Ken Borland

As a boy growing up in the sub-tropical agricultural town of Tzaneen, Tian Koekemoer loved Jonty Rhodes and Dale Steyn and was used to enjoying plenty of success as one of the most talented cricketers at Merensky High School.

Despite Steyn and fellow pace bowlers Marchant de Lange and Ethy Mbhalati all coming from the Limpopo province at the northern edge of South Africa, the region is the poorest in the country, a large rural expanse of mostly tribal area, and is not known for producing many cricketers.

So despite dominating at local level and starring for the Limpopo U19 team, Koekemoer knew that he still needed to be really tested as a cricketer. That has come since he enrolled at the University of Pretoria and studied BA Languages, and started playing for the Assupol Tukkies team.

It’s a star-studded Tukkies team, the most powerful club side in the country, and Koekemoer often has to wait for an opportunity to bat or bowl.

In the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals against Steinhoff Maties, he once again sat patiently waiting for his chance to shine, bowling just two overs in each of the first two games and not getting the chance to bat.

And then the final game gave him his chance. Tukkies finally batted first, and the absence of an unwell Aiden Markram and a few errors by the top-order gave him his chance.

Koekemoer responded with a crucial innings of 19 off 11 balls that lifted Tukkies to a competitive total of 144 for nine, and he then ensured that it would be a day to really remember as he claimed three wickets to stop a strong Maties chase and win the man of the match award.

“I don’t often have to come in under pressure moments, but today I had to and I liked the challenge,” Koekemoer said after the game.

“There are only a few good cricketers in Limpopo, but in Pretoria you’re up against the whole Northerns Premier League and it was an eye-opener. I haven’t really been exposed to that level of cricket, you get used to being the only good player in your team, but this really pushes you.”

Another measure of how well Koekemoer adapts to whatever life throws at him is the fact that he has only been bowling seam since last July.

Prior to that he was an off-spinner, but he broke his finger and was unable to grip the ball and obtain as much turn as previously, so he changed to pace.

Vincent Moore was the bowler the Assupol Tukkies could rely on in every game as they swept to a 3-0 victory over the Steinhoff Maties in the Red Bull Campus Cricket South Africa finals in Pretoria and the left-arm paceman is clearly on his way to bigger and better things.

No Tukkies bowler took more than the three wickets Moore claimed and he was also the most economical bowler of the finals, conceding just 4.83 runs per over.

The 20-year-old says he focuses on keeping things simple in T20 cricket, the format in which bowlers are under the most pressure.

“I try and keep things nice and tight, don’t give the batsmen any room, and at the death the key is to keep it simple, bowl yorkers with a standard field.

“You need to be proactive in twenty20 cricket because you can sense when the batsman is going to line you up. Then it’s time to bowl a slower ball or a yorker, or even just change the field,” Moore says.

It’s been an amazing year thus far for Moore, with the former SA U19 player making his franchise debut for the Titans and now helping to catapult Tukkies into the Red Bull Campus Crticket World Finals.

His debut for the Titans came against the Central Knights, the eventual Sunfoil Series four-day runners-up, in Kimberley in February and Moore came in at number 11 and scored 48 not out, sharing a crucial century last-wicket stand with CJ de Villiers that gave the Titans a narrow first-innings lead.

“I’d made three ducks in a row before that innings, so I was quite nervous. I heard a couple of things about myself that day that I didn’t know!” Moore says of the hot reception given to him by the Knights, while staying mum on the details.

His chief job is with the ball, however, and Moore took three for 25 in the second innings to support leg-spinner Shaun von Berg as the Knights were bowled out for just 166 and the Titans registered their first win of the campaign.

Moore played two more matches for the Titans and took three wickets in the first innings against both the Highveld Lions and Western Cape Cobras to support the notion that he will be an important player for the franchise going forward.

“I really enjoyed the experience of playing for the Titans and it has given me massive confidence. I’m going to work hard this winter on getting a bit stronger, because my bowling load is going to increase and I need to stay fit.

“I really want to try and make my name in the longer format because I want to play Test cricket one day. It’s all about hitting good areas at good pace,” Moore says.

The Springs Boys’ High School product certainly has enough pace to rush batsmen, he has the ability to swing the ball and he backs his skills.

Moore gives credit to all the coaches who have influenced him along his road to first-class cricket, from the late Tommy Hammond, a Pietermaritzburg coach who helped him iron out his run-up, to Heinrich Malan of Easterns and now Central Districts in New Zealand, and Ray Jennings, the SA U19 coach who took him to the 2012 Junior World Cup and who Moore credits with teaching him how to think on the cricket field.

Greg Smith, the former Northern Transvaal and Nottinghamshire left-armer, and Dale Steyn are cited as Moore’s role-models, while Tukkies assistant coach Chris van Noordwyk and Morne Morkel have also had important inputs.

“I really enjoyed chatting to Morne in the off-season and the advice he gives about game plans for young bowlers is really good,” Moore says.

The BCom Financial Science student is no doubt going to enjoy the seamer-friendly conditions in England during the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals and the powerful Tukkies pace attack that also features Corbin Bosch, Tiaan Koekemoer and Theunis de Bruyn is going to be one of the ones to watch.

Assupol Tukkies crept ahead of the Steinhoff Maties in the last 10 overs of the match as they beat the University of Stellenbosch by 19 runs in the third and final game to secure a clean sweep of the Red Bull Campus Cricket finals at the University of Pretoria on Wednesday.

Maties, chasing for the first time in the tournament, were set a target of 145 by Tukkies and seemed ahead of the game as they reached 70 for two at the halfway mark of their innings thanks to captain Emile Kriek’s 33 and Keegan Petersen’s 27 off 21 balls.

