Breetzke, Stubbs bring Sunrisers back from dead to seal third SA20 title

Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) won a third SA20 title in four years with a stunning six-wicket win over Pretoria Capitals (PC) at Newlands. A 114-run unbeaten fifth-wicket stand between Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs, both of whom went on to make half-centuries, trumped Dewald Brevis' 101, the lone-hand for PC who only scored 158.

In the closest of the four finals played to date, PC had one hand on the trophy when they reduced SEC to 48 for 4 in the ninth over and caused the required run-rate to balloon to 14 runs an over by the end of the 16th. But Breetzke and Stubbs prised PC's fingers off in the final exchanges with a record stand for SEC to seal a memorable win.

Breetzke, on 45, began the charge when he lofted Lizaad Williams over mid-off for a boundary off the second ball of Williams' final over. He then gave strike to Stubbs, who hit Williams over extra cover and passed the strike back. Breetzke finished the over with a four through square leg to take 14 runs off Williams and reduce the equation to 42 needed from the last three overs.

The 18th over began with four leg byes before Stubbs reverse-swept Gideon Peters over short third for four, then Peters bowled a wide and a no-ball and the free hit went for six. His over cost 21 and SEC needed 21 from the last two. Lungi Ngidi's final over cost 12 before Stubbs' slammed back to back sixes to finish the match with four balls to spare.

Stubbs' performance was particularly notable, given his call-up to South Africa's T20 World Cup squad, and his struggle for form throughout 2025. His 63 not out was his first half-century in the format in 51 innings since his 76 against West Indies in August 2024.

Overall, SEC had another season for the books as they kept their record of reaching finals, and recruiting well, intact. Their new signing, Quinton de Kock finished as the leading run-scorer with 390 runs while another acquisition, Anrich Nortje, was second on the wicket-takers' list. SEC regular Marco Jansen's 13 wickets this season has left him one behind Ottneil Baartman as the SA20's most successful bowler, and he underlined his status as among the best with a signature performance in the final.

Jansen took the opening wicket in a two-over new ball spell that cost just five runs, then returned to bowl the 16th over and conceded five and closed things out in the penultimate over with a double-wicket maiden to finish with figures of 3 for 10 in four overs. No boundaries were hit off him in the final. His pace partner Nortje was also effective, especially at the death, and gave away just two runs in the final over to finish with 1 for 19. PC scored three runs in the last two overs and could not reach 160, with only Bryce Parsons providing Brevis with support.

For the second final in succession, Brevis played an important hand, this time with his first SA20 century which accounted for almost two-thirds of PC's total of 158 for 7. He was in blistering touch as 74 of his 101 runs came in boundaries and he dominated a 97-run stand with Parsons that rescued PC from 1 for 2 but could not carry them to a defendable total.

After Stubbs chose to bowl first up, SEC made good on their captain's decision within seven balls. Jansen started well with no runs from his first three balls and then angled one across Connor Esterhuizen and found the outside edge and James Coles took the catch at slip. At the start of the next over, Shai Hope hit a Lutho Sipamla ball in the air, when he should have played along the ground, and he was caught at cover. PC were 1 for 2 after 1.1 overs and in desperate need of a recovery.

The league's most expensive buy peaked at the right time as Brevis followed up his 53 in the final league game against Joburg Super Kings with 75 not out in Qualifier 1 and then the 101 in the final, saving his best for the last. He started with a finesse-filled flick off the pads for four, then struck three boundaries off Sipamla's second over, which cost 12, and then plundered 20 off Coles as PC finished the powerplay on 49 for 2. The Newlands crowd had to wait until the 10th over to see the no-look six, Brevis' fourth, which came after he had reached his 50 off 26 balls.

His biggest hit was the 97-metre cracker over long-on off Senuran Muthusamy but his best - for significance, not quality - was the almost top-edge that cleared deep square and brought up his first SA20 hundred. Brevis' celebration was elaborate, as he ran the length of the pitch, gestured to all in the ground and then looked skywards and prayed. He was out in the next over but his 101 was PC's most important hand.

With a relatively modest score to defend, PC needed a breakthrough as soon as they could get one and it took Lungi Ngidi the same number of balls as Jansen to get it. Ngidi's first ball was full and inviting, and Quinton de Kock drove him down the ground for four, his second was shorter and cut away but was prevented from going to the boundary, and this third was closer to the mark and punched into the covers for one. That brought Jonny Bairstow on strike for the delivery Ngidi got absolutely right. He pitched it on a length, it shaped it away and took Bairstow's outside edge to give Hope a regulation catch. SEC were 5 for 1 in the first and the chase started tensely.

With de Kock dismissed on the last ball of the powerplay, PC had the perfect opportunity to squeeze with their spinners on a surface that seemed to be slowing up. Keshav Maharaj brought himself on and raced through an over that cost four runs before Roston Chase took over from the other end. Frustrated by a lack of big shots, Jordan Hermann advanced on Chase and tried to launch him over long-on but could only get the ball as far as Jordon Cox at long-off.

In the next over, Coles, who played a crucial hand with 45 not out in the second qualifier, tried to flick Maharaj leg side but popped a leading edge up to Chase in the covers. Between them, Maharaj and Chase bowled six overs in tandem, conceded 33 runs and took two wickets to take SEC from 39 for 2 after six overs to 72 for 4 after 12. They needed 87 to win from 48 balls, and the target seemed far away before Breetzke and Stubbs got together to finish it off.