SA20: What makes Sunrisers Eastern Cape a sporting dynasty - 'A well-balanced team'

TimesofIndia.com in Cape Town: On December 30, 2025, former South Africa seamer Dale Steyn made a bold declaration on social media. "SEC [Sunrisers Eastern Cape] are def [definitely] one of my finalists. Possibly even champions again. But let's come back to this in two weeks." It wasn't an outlandish bet to make. They had been to the final three times in three seasons, winning two.

As they booked a place in the final once again, for the fourth straight time, Steyn wrote, "Surprise. Surprise. SEC in the FINAL, again."

A little over three weeks after Steyn's original prediction, SEC were on the field against the Pretoria Capitals at Newlands in Cape Town. The task at hand for the Tristan Stubbs-led side was to chase down 159 runs.



The World Cup-bound Stubbs, who had a mediocre campaign, had Matthew Breetzke for company. The job was difficult: 56 runs needed in 24 balls. Lizaad Williams and Lungi Ngidi, who had gone for a paltry six an over, each had an over.

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Steyn was worried and the confidence in the SEC was shaky. "SEC may have left this a little late. New champions on route," he posted.

What transpired, however, was a remarkable turnaround. Stubbs, who was included in the T20 World Cup squad only because of injuries in the camp, played a captain's knock, turning a 35 off 28 balls into an unbeaten 62 runs off 41 balls. Breetzke was equally impressive, pulling off a 49-ball, 68-run knock.

Even if Dewald Brevis' 101-run knock in the first innings earned him the Player of the Match award, Stubbs-Breetzke's 114-run partnership for the fifth wicket took SEC to their fourth title.

Let that register fully. Four years, four finals and three titles. This is stuff of sporting dynasties. Like Perth Scorchers who won their sixth Big Bash League (BBL) title in 15 seasons on Sunday. In American sports, think the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, the New York Yankees and the New England Patriots. You get the idea.

What's the secret? "I think we've got a very well-balanced team. No disrespect to others but I think we've probably got the most balanced of teams. We've got good spin, we've got good pace and high-quality batters and an experienced opening pair," said coach Adrian Birrell in an unprecedented press conference that assembled the entire playing XI.

"I think we probably were the side that played the least number of players. Didn't chop and change, which is very hard on the bench, but we've got a fantastic bench that could have played and they were really high-quality players, which gave me as coach a lot of confidence. But I think we've got a really good squad here and I think that showed this year that we were probably the most consistent team," continued the former South Africa national team assistant coach.

The numbers back that claim. SEC had topped the table this season. They also had the most bonus points in the league stage. Zooming out across the four seasons, SEC has the most wins, holds the best win-loss ratio and scored the most runs.

From Aiden Markram earlier to Tristan Stubbs now, the leadership duties have been handled perfectly. And Stubbs has found a perfect ally in Quinton de Kock to lean on for support when required. But the decision to pass the captaincy armband to 'Stubbo', who has only had one strong season for the franchise (2024), speaks highly of their preference for building a team rather than highlighting individuals.

"I've really enjoyed this month," said Stubbs in reflection of the season. "I've had a great group to work with. We've planned really well for games. The bowlers are really experienced, so it's been easy. Me and Quinny [Quinton de Kock] have had this great thing going where we channelled a lot of the bowling changes. It's been a whole team effort. The senior players have been awesome. It's awesome to finish like this."

As the beers were passed around in the room to culminate another trophy-laden season, a look back at the start cannot be ignored.


At the auction, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape signed Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje. De Kock finished as the leading run-scorer in the fourth season of the SA20 while Nortje was second on the wicket-taker's list. Wildcard pick Marco Jansen's 13 wickets made him the SA20's second-most successful bowler.

Steyn sums things up nicely: "SEC lead [sic] by Stubbs and the great coach Adi Birrell do it again ��. Stubbs you champion! SA20 you’re incredible! SA fans are special! What a tournament! Can’t wait for season 5!"


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