SA20 Survey: Who Will Win It And Which Players Will Shine

The wait is finally over, the much-anticipated SA20 began on Tuesday. At Bet.co.za we surveyed our cricket fans to get an idea of who South Africans think will win the tournament, which team they support the most, which batsman will score the most runs, and other questions about the inaugural SA20.

South Africans didn’t hold back their views on the tournament on various topics. 300 South African cricket fans completed the survey.

Carl Lewis, Head of Content at Bet.co.za shared his thoughts on the survey and the reasons behind it.

“The SA20 is a very significant tournament for South African cricket, both in terms of financial health and fan interest. Because of the importance of the SA20, we felt we needed to gauge where South Africans stand when it comes to support as well as who they might bet on.”

Key Takeaways From The Survey

Here’s a summary of the most interesting findings and key statistics:

• MI Cape Town are the favourites to win the tournament.
  
• Durban Super Giants are the most supported team, followed by the favourites to win MI Cape Town.
  
• Paarl Royals is the least favourites team to win the tournament.
  
• Quinton de Kock is the favourite to score the most runs in the tournament, followed by Faf Du Plessis and Jos Buttler.
  
• Quinton de Kock is also backed to hit the most sixes.
  
• Kagiso Rabada has a huge backing to take the most wickets.
  
• Jos Buttler is the overseas player to score the most runs.
  
• Overseas bowler to take the most wickets is Jason Holder.
  
• South Africans predict Less than 10 centuries will be scored in the tournament.
  
• South Africans are backing their local team, with Durban Super Giants having the strongest local support.

About The Survey

Bet.co.za surveyed 300 South African cricket fans across the country. Over 75% of participants are male. The majority of participants (40%) are aged 25 – 34 years old, and over 35% of participants are residing in Gauteng province.

MI Cape Town Are The Favourites To Win SA20

Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will be at the forefront of the attack for MI Cape Town, joined by the likes of Afghanistan spin wizard Rashid Khan, England’s big-hitting Liam Livingstone, and the most expensive IPL player Sam Curran.

With the squad they have and a rich technical team, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that almost a quarter of South Africans (24%) voted for them as favourites to win the competition. Carl Lewis added “South Africans realise that MI Cape Town have the best squad and are the favourites, the sentiment of the fans are reflected in our odds as MI Cape Town are the favourites to win the inaugural competition.”

MI Cape Town have a blend of experienced and young players with great potential, players such as Dewald Brevis who scored a record-breaking 162 in 57 balls in the CSA T20 Challenge.

Durban Super Giants (25%) Followed By MI Cape Town (23%) Are The Fan Favourites

Almost half of the votes went to these two teams, with Durban Super Giants being the most supported team in the tournament. The Dolphins came second in the CSA T20 Challenge, so cricket fans in Durban seem to have faith in their team.

Cricket Fans Don’t Want Paarl Royals To Win

Regardless of Paarl Rocks coming third in the CSA T20 Challenge, 19% of cricket fans don’t want the team based in Paarl to win the tournament. Coming close with 17% are the Durban Super Giants.

Quinton de Kock Is The Batsman Backed To Score Most Runs (38%) And Hit The Most Sixes (26%)

Almost half of the fans put their money on de Kock to hit the ball hard and score the most runs in the tournament. This doesn’t come as a surprise as Quinton de Kock sits number fourth in the Men’s ODI Batting Rankings in the world.

Kagiso Rabada (43%) To Take The Most Wickets

Ranked 6th in the ICC player rankings for the best bowlers, KG is the force to be recked with to take the most wickets in the SA20. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan who ranks number 2 in the T20 format is the second best with 23% of votes.

Jos Buttler (48%) To Be The Overseas Player To Score The Most runs

South African cricket fans gave almost half of the votes to the explosive English batter. Jos Buttler, is regarded as a player who has everything to succeed in the shorter formats of the game, he ranks number 12 in the T20 ICC batting rankings and is a genuine match-winner. 

Jason Holder (27%) To Be The Overseas Player To Take The Most Wickets

The world-class all-rounder has a great bowling record in the T20 format. He comes with a vast amount of experience having captained the Windies for years.

1 In 3 South Africans Predict Less Than 10 Centuries Will Be Scored In The Tournament

South African cricket fans didn’t show much faith when it comes to the number of centuries that will be scored in the tournaments, they only predicted less than 10 centuries for the entire tournament.

South Africans Are Backing Their Local Teams, With Durban Super Giants Having The Strongest Local Support

Durban Super Giants have the strongest local support. 80% of KZN respondents are backing Durban Super Giants. In Western Cape, 60% of respondents are backing MI Cape Town and 16% are backing Paarl Royals. In Gauteng, 43% of respondents are backing Johannesburg Super Kings and 24% are backing Pretoria Capitals.

About Bet.co.za

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Media queries:
Carl Lewis
[email protected]
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Siphamandla Lindwa

Siphamandla Lindwa is a sports writer and a publisher for Bet Central at Bet.co.za. He obtained a B-Tech in Sports Management from Tshwane University of Technology. When not writing sports content, Sipha scouts talent and networks for his future Sports Management agency.