Ken Borland

Having dominated South African club and universities cricket for the last three years, Assupol Tuks took their regime to a global stage at the weekend as they won the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals at the Oval in London.

Unbeaten through the group stage, Tuks then won a thrilling semi-final against defending champions Rizvi Mumbai College by five wickets with five balls to spare, before beating Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association by 40 runs in the final of the eight-nation, T20 varsity world cup.

“We’ve had three years of dominance in South Africa and now we wanted to represent our country and measure ourselves on the world stage. I’m over the moon to be able to say we are the best university cricket team in the world, but we worked for it,” coach Pierre de Bruyn said yesterday.

“We planned for everything and we proved ourselves to everyone. I’m proud of the success and the culture of this team, and nobody can take that away from this side.”

In the final, pacemen Vincent Moore and Corbin Bosch shared seven wickets as the Jamaicans were restricted to 148 for nine in their 20 overs.

Much of the hard work, however, was done by outstanding off-spinner Ruben Claassen, who took one for 10 in four overs, claiming the key scalp of Cassius Burton for 55.

The Tuks total of 188 for six was built around a ferocious 61 off 40 balls from Johan Wessels.

De Bruyn has spent the last few months telling everyone how good a cricketer Wessels, one of the lesser known member of the Tuks squad without any first-class experience or national U19 caps, is and the 22-year-old was magnificent on finals day, when it really counted.

Aiden Markram had given the Tuks innings a good start, after they had won the toss, with his 33 off 26 balls, but Wessels kept the scoreboard ticking and then had the run-rate boiling over as the University of Pretoria students went into the break with a formidable total on the board.

Sean Dickson scored 39 off 31 balls to finish the job, while Tian Koekemoer (18* off 7) and Bosch (11* off 4) provided important cameos right at the death.

The semi-final was a far tenser affair for coach De Bruyn and his team.

Rizvi Mumbai had won the toss and elected to bat first, and had cruised to 50 for one after six overs and 83 for two in the 12^th over before Tuks regained control through spinners Claassen and David Mogotlane.

Claassen produced another brilliant spell of 4-1-10-2, with Mogotlane applying pressure at the other end as his four overs went for just 20 runs, and the Rizvi lower-order then collapsed to the canny death bowling of Bosch (2-26) and Moore to finish on 122 for nine.

Rizvi seamer John Ebrahim then had Tuks behind the eight-ball as he removed openers Markram and Gerry Pike in his first two overs, before Theunis de Bruyn (31) and Wessels steadied the innings with a third-wicket stand of 54 in 7.2 overs.

But the dismissal of captain De Bruyn, who was named as the Player of the Tournament, and both Koekemoer and Dickson in quick succession meant Tuks were under pressure at 90 for five after 15 overs.

But vice-captain Heinrich Klaasen (18* off 12) and the reliable Wessels (56* off 52) mounted a rearguard action that took Tuks home in the final over.

Wessels was named as the man of the match in both the semi-final and final, and coach De Bruyn said it was players like him – and Claassen – who had pleased him most.

“It’s the guys without the reputations who really stood up on the final day. Joe Wessels is proving to be a very good player, he played two magnificent innings in the knockout games and I’m ecstatic for him. I’ve used him as a bit of a wildcard and he’s really impressed me as a cricketer.

“Ruben out-bowled everybody in the tournament, including the spinners from the sub-continent. He and Corbin Bosch were the top two wicket-takers and Ruben has improved so much I believe he should be in the Northerns team this summer.

“He’s unique, he’s tall, he gets bounce and he’s not scared to experiment. David Mogotlane has also improved a lot, in all his skills. He’s worked out his ghame – he’s not a big turner of the ball, but he’s a clever bowler,” De Bruyn said.

The efforts of Theunis de Bruyn and Markram in the group games were enough for them to finish as the two leading run-scorers in the tournament, while Wessels charged into third position on the final day.

But all these Tuks cricketers will be heading into the new summer confident of once again really making their mark.

