As the SA20 takes a short break before the run into the knockout stages of the competition, we take a look at the team of the tournament so far in its inaugural season.

The latest franchise series on the circuit has provided plenty of action and entertainment so far, with Pretoria Capitals currently topping the table by a six-point margin from Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Wisden’s XI consists of players from five of the six franchises – only MI Cape Town are unrepresented in this side. Four Pretoria Capitals players are included as well as three from Joburg Super Kings and two from Paarl Royals.

Wisden’s SA20 team of the tournament so far:

Phil Salt (Pretoria Capitals)

5 matches, 159 runs at 53.00; SR: 167.36, HS: 77*

Salt makes up one half of an all-England and all-Pretoria opening pair. He got off to a flying start in the tournament when he thrashed an unbeaten 77 off 47 balls against Sunrisers Eastern Cape. While his consistency has been patchy since then, registering a duck and a one in two of his five innings, another hard-hitting performance came against Joburg Super Kings where he hit 52 not out from 30 including seven boundaries.

Will Jacks (Pretoria Capitals)

7 matches, 270 at 38.57; SR: 201.49, HS: 92

Arguably the player of the tournament so far, Will Jacks has been in blistering form and currently sits as the second-highest run scorer in the competition. His strike rate sets him apart from all other batters in the tournament, creeping over 200 with an average of nearly 40. He just missed out on becoming the first centurion of the competition when he was dismissed for 92 off 46, which included eight sixes, in his second innings. Jacks’ most outrageous moment came against MI Cape Town when he hit Jofra Archer for a huge six down the ground, planting his feet and dispatching a near-90mph delivery back over Archer’s head.

Faf du Plessis (Joburg Super Kings)

7 matches, 277 runs at 46.16; SR: 148.12, HS: 113*

After a slow start to the competition, the former South Africa captain played a T20 innings for the ages against Durban’s Super Giants, scoring an unbeaten 113 off 58 balls. Opening the batting in that match, du Plessis hit his stride in the second half of the run chase after reaching fifty in the 12th over. From there he smashed six maximums, winning the match with a six in the final over off Hardus Viljoen.

Leus du Plooy (Joburg Super Kings)

5 matches, 163 runs at 81.50; SR: 134.71, HS: 75*

With the highest average of anyone in this side, Leus Du Plooy comes in at No.4. His standout innings was an unbeaten 75 against Pretoria Capitals which included carting Adil Rashid for three boundaries in one over, having already taken three fours off Jimmy Neesham in the previous over. He went on to hit two sixes and two fours in the 19th, pushing the Super Kings up to a defendable total. Du Plooy also scored a measured 47 not out to see his side home in a run chase against Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Heinrich Klaasen (Durban’s Super Giants)

7 matches, 259 runs at 51.80; SR: 148.00, HS: 65

Heinrich Klaasen got up and running in the competition with a 20 and a 36 before scoring a 19-ball fifty in his third innings. He followed up in his next match with another unbeaten half-century against Paarl Royals. A consistent contributor, in only one of his seven innings has he failed to reach 20, and he registered his top score (65 from 48) in his most recent innings against Joburg Super Kings.

David Miller (Paarl Royals)

8 matches, 180 runs at 36.00; SR: 141.73, HS: 42

After scoring 42 in the opening match of the tournament, David Miller had a couple of low-scoring innings before hitting his stride once more. He registered two important innings in his most recent matches of the competition, finishing off run chases against MI Capitals and Sunrisers to boost the Royals’ hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Wayne Parnell (Pretoria Capitals)

7 matches, 54 runs at 27.00, SR: 174.19, hs: 29*

9 wickets at 20.77; ER: 8.43, SR: 14.7

Coming in as the all-rounder, Parnell has contributed some important cameos with the bat as well as a handful of wickets. He hit Ottniel Baartman for three sixes in the final over of the Capitals’ innings in their opening match before dismissing Sarel Erwee in the chase. His best bowling performance came against Durban’s Super Giants where he finished with figures of 2-12 after getting both openers within the first three overs of the match.

Roelof van der Merwe (Sunrisers Eastern Cape)

6 matches, 14 wickets at 7.78; ER: 4.73, SR: 9.8

38-year-old Roelof van der Merwe has had the tournament of his career so far in South Africa. He currently sits at the top of the wicket-taking standings for the tournament and has an economy rate of less than five. Outstanding figures of 6-20 against Joburg Super Giants gave him the first five-for of the competition and left the Super Giants bowled out for 86. Apart from a wicketless first outing, Van der Merwe has taken at least two wickets in every match he has played so far in the tournament.

Bjorn Fortuin (Paarl Royals)

8 matches, 13 wickets at 15.23; ER: 6.28, SR:14.5

A second left-arm spinner in this XI, Bjorn Fortuin has consistently taken wickets for Paarl Royals. Often trusted to open the bowling, Fortuin’s best performance came against the Super Kings where he took 3-14 including the wickets of Quinton de Kock and Kyle Mayers.

Anrich Nortje (Pretoria Capitals)

7 matches, 13 wickets at 12.61; ER: 6.11, SR: 12.3

Second in the wicket standings so far, Anrich Nortje’s fearsome pace has continued to cause problems for batters as the tournament has gone on. He took 3-12 against the Joburg Super Kings before following up with 2-15 against the Super Giants. Along with Parnell and Adil Rashid, he has formed part of a successful bowling line-up for Pretoria Capitals which has seen them lose just two of their seven games.

Gerald Coetzee (Joburg Super Kings)

5 matches, 11 wickets at 11.36; ER: 7.5, SR: 9.0

Another South Africa quick bowler coming up through the ranks, Gerald Coetzee made an impact on the tournament when he took 4-24 against Sunrisers Eastern Cape. He took three wickets in his last two overs to blast through the tail-end batters, having already dismissed Jordan Hermann with his first ball of the match. He put in back-to-back performances with a three-for in his next match against the Super Giants and sits fifth in the overall wicket-taking standings after just five matches.