Ken Borland

The equity of the Multiply Titans just keeps rising, with another rich haul of trophies gathered at the Cricket South Africa Awards this year, and much of the credit for that success must go to the leadership and equanimity of Northerns Cricket Union president John Wright.

Apart from achieving success on the playing field – a box the Titans certainly ticked by winning two of the three franchise trophies – the union also places a high premium on CSA’s scorecard system that ranks administration, and winning the Affiliate of the Year title for four successive years is a tremendous feather in their cap.

“For the Northerns Cricket Union to win CSA’s incentive scorecard for four years running is definitely a highlight from an admin perspective, as is every competition we have won on the field. We implemented a turnaround strategy for the stadium, which we remodelled with cosmetic upgrades and making it fit for different uses. Jacques Faul [CEO] has done really well to turn SuperSport Park into a multi-use venue.

“The function of our board is good and there has been very good support from council. Before 2013, there were many meetings postponed because we didn’t have a quorum, but it hasn’t happened once since then. Our club cricket continues to do well too and a good university is critical for any province. The involvement and success of Tuks is one of the reasons we do well, they are strong, with good facilities, coaching and infrastructure,” Wright said.

2013 was the year that Wright began his tenure as NCU president and initially he was meant to serve a maximum of two two-year terms. But then CSA decided in 2015 that presidents can serve two three-year terms and the Northerns council decided recently that the renowned international hockey umpire is eligible for another term when elections are held in August.

If Wright is re-elected, which would seem to be the obvious move, then the 47-year-old will be stressing that there can be no relaxing as the NCU and the Titans have to keep striving for greater heights.

“This is a fantastic union and franchise, steeped in a lot of history, but we mustn’t forget that we weren’t always one of the big dogs. Now we have to maintain our success and keep looking at opportunities to improve. We have achieved a lot, but to rest on our laurels would be a huge mistake.

“The well-being of our clubs is critical and I would like to empower them and provide them with even more opportunities. On the field, obviously the Titans had the chance to do the treble but only ended up with the double. But it’s a very cut-throat, tight competition. But I do believe that we have what it takes to win all three tournaments, we just have to be consistent all the way through,” Wright said.

The senior sports organiser at the Tshwane University of Technology stated that the Northerns provincial team and transformation in schools would be areas of focus for him if he serves another term.

“We’ve ridden the wave for a long time, we’ve been one of the most successful franchises in South African cricket history by winning two trophies for three years in a row, but this season coming will be a good test of where the franchise really is because we will be without a lot of Proteas players. And it’s great that we have provided a number of new players for South Africa recently.

“I would also like to see our Northerns provincial team be more competitive and more consistent, that needs a bit of rebuilding. I hope those coaches are allowed time to come through and are not just hung out to dry after one season. We need to give them an opportunity to establish themselves.

“There’s also a lot of work to do in the transformation of schools. We have not been as effective as we should have been at that level – there are some spectacular results but then some schools are dragging their heels. And I would like to see people have an even bigger attachment to SuperSport Park, make it feel even more familiar for our fans,” Wright said.

The chairman of the Titans franchise is certainly now a familiar face in South African cricket and, having achieved so much already, he still has plenty to give.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) released the schedule for the 2018/19 home international season on Monday and they have entrusted SuperSport Park in Centurion with trying to make a success of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan.

The Test match starting on December 26 is one of the marquee fixtures on the South African calendar but it has been played in front of dwindling crowds on the coast since 1966, when the Australians were put to the sword by Denis Lindsay at the Wanderers in a match that started on December 23 and had a rest day on Christmas Day.

“It’s a privilege to host the Boxing Day Test which is an important date on the cricket calendar and we are thankful to be selected because there are only so many matches and it’s all up to CSA. People go for marquee events these days and there is a lot of sport on offer, but a lot of people are off work at that time and there are a lot of people still in Gauteng, so hopefully we will still get the good support we generally get at SuperSport Park,” Titans CEO Jacques Faul told The Citizen on Monday.

“I think it’s not been as successful as CSA had hoped hosting Tests at the coastal venues, it’s only really Newlands that has had good crowds. It’s a bit nervewracking but exciting to see whether we can get the benefit of not just having two weekend days to target but four or five days. Pakistan are also a well-supported and talented team.

