Young English all-rounder James Coles powered Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the final of SA20 2026 with a comprehensive win over Paarl Royals.
James Coles' all-round brilliance takes Sunrisers to fourth SA20 final
Sunrisers made their fourth final in as many editions of the SA20, riding on Coles’ all-round brilliance. The 21-year-old first bowled an economical spell of 1-15 of his left-arm spin before slamming 45 off 19 balls to help the side beat Paarl Royals in SA20 Qualifier 2.
The Royals won the toss and opted to bat first at the Wanderers, but were handed a setback in the very first over as Lutho Sipamla dismissed Lhuan-dre Pretorius. Anrich Nortje then got the better of Rubin Hermann, before Coles dismissed compatriot Dan Lawrence in his first over - a wicket maiden - to reduce the Royals to 31-3 inside the powerplay.
Senuran Muthusamy then joined the party, taking the next three wickets to reduce the Royals to 75-6. Kyle Verreynne, who carried his bat, added 32 important runs for the seventh wicket with Bjorn Fortuin to take their side to 114-7. Coles eventually bowled four overs for just 15 runs, and conceded only one boundary: a six to Verreynne on the penultimate delivery of his spell.
The chase was rather straightforward for the Sunrisers, who lost both their openers in the third over after a quick start. Jordan Hermann’s wicket brought Coles to the crease for the last delivery of the powerplay. The all-rounder remained unbeaten, hitting 45 runs during his 19-ball stay, which featured four fours and three sixes.
Qualifier 2, Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Paarl Royals
vs
- Ball by ball Over
The Sunrisers eventually got over the line in the 12th over to book a final with the Pretoria Capitals, who had beaten them in Qualifier 1. This was the fourth straight season that they reached the SA20 final, where they previously recorded wins in 2023 and 2024 but lost to MI Cape Town in 2025.
Coles, meanwhile, has had a fine season so far. He has scored 151 runs at 50.33 and a strike-rate of 179.16, while picking up five wickets at 15.80, and an economy-rate of 6.07.
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