Ken Borland

No one ever doubted during his playing days that Pierre de Bruyn was, as they would have put it on the East Rand, “a tough oke”.

Through 15 years of professional cricket for Easterns, Northerns, the Titans and the Dolphins, De Bruyn was famous for being a real scrapper, someone who made the absolute most of his talents.

A first-class record of 4637 runs at an average of 37, with a highest score of 202, and 108 wickets at an average of 29 only tells half the story because he was an even greater competitor in the limited-overs formats, and yet De Bruyn is happy to say “I wasn’t talented at all”.

“I managed to string together 15 years as a professional cricketer through complete hard work. I always tried to be one step ahead of the guy next to me through focus, discipline and enormous work ethic. I really wanted the tough situation,” he says.

De Bruyn retired in 2010, having left his beloved Titans to spend two seasons with the Dolphins, and is now a Level III coach. Having discovered how to make the most of his own talent, it is pleasing that the all-rounder is now teaching youngsters how to do the same.

The 36-year-old is the technical director and head coach at the University of Pretoria, a top-class outfit that is dominating South African club cricket.

“From what I’ve experienced as a player, I can teach the youngsters how to start and sustain a professional career, both of which are not that easy. I’m working with guys who have everything in terms of talent, but I can really teach them things in terms of mental preparation or how to build an innings. It helps having had a tough career myself,” De Bruyn says.

Going to the Tukkies nets opposite the famous High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria, it is clear the cricket club is being run like a professional outfit.

Their focus is clearly on the future – “The pace of the game is moving so fast and you need to get there before anyone else,” De Bruyn says – but they haven’t lost sight of the traditions that all great teams have.

Going into the upstairs section of their clubhouse is like a walk down memory lane as former Tukkies greats are commemorated in photographs and on an honours board – names like Mike Macaulay, Syd Burke, Alan Jordaan, Hein Raath, Tertius Bosch, Anton Ferreira, Martin van Jaarsveld, Jacques Rudolph, New Zealand Test cricketers Neil Wagner and Kruger van Wyk, AB de Villiers, Marchant de Lange, Morne and Albie Morkel, Paul Harris, Faf du Plessis, CJ de Villiers and Zimbabwe’s Kyle Jarvis.

Tukkies have also been at the forefront of the women’s game in South Africa, producing current national captain Mignon du Preez and fellow internationals Melissa Smook, Yulandi van der Merwe, Lonell de Beer, Cindy Eksteen and Charlize van der Westhuizen.

“Tradition and history is part of our culture of success. We let the guys know about the traditions of the club; we’re 95 years old now and they must never forget who represented this club,” De Bruyn says.

The most obvious feature of their training sessions is intensity: De Bruyn works groups of two or three players hard in fielding drills while former Titans coach Chris van Noordwyk is very hands-on in the nets, giving tactical advice and lots of encouragement.

“We’ve definitely got a professional approach, I want to show these high-performance cricketers what a professional environment is like so that when they get the call-up to higher honours, like Francois le Clus, Graeme van Buuren and Theunis de Bruyn have this season, they are familiar with the standards and know what to expect. They don’t have to try and find their feet for the first two weeks, which can set you back badly,” De Bruyn says.

Being able to use the services of coaches like De Bruyn, Van Noordwyk and academy coach Aldin Smith – who have all played first-class cricket – is obviously one of the keys to Tukkies’ incredible recent record: They have won the Momentum National Club Championships for the last two seasons, unbeaten, triumphed in the Universities Sports South Africa Week in December, and have won the Northerns Premier League for the last four years, with an unbeaten run of 85 games.

But the considerable support of the university’s sports office and chief sponsor Assupol also plays a major part and the facilities at Tukkies are first-class. De Bruyn says R2.5 million has been spent on upgrading the nets and they will also have full use of the state-of-the-art new CSA Centre of Excellence opening this month.

The wealth and success of the club also guarantees the steady flow of promising cricketers, many of them the recipients of bursaries.

The Tukkies 2^nd XI also play in the Northerns Premier League and are challenging for a place in the top three, showing the incredible depth present at the club.

The critics, however, say the club is greedy and causing an imbalance in the province by hogging all the best players.

“It’s tough. The elite squad is 25 players, which covers the 1^st and 2^nd XIs. We need that depth because this season alone we’ve lost seven players to the next level and we have to make sure we have replacements.

“It’s a fast-moving environment and it’s not like guys are stuck in the second team. They’re training and competing with first-class players day in and day out and the club is basically like a full-time high-performance programme for the Titans. It’s tough for the local clubs, but it’s the same in Port Elizabeth, Potchefstroom and Stellenbosch. It’s a massive positive for any union to have a strong university,” De Bruyn says.

