Tuks send their English hosts packing
Tuks beat Leeds Bradford by seven wickets with 22 balls remaining to ensure their place in Saturday’s semi-finals of the T20 Varsity World Cup.
It was a second successive convincing victory for the University of Pretoria students after the Theunis de Bruyn-inspired thrashing of Bangladesh’s University of the Liberal Arts on the first day.
The hero yesterday was pace bowler Corbin Bosch, who took four for 27 in his four overs to restrict Leeds Bradford to just 109 for eight after they had elected to bat first.
Bosch, one of the stars of the SA U19 team that won the ICC Junior World Cup earlier this year, has not yet played first-class cricket, but he is almost certain to appear for Northerns later this year.
The son of former Test fast bowler Tertius, Bosch struck with the new ball in the second and fourth overs to immediately undermine the opposition innings, but he is also wonderfully skilful at the death and he claimed further wickets in the 18th and 20th overs.
Off-spinner Ruben Claassen was the other class act for Tuks, taking two for 13 in four overs and showing as much talent as any of the other spinners from the east.
The runs have kept flowing for SA U19 captain Aiden Markram since that Junior World Cup where he was the man of the tournament, and he anchored a straightforward Tuks chase with a run-a-ball 42.
With Gerry Pike and De Bruyn both addings 20s, the target was reached in the 17th over.
The Pretoria students complete their round-robin campaign against the Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association today, and the West Indians will qualify for the semi-finals alongside Tuks if they win.
If the South Africans make it a clean sweep of three from three in Group 2 then they will be joined by whoever has the better run-rate between the Jamaicans and the winner of the other clash between the Bangladeshis and English.