“We’ll certainly give it a go and hopefully not let anyone down, attendances have always been very good at our stadium, but the proof will be in the pudding,” Faul said.

To lessen the blow to Durban and Port Elizabeth, they will host the two Tests against Sri Lanka in February, while Newlands and the Wanderers will host the other two Pakistan Tests.

ZIMBABWE TOUR ITINERARY 2018

September 30: 10h00, 1^st Momentum ODI, Diamond Oval, Kimberley (Day)

October 3: 13h00, 2^nd Momentum ODI, Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein (D/N)

October 6: 13h00, 3^rd Momentum ODI, Eurolux Boland Park, Paarl (D/N)

October 9: 18h00, 1^st KFC T20 International, Buffalo Park, East London (D/N)

October 12: 18h00, 2^nd KFC T20 International, Senwes Park, Potchefstroom (D/N)

October 14: 14h30, 3^rd KFC T20 International, Willowmoore Park, Benoni (Day)

PAKISTAN TOUR ITINERARY 2018/19

December 19-21: 10h00, Three-day tour match v SA Invitation XI, Willowmoore Park, Benoni

December 26-30: 10h00, 1^st Sunfoil Test match, SuperSport Park, Centurion

January 3-7: 10h30, 2^nd Sunfoil Test match, PPC Newlands, Cape Town

January 11-15: 10h00, 3^rd Sunfoil Test match, Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

January 19: 13h00, 1^st Momentum ODI, St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth (D/N)

January 22: 13h00, 2^nd Momentum ODI, Kingsmead, Durban (D/N)

January 25: 13h00, 3^rd Momentum ODI, SuperSport Park, Centurion (D/N)

January 27: 10h00, 4^th Momentum ODI, Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (Day)

January 30: 13h00, 5^th Momentum ODI, PPC Newlands, Cape Town (D/N)

February 1: 18h00, 1^st KFC T20 International, PPC Newlands, Cape Town (D/N)

February 3: 14h30, 2^nd KFC T20 International, Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (Day)

February 6: 18h00, 3^rd KFC T20 International, SuperSport Park, Centurion (D/N)

SRI LANKA TOUR ITINERARY 2019

February 13-17: 10h00, 1^st Sunfoil Test match, Kingsmead, Durban

February 21-25: 10h00, 2^nd Sunfoil Test match, St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth

February 28: 10h00, One-Day tour match v SA Invitation XI, Willowmoore Park, Benoni (Day)

March 3: 10h00, 1^st Momentum ODI, Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (Day)

March 6: 13h00, 2^nd Momentum ODI, SuperSport Park, Centurion (D/N)

March 10: 10h00, 3^rd Momentum ODI, Kingsmead, Durban (Day)

March 13: 13h00, 4^th Momentum ODI, St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth (D/N)

March 16: 13h00, 5^th Momentum ODI, PPC Newlands, Cape Town (D/N)

March 19: 18h00, 1^st KFC T20 International, PPC Newlands, Cape Town (D/N)

March 22: 18h00, 2^nd KFC T20 International, SuperSport Park, Centurion (D/N)

March 24: 14h30, 3^rd KFC T20 International, Bidvest Wanderers Stadium (Day)

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-gauteng/20180424/282024737865818

Ardent South African cricket followers would have heard of the success of the University of Pretoria team and now the Assupol Tuks are taking their talents overseas as they represent the country in the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals in London.

Tuks have been the national club champions for the last three years, enjoying an 18-match unbeaten run in the process, they are the South African Students Sports Union champions and in the last week they have beaten SA A twice in warm-up games.

And so they will arrive in England on Friday confident of their chances of winning the title in their first appearance at the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals, in what amounts to a T20 Varsity World Cup.

“We’ve put a lot of work in for the last 12 weeks and I’m really chuffed with our preparation. It was great for the guys to play against SA A and measure themselves, and we managed to ruffle a few feathers as well.

“So everyone’s looking confident and very excited. We’re expecting a very high standard at the tournament, but we’re going there to win. The trophy looks like the real World Cup and we want it here,” coach Pierre de Bruyn said before the team’s departure on Thursday evening.

The student champions from the United Kingdom, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies are taking part in the finals, with 106 universities taking part in the qualifying tournaments. The eight finalists will be split into two round-robin groups of four, with the draw only being done on Sunday evening. The top two teams in each group will then contest the semi-finals on Saturday, with the final to follow later the same day.

