Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the defending SA20 champions, have signed South Africa batter David Bedingham, England opener Zak Crawley, fast bowler Craig Overton, and Netherlands allrounder Roelof van der Merwe for the upcoming season.
Bedingham is one of the newer faces in the South African team having made his debut in December 2023. He struck a half-century in his first innings for his country and has since become a first-choice pick in Test cricket. Bedingham chose chose the longer format over the SA20 earlier this year, and went on a tour of New Zealand with a second-string side. He has played 63 T20s, scoring 1375 runs at an average of 22.17 and a strike rate of 135.06.
For Crawley, it will be his first stint in the SA20, though he has previous experience in T20 leagues, having played for Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers in the BBL, Kent in the T20 Blast and London Spirit in the Hundred. He is yet to make his debut for England in the shortest format - and has only eight ODIs under his belt - but is very much a mainstay of their Test team where he opens the batting and is known for his expansive strokeplay and high strike rate. Crawley has 1771 runs across 76 T20s at a strike rate of 134.77.
"I've always wanted to be a good white-ball player," Crawley said. "I'm trying to add a few other shots to my game, but I feel like it's quite suited [to me] and I've gone well in T20 cricket in the past when I've had a run at it. I'm trying to add a bit more power to my game, I'm working hard in the nets trying a few different things to hopefully hit more and bigger sixes."
As ESPNcricinfo reported last week, Crawley and England are in the midst of a cramped cricket calendar, with the men's team scheduled to play 16 series over the next two years, including the 2025 Champions Trophy. England, however, have a competitive advantage over most of their rivals in that the majority of franchise T20 leagues take place during their off-season, allowing players the opportunity both to develop and to earn without restriction.
Sunrisers have also brought back van der Merwe, who was previously with the franchise during the first season of the SA20 in 2022-23. The left-arm spinning allrounder was the joint leading wicket-taker with 20 that year, while boasting an economy of just 5.62. He was particularly influential in the final at the Wanderers, where he claimed 4 for 31 against the Pretoria Capitals, to win the Player-of-the-Match award. He also boasts the best ever figures in SA20 history - 6 for 20 against Durban's Super Giants in Gqeberha.
The SA20 will represent Overton's first foray into an overseas T20 league. The 30-year old fast bowler has 102 matches' worth of experience but all of them have been at home in England. Overton has picked up 106 wickets in T20s at an average of 26.21 and an economy rate of 8.56.
Sunrisers also retained captain Aiden Markram, Ottniel Baartman, Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs among a list of 12. Temba Bavuma, former T20 captain who missed out on the 2024 World Cup squad, and Sisanda Magala, the death-bowling specialist who has struggled with injury since withdrawing from the 2023 World Cup squad, have not been retained.*
Sunrisers Eastern Cape squad
Retained: Aiden Markram (captain), Ottniel Baartman, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs, Tom Abell (overseas, England), Jordan Hermann, Patrick Kruger, Beyers Swanepoel, Simon Harmer, Liam Dawson (overseas, England), Caleb Seleka, Andile Simelane. Pre-signed: Roelof van der Merwe (Netherlands), Craig Overton (England), Zak Crawley (England).
*The copy was updated after Sunrisers made their latest announcements.