Ken Borland

Aiden Markram has been crying out for an island of calm amidst all the hurly-burly and media attention of leading the South Africa U19 team to their Junior World Cup title last month in Dubai. And he seems to have found it judging by the assured, unbeaten half-century he scored to carry Assupol Tukkies to victory in the opening game of the Red Bull Campus Cricket finals against Steinhoff Maties on Tuesday.

The man of the match scored 50 not out off 45 balls as the University of Pretoria cruised to their moderate target of 119 with all of 11 deliveries remaining. Markram had the measure of the Stellenbosch University bowlers from the outset, hitting three fours in the first over of the innings, bowled by Boland cricketer Riyaad Henry.

But with the hardness of the new ball rapidly disappearing, he was content to just pick up mostly ones and twos on a slow autumnal pitch at the L.C. de Villiers Oval.

It was obvious that the powerful, tall right-hander is a young batsman who has learnt to play in different conditions, the pitches in the United Arab Emirates, where he was the Player of the Series with 370 runs at an astonishing average of 123, being similar to those in Pretoria at this time of year.

“The pitch was quite slow and it was hard to hit through the lines, you had to put the massive drives away,” Markram said after his impressive innings.

Markram was one of the hottest properties in South African cricket after the ICC U19 World Cup triumph, but he was content to stay in northern Gauteng, where he was born and where he schooled at Pretoria Boys’ High.

He believes that Tukkies, the national club champions and winners of the Northerns league for the last five years, will raise the bar when it comes to developing his game.

“I’m very happy here, the training is awesome, at very high intensity, and this is where my game will improve,” Markram says.

All the media attention and official engagements after their triumph in Dubai didn’t leave Markram with much leeway when it came to time to practise. SA U19 coach Ray Jennings likes to police his charges closely, but now Markram is no longer under his watch.

Fortunately, the Tukkies coach, Pierre de Bruyn, is a protégé of Jennings’ and the national junior coach has said before how confident he is that Markram’s game will develop even more at the University of Pretoria.

“I’m tired and the body’s a bit stiff, but I’m doing what I love and it’s never a mission to wake up in the morning and go and play cricket. It’s been hectic and for two weeks after the Junior World Cup I really struggled with the bat. But I’ve remembered not to complicate it and I’m happy with the start in this competition.

“We have nothing to complain about because one of our team-mates, Regardt Verster, is fighting for his life in hospital after a car crash and we’re doing this for him,” Markram said.

Assupol Tukkies, the national club champions, powered to a seven-wicket victory off the first ball of the penultimate over against the Steinhoff Maties in the opening match of the Red Bull Campus Cricket finals at the L.C. de Villiers Oval at the University of Pretoria on Tuesday.

The comfortable Tukkies victory was set up by the skill of their bowling attack, backed by the intensity and discipline of their fielding, which limited Maties to just 118 for four in their 20 overs after they had won the toss and elected to bat first.

The target was a stroll in the park for Tukkies as Aiden Markram, the captain of the victorious South African team at the U19 World Cup, blasted 50 not out off 45 balls and was well supported by Gerry Pike (27) and Theunis de Bruyn (30).

The Maties innings was set back from the outset as openers Gideon Conradie (0) and Emile Kriek (1) were dismissed in the first two overs by Vincent Moore and De Bruyn respectively.

It meant the Maties batsmen had to rebuild carefully and, although Keegan Petersen and Jean Bredenkamp added 34, it took them seven overs to do it.

It meant they had to resort to some desperate late hitting.

Petersen fell for 30 off 35 balls in the 16^th over, caught in the deep off spinner David Mogotlane, while the death overs were well-policed by pacemen Moore and Corbin Bosch.

Dewald Botha claimed two fours and a six in scoring 41 not out off 40 balls, while Byron Boshoff made 17 not out off 13 balls to at least give the Maties something to bowl at.

But the tall and powerful Markram took custody of the run-chase from the outset, taking three fours off Riyaad Henry’s opening over.

Pike picked up three fours as he scored his 27 off 37 balls and he and Markram added 53 off 58 balls for the first wicket and ensured there would be no jitters in chasing a moderate total.

When Pike was dismissed, caught at long-off off spinner Niel Botha, De Bruyn came in and continued with the impressive form he had shown last weekend for the Titans in the premier four-day domestic competition.

De Bruyn slammed two mighty sixes and hit a four as he scored 30 off just 22 balls and took Tukkies to a hundred in the 16^th over.

His demise came thanks to an excellent caught-and-bowled effort by Dewald Botha, but Sean Dickson came in and hit two quick boundaries to ensure there would be no late flutters.

Markram reached his half-century as he hit the winning run through extra cover, Tukkies winning with 11 balls remaining.

The University of Pretoria cricket family were then able to pour out on to the L.C. de Villiers Oval and celebrate being halfway to qualifying for the Red Bull Campus Cricket finals in London in July.

Maties are contemplating having to win both matches on Wednesday in order to qualify.

http://www.redbullcampuscricket.com/southafrica/latest/the-battle-has-begun-day-1/

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Founded in 1866, the University of Stellenbosch, known as the Steinhoff Maties, are one of the oldest cricket clubs in South Africa and have been one of the most consistent performers in tertiary institutes cricket for several years.

They lost to Tukkies in the hard-fought 2013/14 final of the University Sports South Africa A Weekin Potchefstroom in December, their second appearance in the final in the last three years.

Maties have come off an unbeaten season in the Boland Premier League, winning the title for the third year in a row, and they have also made five appearances in the National Club Championships, finishing in second place to Tukkies in 2012 and to Constantia of Western Province in 1997.

Several of their players have donned Boland senior colours, most notably batting star Keegan Petersen, captain Emile Kriek, Dewald Botha, Jean Bredenkamp, Leon le Roux and Riyaad Henry.