley’s Diamond Oval and home union Northern Cape, the stage for KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Kenya on the weekend of September 8-10.

The initial stage of the tournament then concludes from September 15-17 at Buffalo Park in East London where Border will host KZN Inland, Zimbabwe and Boland.

The Diamond Oval in Kimberley has been pre-allocated the semifinals and final weekend of September 24 and 25. Only pool winners qualify for the knock-out round.

“The Africa T20 Cup has come a long way since the first edition in 2015/16,” said Cricket South Africa (CSA) General Manager: Cricket, Corrie van Zyl.

“We have seen so many players play in the tournament who have gone on to play franchise cricket more regularly, while some have even made the bigger step-up to the Proteas.

“So we’re excited about the weekend. It will also launch the 2017/18 season and everyone is looking forward to it.”

The format is the same as in the previous two editions with the 12 CSA provincial members being joined by KwaZulu-Natal Inland and three African nations – Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya.

 

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