Assupol Tuks have carried the same ruthless, clinical form they showed back in South Africa in April when they qualified for the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals into the main event in London and now the University of Pretoria students have just a couple of hurdles left in order to complete their journey to Varsity T20 World Cup glory.

Having whitewashed the University of Stellenbosch 3-0 three months ago to qualify as South Africa’s representatives for the eight-nation tournament, Tuks have duly topped their group at the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals with three emphatic victories and will now take on defending champions Rizvi Mumbai College in the semi-finals today at the Oval.

“I’m very happy with the focus of the side, we’ve set high standards and we’re going to fight all the way to the end. We’ve worked so hard, so we want to be at 100%. We’re playing the defending champions, so they must know they’re in for a fight,” Tuks coach Pierre de Bruyn told The Pretoria News yesterday.

While Rizvi Mumbai won the second edition of the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals last April in Sri Lanka, they only finished second in Group 1 this year, behind the University of New South Wales, and they are going to have to find a way of matching the tremendous form of the Tuks batsmen.

While comparisons across groups may be a little unfair, Tuks have posted totals of 205-4, 110-3 and 178-5, while Rizvi’s scores have been 123-1, 132-8 and 107-9.

“I haven’t had the chance to watch much of Rizvi, but the standard of their batting is a question, they’ve had a couple of collapses and the Oval pitch looks a bit juicy.

“We wanted to see contributions from all eight of our batsmen and we’ve managed to do that. Theunis de Bruyn and Aiden Markram are the top scorers in the competition, but Johan Wessels has done nicely at four, Heinrich Klaasen has had a couple of good knocks and Sean Dickson has been finishing the innings well. I’m really confident in our batting unit,” De Bruyn said.

Where Tuks will need to make a plan is in terms of the bowling, where a couple of injuries could rob them of the services of two seamers.

Tian Koekemoer has an ankle injury, while Theunis de Bruyn strained a hamstring.

“Tian will definitely play and might even open the batting, but Johan Wessels might have to fill in for him with the ball. Theunis can play, but won’t be able to bowl. So we’re going to have to box clever with the seamers,” coach De Bruyn said.

The Tuks new-ball attack is bound to be a handful, however, particularly if conditions at the Oval today are the same as yesterday. Nobody has taken more wickets in the competition than Corbin Bosch (7), while Vincent Moore has conceded just 46 runs in 10 overs.

And the Tuks spinners have stated their intent to match their sub-continental rivals in no uncertain terms, with Ruben Claasen, David Mogotlane and Markram forming a potent combination.

Rizvi have a lot less pedigree than Tuks when it comes to performances in senior cricket: The University of Pretoria have five first-class cricketers with 125 caps between them across the three formats; Rizvi have one player – Kevin Almeida – who has played three T20s for Mumbai. Plus Markram and Bosch are ICC U19 World Cup winners.

But semi-final, knockout cricket often curdles the brains and stomachs of the supposed favourites and De Bruyn has stressed the importance of being at 100% to his team.

“It’s 50/50 from now on and if we struggle under pressure and make mistakes, then we won’t go through. We need to stay calm, absorb the pressure and eliminate basic mistakes.

“But we’ve been in this situation so many times in the last three years, we want those pressure buttons,” De Bruyn said.

Tuks have been in such control in all three of their matches in London thus far that it is clearly going to take something special from Rizvi to knock them off course, but then again, the Mumbai students are defending their title and will not be in the mood to fold.

The University of New South Wales play the Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association in the other semi-final today, with the two winners meeting in the grand final this evening [6.30pm SA time].

http://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/pretoria-news-weekend/textview

Assupol Tuks finished the group stages of the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals on top of Group 2 on Wednesday as they saw off a determined Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association side by 56 runs at Wormsley Cricket Ground in London.

Tuks will now play the defending champions, Rizvi College of Mumbai, the Indian representatives, in the semi-finals on Saturday at the Oval, while the other semi-final is between the University of New South Wales and the Jamaicans, who finished second in Group 2.

