South Africa’s SA20 league has produced some thunderous batting duos since its 2023 launch, but no stand has matched the 200-run partnership between HE van der Dussen and RD Rickelton for MI Cape Town against Sunrisers Eastern Cape in January 2024.
It remains the highest partnership in SA20 history. Here’s the full breakdown of every big stand, the players behind them, and what these numbers mean for the tournament.
Quick Answer: SA20’s Highest Partnership at a Glance
- Highest partnership overall: 200 runs (1st wicket) — HE van der Dussen & RD Rickelton, MI Cape Town vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape, 13 Jan 2024
- Most recent entrant to the top 10: 177* (1st wicket) — Q de Kock & JM Bairstow, Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Durban’s Super Giants, 5 Jan 2026
- Wicket that dominates the list: 1st wicket (7 of the top 10 partnerships)
- Franchise with the most appearances in the top 10: MI Cape Town and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, with three entries each
Highest Partnerships in SA20 by Runs
The table below lists the top ten highest partnerships recorded in SA20 across all wickets, based on official tournament records.
| Partners | Runs | Wicket | Team | Opposition | Ground | Match Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HE van der Dussen, RD Rickelton | 200 | 1st | MI Cape Town | v Sunrisers Eastern Cape | Johannesburg | 13 Jan 2024 |
| Q de Kock, JM Bairstow | 177* | 1st | Sunrisers Eastern Cape | v Durban’s Super Giants | Centurion | 5 Jan 2026 |
| RR Hendricks, F du Plessis | 157 | 1st | Sunrisers Eastern Cape | v Durban’s Super Giants | Johannesburg | 24 Jan 2023 |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz, WG Jacks | 154 | 1st | Durban’s Super Giants | v Durban’s Super Giants | Durban | 10 Jan 2025 |
| RR Rossouw, WG Jacks | 147 | 3rd | Durban’s Super Giants | v Paarl Royals | Centurion | 14 Jan 2024 |
| RR Hendricks, D Brevis | 142* | 4th | MI Cape Town | v Durban’s Super Giants | Centurion | 31 Jan 2025 |
| M van Buuren, DA Miller | 141* | 4th | Paarl Royals | v Durban’s Super Giants | Centurion | 14 Jan 2024 |
| DJ Malan, J Hermann | 138 | 1st | Sunrisers Eastern Cape | v MI Cape Town | Cape Town | 16 Jan 2024 |
| Sediqullah Atal, C Esterhuizen | 133 | 1st | MI Cape Town | v Durban’s Super Giants | Cape Town | 2 Feb 2025 |
| JE Root, LG Pretorius | 132 | 1st | Paarl Royals | v Sunrisers Eastern Cape | Paarl | 11 Jan 2025 |
Note: Team names have been standardised to full franchise names for clarity; scorecards can be verified via ESPNcricinfo’s SA20 records page.
SA20 Highest Partnerships Broken Down by Wicket
Grouping the top 10 stands by wicket position shows exactly where SA20’s biggest scoring bursts tend to happen.
| Wicket | Number of Entries in Top 10 | Highest Partnership at This Wicket |
|---|---|---|
| 1st wicket | 7 | 200 (van der Dussen & Rickelton) |
| 3rd wicket | 1 | 147 (Rossouw & Jacks) |
| 4th wicket | 2 | 142* (Hendricks & Brevis) |
This split makes it clear that SA20’s highest partnership records are overwhelmingly an opening-pair phenomenon, with middle-order stands appearing only when a team needs to rebuild or finish a chase.
SA20 Highest Partnerships Broken Down by Team
Here’s how often each franchise appears among the tournament’s highest-ever stands.
| Team | Appearances in Top 10 | Best Partnership |
|---|---|---|
| MI Cape Town | 3 | 200 (van der Dussen & Rickelton) |
| Sunrisers Eastern Cape | 3 | 177* (de Kock & Bairstow) |
| Durban’s Super Giants | 2 | 154 (Gurbaz & Jacks) |
| Paarl Royals | 2 | 141* (van Buuren & Miller) |
MI Cape Town and Sunrisers Eastern Cape lead the way, each contributing three of the ten highest partnerships in SA20 history, a strong indicator of consistently aggressive top-order batting from both franchises.
Season-Wise Trend of SA20’s Biggest Partnerships
Each SA20 season has featured match-defining partnerships that shaped the tournament. The table below highlights the highest stand recorded in every edition.
| Season | Highest Partnerships Featured in Top 10 |
|---|---|
| SA20 2023 | 1 |
| SA20 2024 | 4 |
| SA20 2025 | 4 |
| SA20 2026 | 1 (so far) |
The 2024 and 2025 seasons produced the bulk of SA20’s record-setting stands, and with the 2026 season still unfolding, the 177* partnership between de Kock and Bairstow suggests this year could add more names to the list before it’s done.
