Ken Borland

Johan Wessels and Ruben Claassen, two of the lesser-known stars of the Assupol Tuks team, enjoyed an extraordinary last day at the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals as they led the University of Pretoria to the title in the eight-nation, T20 students’ world cup at the Oval in London at the weekend.

Unbeaten through the group stage, Tuks then won a thrilling semi-final against defending champions Rizvi Mumbai College by five wickets with five balls to spare, before beating Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association by 40 runs in the final.

Wessels was named man of the match in the semi-final and final, scoring half-centuries in both games, and coach Pierre de Bruyn said it was players like him and Claassen, who had combined figures of three for 20 in eight overs on the final day, who had pleased him most.

“It’s the guys without the reputations who really stood up on the final day. Joe Wessels is proving to be a very good player, he played two magnificent innings in the knockout games and I’m ecstatic for him. I’ve used him as a bit of a wildcard and he’s really impressed me as a cricketer.

“Ruben out-bowled everybody in the tournament, including the spinners from the sub-continent. He and Corbin Bosch were the top two wicket-takers and Ruben has improved so much I believe he should be in the Northerns team this summer.

“He’s unique, he’s tall, he gets bounce and he’s not scared to experiment. David Mogotlane has also improved a lot, in all his skills. He’s worked out his game – he’s not a big turner of the ball, but he’s a clever bowler,” De Bruyn said.

In the final, pacemen Vincent Moore and Bosch shared seven wickets as the Jamaicans were restricted to 148 for nine in their 20 overs.

Much of the hard work, however, was done by outstanding off-spinner Claassen, who took one for 10 in four overs, claiming the key scalp of Cassius Burton for 55.

The Tuks total of 188 for six was built around a ferocious 61 off 40 balls from Wessels.

De Bruyn has spent the last few months telling everyone how good a cricketer Wessels, who has no first-class experience nor national U19 caps, is and the 22-year-old was magnificent on finals day, when it really counted.

Aiden Markram had given the Tuks innings a good start, after they had won the toss, with his 33 off 26 balls, but Wessels kept the scoreboard ticking and then had the run-rate boiling over as the University of Pretoria students went into the break with a formidable total on the board.

Sean Dickson scored 39 off 31 balls to finish the job, while Tian Koekemoer (18* off 7) and Bosch (11* off 4) provided important cameos right at the death.

“We’ve had three years of dominance in South Africa and now we wanted to represent our country and measure ourselves on the world stage. I’m over the moon to be able to say we are the best university cricket team in the world, but we worked for it,” De Bruyn said on Sunday.

“We planned for everything and we proved ourselves to everyone. I’m proud of the success and the culture of this team, and nobody can take that away from this side.”

The semi-final was a far tenser affair for De Bruyn and his team.

Rizvi Mumbai had won the toss and elected to bat first, and had cruised to 50 for one after six overs and 83 for two in the 12^th over before Tuks regained control through spinners Claassen and David Mogotlane.

Claassen produced another brilliant spell of 4-1-10-2, with Mogotlane applying pressure at the other end as his four overs went for just 20 runs, and the Rizvi lower-order then collapsed to the canny death bowling of Bosch (2-26) and Moore to finish on 122 for nine.

Rizvi seamer John Ebrahim then had Tuks behind the eight-ball as he removed openers Markram and Gerry Pike in his first two overs, before Theunis de Bruyn (31) and Wessels steadied the innings with a third-wicket stand of 54 in 7.2 overs.

But the dismissal of captain De Bruyn, who was named as the Player of the Tournament, and both Koekemoer and Dickson in quick succession meant Tuks were under pressure at 90 for five after 15 overs.

But vice-captain Heinrich Klaasen (18* off 12) and the reliable Wessels (56* off 52) mounted a rearguard action that took Tuks home in the final over.

The efforts of Theunis de Bruyn and Markram in the group games were enough for them to finish as the two leading run-scorers in the tournament, while Wessels charged into third position on the final day.

But all these Tuks cricketers will be heading into the new summer confident of once again really making their mark.

Assupol Tuks have carried the same ruthless, clinical form they showed back in South Africa in April when they qualified for the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals into the main event in London and now the University of Pretoria students have just a couple of hurdles left in order to complete their journey to Varsity T20 World Cup glory.

Having whitewashed the University of Stellenbosch 3-0 three months ago to qualify as South Africa’s representatives for the eight-nation tournament, Tuks have duly topped their group at the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals with three emphatic victories and will now take on defending champions Rizvi Mumbai College in the semi-finals today at the Oval.

“I’m very happy with the focus of the side, we’ve set high standards and we’re going to fight all the way to the end. We’ve worked so hard, so we want to be at 100%. We’re playing the defending champions, so they must know they’re in for a fight,” Tuks coach Pierre de Bruyn told The Pretoria News yesterday.

While Rizvi Mumbai won the second edition of the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals last April in Sri Lanka, they only finished second in Group 1 this year, behind the University of New South Wales, and they are going to have to find a way of matching the tremendous form of the Tuks batsmen.

While comparisons across groups may be a little unfair, Tuks have posted totals of 205-4, 110-3 and 178-5, while Rizvi’s scores have been 123-1, 132-8 and 107-9.