Northerns Cricket Union president John Wright agrees that the Titans benefit from the excellence of Tukkies.

“The other clubs are under the impression that Tukkies get preferential treatment, but it’s not the case. They have top facilities, full-time coaches and the support of the university and a major sponsor, so they attract the top players. It’s just an unfortunate fact of life that these factors weigh against the other clubs, but it all benefits the Titans.

“They just have to be aware of the flip-side: If they take all the good players, then they might not have anybody to play against,” Wright says.

The Titans have introduced an IPL-style (with none of the horrible shady dealings) T20 cricket tournament to conclude the season with four squads bought by commercial sponsors taking part in the Northerns Bash at SuperSport Park in Centurion from April 10-13.

The pleasing aspect of this new T20 competition is that the top club players do get the opportunity to take part as well, with the Titans, Northerns and premier league players auctioned off with each team having a certain number of points to spend.

“You want to give club cricketers bubbling under the first-class sides the opportunity to show what they can do and this tournament does that,” Titans CEO Jacques Faul told The Pretoria News yesterday.

The involvement of established Titans stars like Ethy Mbhalati, Shaun von Berg, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese, Heino Kuhn and Mangaliso Mosehle, as well as up-and-coming junior stars like Murray Coetzee, Corbin Bosch and Aiden Markram will ensure that there is plenty of interest in the new event.

The support of the commercial partners – Global Softech Solutions (Gladiators), Nashua Tshwane (Phantoms), WAD Holdings (Pirates) and TMM Capital Investments (Tornados) – has also ensured that the inaugural event makes financial sense and Faul is hopeful that the tournament will take off and grow.

The Phantoms and the Tornados have the most Titans players with five each, while the Gladiators have three and the Pirates have decided to just use the services of national T20 star David Wiese.

Given the nature of T20 cricket and the autumnal pitches, it seems the Phantoms will obviously be the team to beat, boasting four high-quality spinners in Roelof van der Merwe, Shaun von Berg, Eden Links and young Thomas Kaber.

The Tornados have the batting talents of Heino Kuhn, Mangaliso Mosehle, Graeme van Buuren and Theunis de Bruyn to make them strong contenders as well.

The format of the competition is a round-robin leading to a final. With the problems of dew at this time of year, the decision has been made that all the matches will be day games, with two clashes per day.

Titans high performance coach Pierre Joubert has been appointed as the tournament commissioner.

“The purpose of the Bash is to give top players at club level an opportunity to perform at SuperSport Park and to give them a taste of provincial cricket. The Titans also wish to enhance our relationships with commercial partners and attract them to the Titans family,” Joubert said.

“All the commercial partners will have naming rights on the shirts of their team members, and will also get free access to suites for their company for the duration of the RamSlam T20 Challenge next season.

“There is a fresh vibe around SuperSport Park as club and provincial players are talking about the privilege of being part of the Northerns Bash. Some of the companies have asked if they could organise special barbeques and  team mascots and we are naturally very happy for the companies to do that, as it enhances a great fun element and atmosphere at these matches,” said Joubert.

Entrance for all four days of the Northerns Bash will be free.

Squads

Gladiators: Lerato Kgoatle, Cobus Pienaar, Ethy Mbhalati, Andre Malan, Bafana Mahlangu, Sean Dickson, Tertius Gouws, Murray Coetzee, Ryan Houbart, Corbin Bosch, Ruan Sadler, Kabelo Raseleka, Vincent Moore, Janneman Malan, Evan Jones, Ryk Eksteen. Coach – Johan Muller, manager – Leela Yemineni.

Phantoms: Thomas Kaber, Shaun von Berg, Qaasim Adams, JP de Villiers, Eden Links, Patrick Motao, Jason Brooker, Kobus Delport, Sean Phillips, Aiden Markram, Wayne Scott, Blake Schraader, Stefan Klopper, Roelof van der Merwe, Henk Coetzee, Roger Arendse, Rowan Richards. Coach – Nico Martin, manager – Divan Malan.

Pirates: Lesiba Ngoepe, Sash Naidoo, Heinrich Klaasen, David Bunn, David Wiese, Eldred Hawken, Dean Foxcroft, Ryan Cartwright, Cloete Buitendag, Tom Khoza, Wian van Heerden, Schalk van Heerden, Rivaldo Moonsammy, Willem Britz, Abrie Smit, Craig Letcher. Coach – Arno van Wyk, manager – French van Heerden.