The West Indian representatives in the T20 Varsity World Cup were chasing 179 for victory and, with opener Oraine Williams scoring an aggressive 55 off 38 balls, they reached 83 for two after 12 overs against the hitherto unchallenged University of Pretoria students.

But spinners Aiden Markram and David Mogotlane killed off the uprising, sharing six wickets for just 20 runs in five overs as the Jamaicans collapsed to 122 all out.

A well-judged innings of 76 off 56 balls by Markram had earlier been the foundation of the Tuks innings as they scored 178 for five in their 20 overs after electing to bat first.

SA U19 captain Markram then completed a stellar all-round performance by taking three for 12 in three overs with his off-breaks, while Mogotlane was also outstanding with three for eight in two overs.

Williams ensured the Jamaicans made a fine start to their run-chase, but Mogotlane dismissed him at the end of the 11th over and the last eight wickets fell for just 48 runs in 8.3 overs.

The slow left-armer then picked up the wickets of captain Delbert Gayle (7), to a wonderful return catch, and Kimani Morgan (2) with successive deliveries in the 16^th over to kill off any lingering hopes the West Indians had.

A change of tactics saw Markram bowl the second over of the innings and it bore immediate fruit with Javaughn Buchanan sweeping the fourth ball to backward square-leg.

Markram was the obvious choice for man of the match, but the tall right-hander enjoyed the strong support of the middle-order in the Tuks innings.

The Jamaicans claimed the wickets of Gerry Pike (4) and Theunis de Bruyn (16) inside the first four overs, but Johan Wessels then scored 30 off 26 deliveries as 55 was added for the third wicket in 9.3 overs.

Markram batted through to the final over and quickfire contributions from Heinrich Klaasen (22) and Sean Dickson (19*) ensured the powerful finish Tuks needed to bat the Jamaicans out of the game.

Tuks coach Pierre de Bruyn said his team could not be going into the semi-finals in better shape.

“I’m over the moon with the results, we’ve had two bonus-point wins and all departments have been tested and come up with the goods.

“We had a batting man of the match in the first game [Theunis de Bruyn], a bowler [Corbin Bosch] in the second match and today Aidan’s all-round performance.

‘I was delighted with the way we started, we summed up conditions quickly and although we’ve had some individual brilliance, there’ve been two or three other players contributing greatly in every game,” De Bruyn said.

http://thesportseagle.co.za/cricket/tuks-see-jamaican-uprising/

It was a month ago to the day that Russell Domingo, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers set off from O.R. Tambo International Airport on a new era for South African cricket, their first assignment a daunting tour of Sri Lanka, where the Proteas have found it hardest to win.

On Tuesday they returned triumphant, full of smiles, after beating the in-form Sri Lankans on their home turf in both the ODI and Test series; the Proteas are as much champions as the Springbok Sevens team who were on the same flight from Dubai with Commonwealth Games gold medals.

“We knew going to Sri Lanka would be a very tough tour, but the ODI series win gave us lots of confidence. We weren’t favourites for the Tests, though, but winning the first Test gave us that tag. Everyone just clicked at the same time,” Test captain Amla said on Tuesday.

“Last year we came back from a tough tour of Sri Lanka and we were much more glum. Now we are very excited and proud, beating Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in both formats. Our record there over the last 20 years shows how tough it is to do that,” coach Domingo said.

Six-and-a-half months out from the World Cup, ODI captain De Villiers was also understandably buoyant as the 2-1 series victory takes their record to 10 wins in their last 14 matches.

“You can never be perfectly ready for a World Cup, but I’m very comfortable with where we are at the moment. The players have a greater understanding of their roles and I know my players better, who I can rely on in pressure situations, who I can strike with and who I maybe need to rally around at times,” De Villiers said.

Despite the positive mood, however, the Proteas know that there are areas that they need to address if they are to hang on to the number one Test ranking and be challengers at the World Cup.

