Ken Borland

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/

Assupol Tukkies showed Australian-like ruthlessness as they wrapped up their place in the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals by hammering Steinhoff Maties by seven wickets with four overs to spare in their second match at the University of Pretoria on Wednesday.

Having also won the first game on Tuesday by seven wickets, Tukkies will now be South Africa’s ambassadors in the World Finals to be played at the Oval in London in July.

South Africa U19 captain Aiden Markram was once again the man of the match, leading Tukkies to their target of 107 with a swift 57, his second half-century of the finals.

Captain Theunis de Bruyn scored 36 off 34 balls, adding 84 for the second wicket with Markram off just 79 balls to break the back of the meagre target.

Tukkies had produced another excellent effort in the field to dismiss Maties for just 106. Vincent Moore, De Bruyn and Corbin Bosch bowled superbly with the new ball to reduce the Stellenbosch University students to 28 for four in the fifth over.

Having only managed to post a moderate 118 for four in the first game, Maties opted to go on all-out attack from the outset, after being sent in to bat, but the move backfired badly.

The lack of balance in their game plan saw Gideon Conradie (10) edging De Bruyn into the slips, Keegan Petersen (6) driving left-armer Moore straight to cover, Jean Bredenkamp (1) falling in similar fashion off De Bruyn, and captain Emile Kriek (8) was then bowled by Bosch’s fourth delivery.

It had been a ferocious, ruthless start to the game by Tukkies and their focus did not slip even though Leon le Roux (32) and Niel Botha (23) added 52 for the seventh wicket off 47 balls to sneak Maties into three figures.

Tukkies’ brilliance in the field also allowed them to effect three run outs, GC Pretorius scoring a direct hit to run out the dangerous Dewald Botha for 3, while Moore and wicketkeeper Gerry Pike also caught batsmen short.

Moore, who made an impressive debut for the Titans franchise in four-day cricket this year, excelled with two for 16 in four overs, while Bosch, a key member of Markram’s SA U19 team that won the ICC Junior World Cup in Dubai, was brilliant as well, finishing with two for 15 in 3.5 overs.

De Bruyns was hit for a six and a four by Conradie in his first over, but did well to finish with two for 30 in his four overs.

The spinners, Tian Koekemoer (2-0-3-0) and Pretorius (2-0-10-1) also did a good job for Tukkies once the pacemen came off.

The University of Pretoria’s chase was off to the best of starts as the powerfully-built Markram pulled the second ball of the innings, from James Groom, for six and the score was already 19 when Pike slapped Riyaad Henry into the covers and was caught for 8 by Dewald Botha in the second over.

Markram, strong on the drive and lethal against anything short, cleared the boundary twice and picked up four fours, while the hard-hitting De Bruyn collected three fours and a six.

The duo were both dismissed with the target in sight, but the job had well and truly been done by then.

Paceman Henry was the best of the Maties bowlers with one for 14 in three overs.

The Steinhoff Maties were comfortably beaten by Assupol Tukkies in the opening match of the Red Bull Campus Cricket finals at the University of Pretoria on Tuesday, but one of their players who impressed was talented batsman Keegan Petersen.

Maties were hoping for big things from Petersen, who averaged 48.25 for Boland in the last first-class season, with four centuries including a mammoth 225, and he scored 30 off 35 balls to repair the damage after Stellenbosch University were in early trouble on three for two.

Petersen also scored 187 for Boland in 2012 in his first year of first-class cricket and has been under scrutiny by the Cape Cobras selectors, with the franchise now offering him a contract for next season.

A small, slightly built 20-year-old, Petersen has a top-class technique and a silky touch, a batsman who prefers to stroke the ball rather than bash it.

He also scored four centuries for Maties in the season just ended but is rather nonplussed by his great summer.

“I don’t really know what came right, things just went my way. I know my strengths, but I work hard on my weaknesses. I’ve had a big improvement in converting scores now, most of the time, if I get 50 I’ll go big,” Petersen says.

The Cobras deal is obviously exciting for the Paarl product and he says he is determined to actually make his debut for the franchise next season.

“My goal is to get game-time. I have to keep performing and push for a spot,” Petersen says.

Given his slender build, JP Duminy is probably an obvious choice of role-model for Petersen, who says he really looks up to the Proteas left-hander.

He is also extremely grateful for the efforts of his father, Dirkie, and the thousands of throw-downs he has given him.

A contemporary of former SA U19 paceman Rabian Engelbrecht at New Orleans Secondary School, Petersen is one of the brightest young talents of the Winelands and the importance of university cricket in his development cannot be underestimated.

http://www.redbullcampuscricket.com/southafrica/latest/stand-out-players-keegan-petersen/