But this Tukkies team is remarkably focused and determined and their depth is not to be underestimated, and they dominated the final stages of the game to restrict Maties to 125 for six in their 20 overs.

Seamer Tian Koekemoer had only bowled two overs in each of the first two games, taking one wicket, but on Wednesday afternoon he was the key bowler for Tukkies, taking three for 26.

Left-arm quick Vincent Moore once again showed what a talent he is as he bowled his four overs for just 22 runs.

Spin is also an important part of the Tukkies attack and off-spinner Ruben Claasen bowled his four overs for just 20 runs, leggie GC Pretorius bowled Kriek for the crucial breakthrough and finished with one for 23, while David Mogotlane’s single over brought the other vital wicket of Petersen, also bowled.

From that position of strength on 70 for two after 10 overs, Maties crashed to 94 for six after 15 overs, and Leon le Roux (11*) and Niel Botha (15*) were unable to score at more than 10 runs an over against a Tukkies attack that stuck to their disciplines admirably.

Tukkies had earlier won the toss and elected to set a target for the first time in the three-match series, captain Theunis de Bruyn getting to 17 off 12 balls before he was caught behind off paceman James Groom.

Sean Dickson contributed 20 off 16 balls to the tally, Tukkies getting to 50 in the eighth over, but it was wicketkeeper Gerry Pike who provided the bulk of the scoring with his impressive 40 off 41 balls.

Johan Wessels also contributed 18, but it was important for Tukkies that Koekemoer (19 off 11) and Corbin Bosch (13 off 9) were able to get the maximum out of the closing overs and see the Pretoria students to a competitive total.

Groom was particularly impressive with the ball for Maties, taking three for 28 in four overs, while spinners Johan Koegelenberg (2-21) and Niel Botha (2-19) also produced fine bowling performances.

– http://www.redbullcampuscricket.com/southafrica/latest/final-match/

These are heady days for cricket at the University of Pretoria, with their Assupol Tukkies team being the reigning national club champions as well as the winners of the inaugural Red Bull Campus Cricket finals, and much of their success is down to great leadership that melds the considerable talent they have into a formidable outfit.

In Theunis de Bruyn they have a real four-in-one cricketer: powerful top-order batsman, a pace bowler who has shone with the new ball, a fine fielder and a thoughtful, astute captain who undoubtedly holds the respect of his team.

In the three matches against the Steinhoff Maties, De Bruyn scored a total of 83 runs off 68 balls as well as taking wickets up front in the first two games.

Having already shone in four-day domestic cricket for the Titans, there’s no doubt the 21-year-old is going to be a key player in England when Tukkies take on the other seven champion universities in the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals.

“It’s been a very exciting competition and beating Maties is like the first step for us. Our main goal is putting in a massive performance in England. I think we’ve only been playing to 60-70% of our capability in these matches.”

“But all the accolades must go to our head coach, Pierre de Bruyn. He’s brought 15 years of experience in first-class cricket and he’s introduced a culture where young people can really learn their game and how to be successful at higher levels. It’s a very professional environment here and that’s why our players are able to excel when they go up to first-class level,” De Bruyn says.

De Bruyn is one of those who has donned senior provincial colours this season and he made an impressive, immediate impact with the Titans, scoring 53 not out and 23 in the T20 Challenge and 79 and 35 on an assured Sunfoil Series four-day debut.

“I made my Titans debut before I’d even played for the amateur Northerns side, which doesn’t happen a lot. It was obviously all a new experience with the match being on TV, but the coach’s words [Pierre de Bruyn’s] were still in my ears and I was happy with my debut.

“It’s been a productive season and I’ve learnt a lot about my game, as well as being exposed to other cricketers who have played for a long time, like AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel. It’s been a good season,” Theunis de Bruyn says.

The third-year BCom Accounting student is also easing his way back into a full bowling role and he sees a future as being a Jacques Kallis-type player who can bat in the top-order and bowl seam.

“Jacques Kallis is the best cricketer ever for me, and maybe in a few years I’ll be able to fulfill a role as a fourth seamer and top-order batsman, that would be ideal. I had to have a hip operation a year ago, so my bowling’s still a bit raw coming back from that injury … ” De Bruyn says.

Coach De Bruyn was no doubt in his ear about converting that 79 for the Titans into a century, and Theunis de Bruyn says he is still getting used to opening the batting, having previously come in at number three or four.

“It’s new for me to be opening the batting, but I’ve learnt a lot about my game this season. You’re up against the new ball, against the best bowlers when the pitch is still fresh,” De Bruyn says.

While the tall Menlo Park product finds T20 cricket as the most physically demanding format of the game, he says four-day cricket is like scaling a crag inch by inch.

“In T20 cricket you have to think a lot and you sweat the most, but the longer format is really mentally draining. You’ll get a bad ball in maybe only the fourth over, while in club cricket you get two an over.

“But I like the mental challenge and the longer format is my favourite. That being said, T20 brings more aspects to grow your game, like learning to reverse-sweep,” De Bruyn says.

While De Bruyn’s favourite cricketer might be Kallis, his batting is more like that of another of his heroes, former Australian great Matthew Hayden.

His aggressive, positive approach has had the Maties bowlers fighting rearguard actions in all three matches; there might not be much particularly arty about his batting, but man does he hit the ball hard!

While the fizz and intensity out on the field is a pivotal part of Tukkies’ success, so too is the calm, assured leadership of De Bruyn.

http://www.redbullcampuscricket.com/southafrica/latest/theunis-de-bruyn/