Tornados: Heino Kuhn, Mangaliso Mosehle, Graeme van Buuren, Sami Mofokeng, Theunis de Bruyn, Junior Dala, Lucas Manzini, Regardt Verster, Gerry Pike, Jacques Snyman, Gerhard Linde, Thean Schutte, Niki Bouwer, Tyler Easton, Sean Nowak, Ruben Claassen. Coach – Pierre de Bruyn, manager – Aldin Smith.

Domestic four-day cricket seldom receives the attention it should, but Unlimited Titans coach Rob Walter said yesterday that their thrilling 32-run weekend victory over the Knights in their Sunfoil Series match at SuperSport Park was “the way cricket should be played”.

The Knights mounted a stirring run-chase on a great final day as they tried to chase down 435 and were on target as Gihahn Cloete and Rilee Rossouw blazed hundreds.

After 70 overs, the Knights looked as if they were cruising to victory on 287 for one, needing 148 runs off 36 overs with Cloete and Rossouw in full flight. But JP de Villiers removed both set batsmen and the second new ball then produced a remarkable collapse of six wickets for 18 runs in eight overs in the hands of David Wiese and Marchant de Lange.

A last-wicket stand of 43 between Malusi Siboto and Corne Dry revitalised the Knights before Wiese claimed the final wicket and a famous win at 5.25pm.

“That’s the way cricket should be played. We set up the game with the second new ball very much in mind, leaving us enough overs with it to make an impact, but I never thought it would have to make so much of an impact!

“I’m very excited by the win because it means a helluva lot, it speaks volumes for the culture within the team. We don’t have much to play for in terms of the competition, but we didn’t want to just rock up and play without any care.

“We showed great care and pride in our performance and, if the scoreboard had been switched off, someone watching would never have thought the score was 300 for two. There were a few overs when they really bossed us, but the intensity was amazing and awesome to see,” Walter told The Pretoria News yesterday.

While chasing 435 would normally be one of those flights of fancy that seldom occur in real life, conditions and the brilliance of Cloete and Rossouw had the Knights well on course.

“The pitch was very flat on the fourth day and never offered much of anything. Plus for [leg-spinner] Shaun von Berg to bowl to two left-handers like Cloete and Rossouw was tough. If two batsmen get in those conditions, then chasing six an over is quite easy, it’s very difficult to defend, especially with a short boundary at one end,” Walter explained.

De Lange was like Hagar The Horrible with the new ball, obtaining spiteful, awkward bounce at high pace and Walter said he was delighted the fast bowler was able to make such an impact in his first game for the Titans since November.

“I’m really happy for Marchant’s sake because it’s a reward for a lot of patience and hard work. He really wanted to play earlier, but he had to buy into the process. It’s not just about being physically fit, he had to earn his place. And it’s really exciting that he managed to produce that pace at 4.30pm on the last day of a four-day match,” Walter said.

Cloete received the man of the match award for his maiden century in the Sunfoil Series, but the honour should surely have gone to Wiese, who made important contributions of 45 and 31 not out with the bat and had match figures of six for 93 with the ball. He removed both openers in the Knights first innings, paving the way for their dismissal for just 218 and then claimed four for 18 with the second new ball in the dramatic finale.

“David is really starting to find his feet with the new ball, he’s got seriously good skill with it and can swing it both ways, as well as containing nicely too. His wickets with the new ball and his contributions with the bat at number seven make him a real all-rounder who provides such stability. We can rely on him,” Walter said.

Judging by the spirit shown this weekend, Titans fans can rely on their team going all out to end the season on a high with victory over the Warriors in their final match starting at Centurion on Thursday.

“It’ll be nice to win because three wins will be a 300% improvement on last season. We want to maintain the momentum of what we did this weekend,” Walter said.

Jacques Kallis is not about to sign for the Unlimited Titans and weekend rumours that the cancellation of his long-term relationship with the Cape Cobras is imminent have been described as “very premature speculation” by Titans chief executive Jacques Faul.

Weekend reports suggested that the Titans could well be enjoying the services of Kallis next season, but Faul told The Pretoria News that these reports were based on nothing more than just a suggestion made in connection with a new commercial product the franchise are launching.

“One of the commercial sponsorship products we are looking at is a thing called The Art of Fast Bowling and, in our discussions with people like Kallis and Dale Steyn and their representatives, it was mentioned that it might provide the opportunity for big-name players to play here.

“But we haven’t even got sponsors confirmed yet so it’s very premature speculation,” Faul said.

As a nationally-contracted player, Kallis is allowed to nominate which franchise he wants to represent and the Cape still holds the most obvious attractions for him. The great all-rounder has lived his whole life there, his best friends live there and the Cobras have qualified for the Champions League T20 while the Titans have not.

The Art of Fast Bowling will be a series of masterclasses and speaking breakfasts hosted by some of the biggest names in South African cricket, which the Titans will market and sell.