Pretoria has its share of school derbies, but few carry the T20 branding quite like this one. Die Hoërskool Menlopark and Hoërskool Waterkloof’s annual night fixture at Menlo Oval has long been known simply as ‘The Big Bash’ – and given how many SA20 names both honours boards can claim, the nickname has earned its keep.

rain SA20 Derby Series opener hosts Menlopark, founded in 1963, can point to two recent Proteas mainstays and SA20 icons. Heinrich Klaasen has become one of the most destructive middle-order batters in world T20 cricket, while Rassie van der Dussen has built a reputation as one of South Africa’s most reliable top-order batters across formats. Behind them is Steve Stolk, who captained Menlopark’s first team two years ago before setting a U-19 World Cup record for the fastest half-century in the competition’s history in January 2025.

Waterkloof, founded in 1979, answers with a deep and growing bench of its own. Hardus Viljoen has taken his pace bowling from Northerns through to international cricket, while the Hermann brothers have both carved out SA20 careers – Jordan with Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Rubin with Paarl Royals – and featured together for the Proteas in the recent tri-series in Namibia. Evan Jones, meanwhile, has been retained at star-studded Durban’s Super Giants, Tristan Luus has described SA20 as “the turning point” in his career as a Dolphins and MI Cape Town quick, and Gideon Peters has pushed his way into national tri-series contention. Few schools can claim that much current SA20 representation across a single alumni base.

That is what gives this derby its edge: it’s not trading on cricketers who played decades ago, but one where both dressing rooms have direct, recent lines to the franchise game their fans watch every January. When the lights come on at Menlo Oval, the players out in the middle know exactly which names from their own honours boards are turning out on the same grounds – Centurion, Boland Park, Kingsmead – a few months later.

Two Pretoria schools, one floodlit matchup, and an alumni list that reads like a SA20 squad sheet.