Roelof van der Merwe may be 38 years old and keeps getting reminded of it, but there is no doubt the left-arm spinner is still a massive asset for any team he plays for, as he showed in his key role in the Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s triumph in the inaugural SA20 league.
Van der Merwe was man of the match in the final with 4/31 and finished the campaign as joint leading wicket-taker with Anrich Nortje of the Pretoria Capitals, the team Sunrisers beat for the trophy at the Wanderers at the weekend, but apart from what he did, it was also how he went about his work that was invaluable for the Eastern Cape team.
Read more: How the Sunrisers shocked Capitals to win SA20 title
Sunrisers captain Aiden Markram, who was named Player of the Season for his 366 runs, 11 wickets and inspiring leadership, said their season turned around once Van der Merwe was included in the team following defeats in their opening two matches.
Read more: Markram century carries Sunrisers Eastern Cape into SA20 final
“That was a huge turnaround in our season. We had lost our two opening games and we felt we needed characters out there leading the fight,” Markram said.
“And there is no bigger character than Roela. The guys really try and follow him. He still has incredible skillsets and is so experienced, but the biggest thing he brings is passion.
“In the final, we had been just a bit off with the new ball, but the pitch was still a bit soft and there was no better guy to bowl into it than him. He definitely started things off for us.
“Today we were bowling first, but the other great performance was when we were defending, to take six-for like he did against Durban’s Super Giants does not happen very often and he was always bowling to the short boundary at St George’s Park,” Markram said.
Bargain sale
Dutch international Van der Merwe’s brilliant services will be on sale again for future T20 leagues, and he will surely garner a lot more than the R175 000 bargain Sunrisers purchased him for.
“I love coming back and playing here and I’m glad I was able to contribute this year. Winning trophies is why we play. There’s probably a bit still left in the tank for me,” Van der Merwe, who played 26 times for South Africa in 2009-10, said.
“I just love competing, any sort of competition, and as long as I can do that then I will keep coming back. I didn’t expect the pitch to turn as much, I thought the seamers would be the danger up front. But a couple turned and then it just kept turning.
“The Sunrisers would probably still have won without me, but I’m still trying to figure out how we won when nobody gave us a chance. We gelled well though, we almost Moneyballed it.
“For the local guys, they don’t see crowds like this often in domestic cricket and seeing how they react under that pressure, they will absorb a massive amount from this tournament,” Van der Merwe said.
