KEVIN VAN DER LIST
A new season has begun for TuksCricket and brings with it new challenges, hopes and aims for the successful club and its players. If last year’s performances are anything to go by then TuksCricket will certainly not disappoint this season. Tuks1 had a particularly impressive campaign last season, winning all their matches in the league. The defending champions will definitely be the team to beat this season as they boast various amateur players in the side’s make-up. Pierre de Bruyn, the Tuks1coach, said his aim is for Tuks1 to win all their matches and defend their title. Tuks2 and 4 had relatively adequate seasons last year. They finished in third and sixth place respectively. De Bruyn expects both teams to finish in the top three this time around. The 3rd, 5th and 6th sides also ended their seasons off well, finishing in second, first and fifth position respectively. De Bruyn hopes that these sides will win their respective leagues this season. TuksCricket is fortunate enough to have their first two sides in the Premier League. Tuks3 and 4 play in the Reserve League while Tuks5 is in the second league. Tuks6 side plays in the fourth league. According to de Bruyn, his aim for all the Tuks sides this year (including the ladies’ side) is to dominate Northerns. “It’s important to dominate [Northerns] for the next three years,” he said. De Bruyn also added that he does not want to change much this season, but rather wants to keep everything simple because of last year’s successes. De Bruyn’s successful first side did not change much this season as they started off with a winning weekend. Tuks1 came up against CBCOB 1st on 15 October and they ended up winning the game by 8 wickets. Tuks1 captain Maurice Aronstam once again showed his worth to the side, as he did in the Club Championships, by taking 4 wickets in the game. On 16 October, Tuks1 thrashed Mamelodi1, beating them by 287 runs. Aronstam contributed with the bat this time, scoring 67. Although Tuks2 failed to register wins in their first two matches of the season, losing against Sinoville1 by 175 runs and losing by 2 wickets against Centurion Kavaliers, Tuks3 made up for the losses. This side won both their matches over the weekend. They beat Mamelodi by 120 runs and CBCOB 2 by one wicket. Tuks4 registered one win over the weekend.
Photo: Brad Donald
