Mitchell Owen Replaces Joe Root In SA20
Mitchell Owen garnered his first T20 contract since igniting a firework display at the BBL final, and he joined South African franchise Paarl Royals.
He scored the most runs in the BBL, scoring 452 runs for the Hurricanes, having started his summer as something of an anonymous figure, before declaring himself a star with a hard-to-believe century in the final with just 39 balls, which secured the Hurricanes their first title.
Owen’s heroics under pressure were certain to court favor from T20 clubs around the world, including the IPL. The 23-year-old will have to wait a little longer to see whether he has struck fortune with his late call-up to the IPL.
However, the Royals wasted little time in signing Owen as a replacement for former England captain Joe Root, who is now joining the national squad in India and is unavailable for the rest of the SA20.
Next week’s qualifier final will see league leaders Paarl taking on MI Cape Town, who are second and boast a squad consisting of Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, and Rashid Khan.
Among those to shine Owen with praise after his splendid innings in the BBL final was Ricky Ponting. “There are not many players in the world that can do that,” Ponting told AAP.
Ponting candidly remarked that discussion of Owen representing Australia in next year’s T20 World Cup was “inevitable”.
“He can be anything,” Matthew Wade said, “No stage really quite worries him.”
Also Read: Pretoria Capitals vs MI Cape Town Match Report