“I haven’t had the chance to watch much of Rizvi, but the standard of their batting is a question, they’ve had a couple of collapses and the Oval pitch looks a bit juicy.

“We wanted to see contributions from all eight of our batsmen and we’ve managed to do that. Theunis de Bruyn and Aiden Markram are the top scorers in the competition, but Johan Wessels has done nicely at four, Heinrich Klaasen has had a couple of good knocks and Sean Dickson has been finishing the innings well. I’m really confident in our batting unit,” De Bruyn said.

Where Tuks will need to make a plan is in terms of the bowling, where a couple of injuries could rob them of the services of two seamers.

Tian Koekemoer has an ankle injury, while Theunis de Bruyn strained a hamstring.

“Tian will definitely play and might even open the batting, but Johan Wessels might have to fill in for him with the ball. Theunis can play, but won’t be able to bowl. So we’re going to have to box clever with the seamers,” coach De Bruyn said.

The Tuks new-ball attack is bound to be a handful, however, particularly if conditions at the Oval today are the same as yesterday. Nobody has taken more wickets in the competition than Corbin Bosch (7), while Vincent Moore has conceded just 46 runs in 10 overs.

And the Tuks spinners have stated their intent to match their sub-continental rivals in no uncertain terms, with Ruben Claasen, David Mogotlane and Markram forming a potent combination.

Rizvi have a lot less pedigree than Tuks when it comes to performances in senior cricket: The University of Pretoria have five first-class cricketers with 125 caps between them across the three formats; Rizvi have one player – Kevin Almeida – who has played three T20s for Mumbai. Plus Markram and Bosch are ICC U19 World Cup winners.

But semi-final, knockout cricket often curdles the brains and stomachs of the supposed favourites and De Bruyn has stressed the importance of being at 100% to his team.

“It’s 50/50 from now on and if we struggle under pressure and make mistakes, then we won’t go through. We need to stay calm, absorb the pressure and eliminate basic mistakes.

“But we’ve been in this situation so many times in the last three years, we want those pressure buttons,” De Bruyn said.

Tuks have been in such control in all three of their matches in London thus far that it is clearly going to take something special from Rizvi to knock them off course, but then again, the Mumbai students are defending their title and will not be in the mood to fold.

The University of New South Wales play the Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association in the other semi-final today, with the two winners meeting in the grand final this evening [6.30pm SA time].

http://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/pretoria-news-weekend/textview

The University of Pretoria cricket team left for the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals in London on Thursday evening determined to bring the varsity world cup back to South Africa.

Assupol Tuks are representing South Africa at the T20 event for the first time and will be joining the student champions from the United Kingdom, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies 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 next Saturday, with the final to follow later the same day.

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.

“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.

Tuks will arrive in England on Friday confident of their chances of winning the title in South Africa’s debut appearance at the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals.

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.

http://www.redbull.com/za/en/stories/1331665381247/assupol-tuks-ready-for-campus-cricket-world-finals

University of Pretoria cricket coach Pierre de Bruyn is understandably a confident fellow as his Tuks team leave today for the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals in London, the student and three-time national club champions being worthy representatives of South Africa.

Such is the talent and efficiency of this Assupol Tuks team that they beat the Australia-bound South Africa A side in two warm-up games in the last week, and they must be one of the favourites to win what amounts to a T20 Varsity World Cup.

The student champions from eight different countries will be competing in the Campus Cricket Finals, which start on Monday, concluding with the final on Saturday evening.

“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!

“SA A retired a couple of batsmen in the T20 game, but at the end of the day we took five wickets in the last four overs to win that match, and in the 50-over game, we were very convincing winners with seven overs to spare.

“We had our last net this [Wednesday] morning and everyone’s looking confident and very excited. We’re expecting a very high standard at the tournament, but we’re going there to win,” De Bruyn told The Pretoria News yesterday.

The fact that Tuks managed to beat the second tier of South Africa’s best cricketers suggests the opposition could be mourners by the end of the week in London. The draw for the three other teams in Tuks’s pool will only be made on Sunday, but the other competing teams are Leeds Bradford MCC (UK), University of New South Wales (Australia), University of Liberal Arts (Bangladesh), defending champions Rizvi College (India), Karachi University (Pakistan), International College of Business and Technology (Sri Lanka) and Jamaica University (West Indies).

As SA A discovered, coming up against pace bowlers Vincent Moore and Corbin Bosch, and hard-hitting batsmen like Theunis de Bruyn, Sean Dickson, Johan Wessels, Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram is a daunting task.

While there is obviously enormous talent in the Tuks side, it is the ability of those around the stars – lesser-known players such as Tian Koekemoer, Ruben Claasen and GC Pretorius – to perform under pressure that makes them a formidable outfit. Tuks have been unbeaten for the last three years at the National Club Championships, a remarkable streak of 18 games that proves they know how to win.

“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, one of the most tenacious cricketers of his era, said.

Wormsley Cricket Club, one of the most beautiful grounds in England, will witness this formidable Tuks side in the group stages, with Saturday’s semi-final and final being held at the Oval, a famous venue fit for youngsters that are bound to make their names in South African cricket.

“How we start is going to be crucial, there’s no room for us to start slowly, there’s no room to try and find our feet or get into an innings or a bowling spell. We have to be on the button from the first ball on Monday,” De Bruyn said.

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.