SA20: Jos Buttler scoops Jofra Archer for opening six of the tournament

The cricket carnival returned to South Africa after the inaugural edition of SA20 got underway at the Newlands on Tuesday, January 10. MI Cape Town took on the Paarl Royals in the curtain raiser, and it was Royal’s English white-ball superstar Jos Buttler, who brought up the first maximum of the promising tournament after scooping compatriot Jofra Archer with utter disdain.

MI Capetown’s Rashid Khan won the toss and elected to bowl first in the opening match of the tournament. Jofra Archer made his much-awaited return to cricket in this fixture after a dreadful 2022 that was marred by several injuries. While he dished out a superb maiden wicket over on his return to competitive cricket, his compatriot and white-ball skipper Jos Buttler scooped him for a nonchalant six over the fine leg boundary in the fifth over of the match.

Incidentally, this was the first maximum of the much-awaited inaugural edition of the tournament. Buttler’s trademark shot over the fine leg fence even impressed the former English cricket Kevin Pietersen, who was on commentary duty at the time.

The England white-ball skipper, who recently guided his side to their second T20 World Cup title in Australia, also went on to register the maiden half-century of the tournament. Although he wasn’t at his fluent best on a surface that wasn’t conducive to quick runs, his half-century coupled with skipper David Miller’s combative innings, propelled the Paarl Royals to a competitive score of 142 runs with the loss of seven wickets in their 20 overs. Jofra Archer returned with brilliant figures of 3/27 in his four overs.