The RAM Slam tournament came to its conclusion in a similar manner to the way the tournament ran, with a Titans victory. The tournament was highlighted by the whirlwind arrival of Kevin Pietersen, the incredible platforms by Henry Davids and Quinton de Kock and the sensational display by Mangala. Here we pick a team of the RAM Slam Tournament. Also have a look at our team from two yeas ago and see who is still featured
Quinton de Kock (Unlimited Titans)
Quinton was definitely missed by the Protea’s while they were getting spanked in India, but the National sides loss was the Franchise sides gain as QdK underlined his danger at the top of the innings. He scored 3 half centuries at a strike rate of 141.88 and finished the season as the competitions top scorer. Oh yes, he can also keep quite well and took the most dismissals with 12 in the competition.
Richard Levi (Cape Cobras)
Richard Levi saved his best for later in the tournament, but his explosive ability is underlined by the fact that only Kevin Pietersen had a better strike rate for the high run scorers. Levi also picked up three half centuries including his season best 85 for the semi-final almost giving the Cape Cobras the shot in the final. You still feel that Levi has not made the most of his prodigious talent but is constantly one of the most dangerous in the South African game.
Morne van Wyk (Sunfoil Dolphins)
Maybe it has been the run in the Proteas T20 squad, but Morne oozes more class than ever and is a constant stable force at the top of an innings for the Dolphins. His 9 dismissals means that this team would have a good understudy for Quinton and the ability to change it up a bit. His 57 in the Semi-Final was instrumental in getting the Dolphins home safely.
Reeza Hendricks (Knights)
Unfortunately his season dipped in the last few outings and it ended on a low note, but 3 fifties including that 98 not out in the heart breaking loss to the Cape Cobras. Reeza has struggled for consistency but on his day is as good as anyone else out there and it shouldnt be long for him to add to his five Protea T20 caps.
Kevin Pietersen (Sunfoil Dolphins)
Few players can take a tournament and make it their own quite like KP24 did the RAM Slam. His 401 runs in just 7 games put him only behind Quinton de Kock on the runs list. He also hit two of the three centuries in this years tournament including a massive 115* of just 66 balls where he showed absolutely incredible acceleration ability. He may be someone who splits opinion, but our RAM Slam was enhanced by him being here.
Mangaliso Mosehle (Unlimited Titans)
Having lost out on the keeping gloves with the signing of Quinton de Kock, his season started rather slowly, but he showed class in his second last group game with his maiden 50 in the RAM Slam. This was just the warm up for what was about to come as he smashed an incredible 87 not out in the final off only 39 balls to lead the Titans to the title with more than 3 overs to spare. There is a lot of talent in Mangaliso and we are excited to watch him develop further.
Chris Morris (Unlimited Titans)
His move to the Titans caught a few by surprise, but Chuck showed everyone why he gained that ridiculously awesome IPL Contract a couple of years ago. The tournaments leading wicket taker bowled some incredible death bowling and only went for 7 an over although bowling in the closing stages. His 4/9 against the Dolphins in Durban was a standout performance.
Sisanda Mangala (Warriors)
He bowled 9 overs less than Morris and took just two wickets less. This was a coming of age season for Sisanda. He took a wicket in nearly every match that he played and that included an incredible 5 wicket haul against the Lions in Port Elizabeth. At 24 Mangala is only going to keep getting better and that is something we should be excited about as South Africans.
David Wiese (Unlimited Titans)
Known for his explosive batting, the tall Titans player has made massive progress with his bowling game this season. 14 wickets at a tournament leading average of 9.92 shows the damaging potential he has a bowler in this form of the game. His strike rate shows his ability to break partnerships and hew will be looking to try to use this to make the SA squad for the T20 world Cup.
Andre Russell (Knights)
You would expect to see Andre Russell doing quite well as an overseas professional, but he really was outstanding this year. The Knights finished bottom of the log, but not because of a lack of application by Russell. Russell picked up 14 wickets and more importantly went for only 6.46 runs per over. His 4/11 was one of the best spells of bowling in the tournament against the Titans in a game where he also scored 66 not out.
Aaron Phangiso (Lions)
Aaron Phangiso is the forgotten man of SA Cricket and often overlooked for the Imran Tahir, but showed again how good he is. 15 wickets at a miserly run rate of 6.16 runs per over. He never took more than 3 wickets in a game, but constantly stopped the flow of runs with strangling effect. Will definitely be in the World T20 squad, but will he get to play a game???
Who was your star of the RAM Slam season???