Paarl Royals crash to lowest ever SA20 total with Sunrisers Eastern Cape kickoff in style

Sunrisers Eastern Cape thrashed Paarl Royals by 137 runs at Boland Park on Saturday night during their first match of the SA20 league. Paceman Anrich Nortje was the pick of the SEC bowlers with a spell of 4/13, while Jordan Hermann stole the show with his half century. 

In their first match out the gate, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the toss and went in first to bat. Quinton de Kick and Johnny Bairstow got SEC off to a solid start against the home team with a 50-run partnership.

But Delano Potgieter delivered a fatal blow to SEC's opener in the 11th over, dismissing de Kock for 42 off 24 deliveries.

Matthew Breetzke joined Marco Jansen, who was promoted to No 3, in the centre while Paarl managed to squeeze the run rate down after De Kock's dismissal.  But Bjorn Fortuin made light work of Jansen in the eight over bringing him Jordan Hermann arrived at the crease. 

Breetzke turned the 15th over into a spectacle with a consecutive six and boundary. At the end of the 15th, SEC reached 119/3, with Breetzke and Hermann amping the run rate back up with some much-needed boundaries toward the last quarter of the innings. Herman fired from the get-go, and destroyed Baartman in the 17th over.

Baartman earned some redemption for the bad over, bowling Breetzke for 31 runs. Hermann closed out the innings with absolute style, slapping Delano Potgieter for 22 runs in the final over to push the visitors up 186/4. Herman closed the innings on 62 not out.

Marco Jansen opened up SEC's bowling attack with the big wicket of Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, who was dismissed for two. Adam Milne dismissed Rubin Hermann in the very next over for a duck, putting the home team on the back foot.

Sri Lankan Vishen Halambage was the next to go at the hands of Milne, leaving Paarl three wickets down after just four overs. Asa Tribe continued to represent the fall of the Royals middle order, going for 14 runs to paceman Anrich Nortje.

At the halfway point, Paarl were scrambling on 48/6 before the final four wickets for the addition of just one run.