KNYSNA NEWS - Tristan Stubbs has once again rocked the SA cricketing fraternity, this time by being sold for a whopping R9,2-million at the first-ever player auction for the brand-new SA20 franchise competition.

The auction took place on Monday 19 September and after his recent form for the Manchester Originals in The Hundred, his performances for the Proteas, his impressive 2021/22 CSA T20 Challenge season for the Warriors and his meteoric rise up the ranks of world T20 cricket, Stubbs was always going to be hot property.

His base price was R175 000, but it quickly shot up with the televised graphics even unable to keep up with the speed at which franchises were bidding for him.

MI Cape Town fought hard to retain Stubbs' services as he plays for them in the IPL, but their bids were in vain.

A very determined Sunrisers Eastern Cape bidding team put in the highest bid to obtain his services.

The incredible R9,2-million that was offered for him makes him the most expensive player by R2,3-million. He joins the likes of Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, JJ Smuts, Roelof van der Merwe and others at the Eastern Cape outfit.

"It's crazy, I'm still shaking," Stubbs said in an interview during the live broadcast of the auction, shortly after he was sold. 

"I do [enjoy playing my cricket in the Eastern Cape], I've played most of my cricket there at St George's. It'll be really cool to play with [Marco] Jansen at St George's, so I'm looking forward to it."

The competition

The SA20 is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament launched this year, and the first edition is scheduled to take place between January and February 2023, with six teams based in various South African cities competing. 

All six franchises belong to franchise-owners of teams in the Indian Premier League, the biggest T20 league in the world – Durban Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, Mumbai Indians (MI) Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

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