The Test side can obviously do with a more solid opening partnership and a more consistent frontline spinner and, although Domingo backed the incumbents in these positions, his eye is surely on them.

“We know we’re not the finished article, there’s still a lot of tinkering to be done. This is very much a new start, with new faces. I’m not saying we’re going to experiment, but there is space for one or two guys to get an opportunity. Sri Lanka is not the right place to blood new players and it was our most experienced players who really fired over there,” Domingo said.

Imran Tahir, despite his heroics with the bat at the end of the second Test, tended to provide a four-ball an over with his leg-spin and an average of 47.17 after 15 Tests as a strike bowler suggests that the selectors’ patience may be wearing thin when it comes to five-day cricket.

“It’s tough for a spinner in the sub-continent because there’s a lot of pressure on you, people always look to the spinner to do well. But Sri Lanka have some of the best players of spin in the world and I honestly felt Imran bowled better than his figures suggest. His performances weren’t as good as he knows he can be, but he can still offer a helluva lot in all formats,” Domingo said in defence of the leggie, who took four wickets at an average of 84 in the Tests.

“There are not many opening batsmen with the pedigree of Alviro Petersen in domestic cricket and, with Graeme Smith retiring, it’s very difficult to replace two opening batsmen. Alviro has played 32 Tests and scored five centuries, including knocks of 182 and 156, so he has the potential to play match-winning innings, he has the experience and a calm head,” Domingo said of the 33-year-old, who has scored just 133 runs in eight innings this year.

For De Villiers, the biggest improvement needed in the ODI side is in the fielding.

“There are lots of areas to improve, but especially in the field. We’re not the strongest in the world there, but we should be in the top two or three by the time we get to the World Cup,” De Villiers said.

The tour to Zimbabwe – the one-off Test in Harare starts on August 9 and is followed by three ODIs and then a triangular series of four more matches with Australia – provides the opportunity for some fringe players to get game time.

Whether the management feel comfortable moving Stiaan van Zyl, a number three batsman, up to open instead of Petersen, or giving Quinton de Kock the job, and causing more questions over who takes the gloves, remains to be seen. And off-spinner Dane Piedt could be worth a run in relatively stress-free conditions in Zimbabwe.

Domingo did suggest, however, that the three ODIs before the triangular series could see some senior players being rested, particularly the pace bowlers.

“Nobody wants to be rested for Test matches and it’s not easy to chop and change the Test side, but in the ODIs we’ll probably rest Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander for the first three games. We played those three frontline seamers consistently in an ODI series for the first time in Sri Lanka and it paid off in a big way, but the Zimbabwe games are an ideal opportunity to look at younger fast bowlers like Kyle Abbott and Wayne Parnell, who haven’t had much game time,” the coach said.

While De Villiers said he felt much more confident in the ODI captaincy, the promotion of Amla to Test skipper was another major feature of the Sri Lankan tour. And, as expected, it was an obvious success.

“The Tests were a testament to Hashim’s ability to lead, he got the best out of his players and, in a very tense situation on the last day, they pulled through. That’s partly because the captain had such a cool head himself,” Domingo said.

The determination of this Proteas side can perhaps be summed up in Amla’s tenacious first-innings century in the second Test and the new captain admitted that he felt some relief after his 139 not out followed innings of 11 and 22 in Galle.

“You want to contribute as captain and, although it is still a bit too early to tell whether the captaincy affects by batting, I was really glad to get a century under the belt, it settled me into the captaincy.

“The final day in Colombo showed the extreme hunger and passion in this side to represent our country as best we can. The guys put averages aside, put the ego that makes you want to score runs to one side. The best example of that was JP Duminy, who scored six runs off 123 balls, which is never easy to do. But that’s what you need to be successful,” Amla said.

This Proteas side certainly seem to know the magic formula of success and the new era under Amla has enjoyed the smoothest of introductions.