Why Opening Partnerships Dominate the SA20 Record Books
A quick scan of the table reveals a clear pattern: seven of the ten highest partnerships in SA20 have come for the first wicket. This isn’t a coincidence. SA20 pitches, particularly at grounds like Centurion and Johannesburg, tend to offer true bounce and pace early in the innings, rewarding batters who take on the new ball.
Openers also face the powerplay overs, when fielding restrictions allow only two men outside the circle, making the first six overs the most productive phase for boundary-hitting in the format.
This is why the SA20 highest partnership list is so heavily skewed toward opening pairs, it mirrors a broader trend seen across T20 leagues worldwide, where explosive top-order stands set the tone for the rest of the innings.
Middle-Order Stands That Changed the Course of Matches
While openers grab most of the headlines, the SA20 record for highest partnerships also highlights the value of middle-order rebuilding acts.
The 142* unbroken fourth-wicket stand between RR Hendricks and D Brevis for MI Cape Town, and the 141* between M van Buuren and DA Miller for Paarl Royals, both came in tight run-chases or defensive totals, showing how middle-order partnerships often decide close SA20 matches even when they don’t top the overall charts.
Player Spotlight: The Architects of SA20’s Biggest Stands
The biggest partnerships in SA20 have been built by batters who delivered under pressure. Here are the players behind the tournament’s highest stands and memorable match-winning partnerships.
1. Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen — SA20’s Record Partnership Duo
The 200-run stand between Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen for MI Cape Town against Sunrisers Eastern Cape in January 2024 is the single highest partnership for any wicket in SA20 history. Rickelton, known for his aggressive strokeplay off both pace and spin, combined with van der Dussen’s calm, high-percentage batting to dismantle the Sunrisers attack in Johannesburg.
The pair’s partnership didn’t just set a tournament record, it also underlined MI Cape Town’s strategy of pairing an anchor with a strokemaker at the top of the order, a template several other SA20 franchises have since tried to replicate.
2. Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow — The Newest Entrants to the List
The second-highest partnership on the list, 177* between Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow for Sunrisers Eastern Cape, shows how quickly SA20 partnership records can shift.
Both wicketkeeper-batters bring international pedigree and a shared instinct for taking down bowling attacks inside the powerplay, and their unbroken stand in January 2026 pushed Sunrisers Eastern Cape close to the top of the all-time list within just a few seasons of the tournament’s existence.
3. Reeza Hendricks — SA20’s Most Consistent Partnership Builder
Reeza Hendricks is the only player to appear twice among SA20’s top 10 highest partnerships, first alongside Faf du Plessis (157 for the first wicket in 2023) and later with Dewald Brevis (142* for the fourth wicket in 2025).
That range, anchoring a powerplay assault at the top of the order one season, then steadying a middle-order chase two seasons later, makes Hendricks one of the most versatile partnership builders in the competition’s short history, and a name closely tied to SA20’s record books regardless of batting position.
Related SA20 Records Fans Should Also Know
Beyond the highest partnerships, a few other SA20 record categories are closely tied to this topic and worth knowing for full context:
| Related SA20 Record | Why It’s Connected to Partnership Records |
|---|---|
| Highest individual score in SA20 | Big partnerships are usually built around one standout individual innings |
| Most sixes in an SA20 season | The same power-hitters who feature in record partnerships also top six-hitting charts |
| Best bowling figures in SA20 | The counterpoint to record stands — shows which bowlers have contained the damage |
| Highest team total in SA20 | Several of the partnerships above directly powered a franchise’s highest score of the season |
| SA20 most successful opening pairs | Looks at consistency across a season rather than a single record-breaking stand |
| SA20 leading run-scorers | Players like Hendricks and de Kock, who feature in the partnership list, also rank highly here |
Final Words
SA20’s highest partnerships tell the story of a league built on fearless top-order batting, with HE van der Dussen and RD Rickelton’s 200-run stand still standing tallest.
Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow’s recent 177* shows the record is far from safe, and middle-order pairs continue proving their worth in tight finishes. As SA20 grows each season, expect this list of record partnerships to keep evolving with fresh names and bigger totals.
FAQs
The 200-run stand between HE van der Dussen and RD Rickelton for MI Cape Town against Sunrisers Eastern Cape on 13 January 2024 is the highest partnership recorded in SA20.
The first wicket (opening partnership) accounts for seven of the ten highest stands in SA20, reflecting the value of powerplay batting in the format.
Yes. The 177* stand between Q de Kock and JM Bairstow in January 2026 is currently the second-highest and continues to close the gap on the all-time record.
MI Cape Town and Sunrisers Eastern Cape are tied for the most appearances in the all-time top 10, with three each.
With the gap between first (200) and second (177*) narrowing in 2026, and SA20 adding more high-profile overseas signings each season, the record looks increasingly reachable in the coming years.
