NATALIE THOMPSON
Tuks 1 beat Tuks 2 on Sunday 17 February in an all-Tuks Northerns Cricket Union (NCU) T20 final. The match ended in a tie and Tuks 1 won the super over to win the cup.
Tuks 1 and Tuks 2 head coach Pierre de Bruyn told Perdeby that he was pleased that the final featured two Tuks teams. “It is really nice to see that our hard work paid off. The match was a show of high-class cricket. It shows our standard and the fight in the boys. I am over the moon that the match was essentially a Tuks elite squad match. I’m so proud.”
Tuks 1 batted first. Their top order fell quickly to Tuks 2’s strong bowling attack. Batsmen Sean Dickson and Graeme van Buuren saved Tuks 1’s innings and scored 62 (not out) and 44 respectively. Tuks 2 bowlers
Johan Wessels and Rickus Weideman took two wickets each to restrict Tuks 1 to a total of 153/5.
Tuks 2’s innings looked promising from the start, with Craig Letcher and Wessels establishing a partnership of 52 runs before Letcher left the crease in the 14th over. Wessels impressed with both his bowling and his bat, scoring 70 (not out) with five sixes. At the end of their innings, Tuks 2’s total stood at 153/6.
After each side had played 20 overs, the match was tied. According to tournament rules, a super over had to be played to determine the winner.
Tuks 2 batted first in the super over. Van Buuren’s bowling coupled with Mathew Pillans’s impressive fielding restricted Tuks 2 to only six runs for two wickets.
Tuks 1 approached the super over differently, hitting mid-field shots instead of boundaries to allow the batsmen to score a run per ball. Tuks 1 scored seven runs in the over without losing any wickets. When he accepted the trophy, Tuks 1 captain Ernest Kemm thanked his opponents. He said, “This was an elite squad day and at the end of the day it’s a Tuks trophy.”
De Bruyn acknowledged that TuksCricket will have to continue working hard for the rest of the season. “This was only the first trophy, the league is the big one. We have six games left in the league and we have to win all of them to get to the final and defend the title. We have a massive six weeks ahead and we have to work even harder and step it up a gear. If we do, the rewards will come.”
Photo: Kobus Barnard