The strength of the Tuks team would seem to lie in their batting. Opener Aiden Markram was not only the inspirational captain of the SA U19 side that won the Junior World Cup earlier this year but was also named the Player of the Tournament for the runs he scored at the top of the order. He has shown no signs of easing up since then and is joined in a powerful Tuks batting line-up by Theunis de Bruyn, one of the brightest batting talents in the Titans franchise, and strokeplayers such as Heinrich Klaasen, Sean Dickson and Johan Wessels, all of whom have been in fine form lately.

Left-armer Vincent Moore and Corbin Bosch, another SA U19 star who was man of the match in the Junior World Cup final, spearhead the bowling. Both have immaculate skills in the death overs, while seamers De Bruyn, Tian Koekemoer and Wessels, and off-spinners Markram and the lanky Ruben Claasen, slow left-armer David Mogotlane and leg-spinner GC Pretorius provide a wealth of options in all conditions.

The success of the Tuks side in the last three years also means they have mastered the knack of winning under pressure and coach De Bruyn, one of the most tenacious players of his era, takes pride in the ability of his team to get the job done.

“Some people don’t like pressure, but we want it, we thrive on it. We don’t pretend it’s not around and we’ve coached the players to deal with it. They make sure they find a way to perform under pressure and that plays a massive role, they have belief when they’re under the pump because they’ve overcome most pressure situations in the last three years,” De Bruyn said.

“I don’t think we could be better prepared, we’ve done the hard work and now we just need to express our skills with confidence. We’re a tight unit, we’ve been tested under pressure and we’ve won matches which we shouldn’t have won. I’m very confident in the batting and we have all the bases covered in our bowling,” Theunis de Bruyn, the captain, said.

The tournament starts on Monday at the Wormsley Cricket Club, while Saturday’s semi-finals and final will be held at the famous Oval.

Participating teams: Leeds Bradford MCC (United Kingdom); University of New South Wales (Australia); University of Liberal Arts (Bangladesh); Rizvi College (India); Karachi University (Pakistan); University of Pretoria (South Africa); International College of Business and Technology (Sri Lanka); Jamaica University (West Indies).

Tuks squad: Theunis de Bruyn, Heinrich Klaasen, Sean Dickson, Gerry Pike, Aiden Markram, Corbin Bosch, David Mogotlane, Tian Koekemoer, Vincent Moore, Nsovo Baloyi, GC Pretorius, Ruben Claassen, Johan Wessels.

It is almost a law of sport that teams can become victims of their own success in terms of competitors trying to lure a franchise’s star performers away, and the Highveld Lions are currently going through an unsettled period marked by the departures of key internationals Temba Bavuma and Eddie Leie, as well as their general manager, Heinrich Strydom.

But it could have been a lot worse because CEO Greg Fredericks reportedly tendered his resignation as well, but the board did not accept it and managed to convince the popular former MP to continue in his role, thus avoiding another major blow to a union that also lost several experienced players to matchfixing bans at the start of last season.

Fredericks did not want to comment on his alleged resignation, but told The Citizen, “I had an offer which I turned down. My job here is not done.”

Strydom, who was also the CEO of North-West Cricket, has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Dolphins franchise and the Lions have been forced into a time of change, which they are trying to manage as best they can.

There has also been speculation that Cricket South Africa want to groom Lions coach Geoff Toyana for greater things by appointing him as one of the Proteas’ assistant coaches, which would be another blow to the franchise.

“Geoff has just renewed his contract with us for another three years. But if anything happens, we obviously do have succession plans and one or two individuals in mind. We are also advertising for a batting coach at the moment,” Fredericks said.

“The board has expressed concern, however, over the performances of the Highveld Lions and the Gauteng Strikers over the last season, and a committee led by David Terbrugge will investigate and come up with proposals. But the team lost Alviro Petersen and Neil McKenzie, and that experience you can’t replace overnight. People might not also know the important roles of players like Kagiso Rabada, Thami Tsolekile, Pumi Matshikwe and Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

“Heinrich was also a huge asset for us, but we are very happy for him. He’s a very hard-working person and we will miss him. But if our pipeline is strong, then we should be able to replicate our previous successes, it’s about ensuring our character and culture stay strong,” Fredericks said.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-gauteng/20170525/282119226487652