#TuksCricket: Murray Swaps Cricket Bat for Medicine Degree

Posted on January 12, 2017

Murray Coetzee (AssupolTuksCricket captain) has decided to swap his bat and gloves for his medicine text books.
 
On announcing his retirement from competitive cricket Coetzee will continue a tradition set by his dad, Lance, who in the eighties captained Assupol TuksCricket while he was studying to become a medical doctor.  
 
Coetzee who has captained TuksCricket last year to a clean sweep in the all of the Northerns cricket leagues as well as another Varsity Cricket victory and he has no regrets.
 
Apart from leading Assupol TuksCricket to quite a few title successes Coetzee had the privilege of being part of the team that won the Red Bull Campus World Finals title in India. He has also represented the South African under-19 team on three tours which include the World Cup in Australia.
 
“Who knows if one or two things had gone differently, less injuries, or maybe one or two better performances when I needed them, I might have seriously considered a career in cricket. But to be quite honest since I took the decision to study medicine the idea of playing professional cricket was never really viable anymore. The reality is that there are never any guarantees in professional sport.  Being a qualified doctor means job security as I know there is great need for doctors in South Africa,” said Coetzee.

Being part of the Assupol TuksCricket team that won the Red Bull Varsity World Tournament in India in 2015/2016 is a definite highlight for Coetzee.
 
“Playing in the Under-19 World Cup in Australia was also an awesome experience. I was lucky to play with the likes of Quinton de Kock who is now rated as one of the top ten batsmen in the world and Theunis de  Bruyn is who part of the Proteas test squad.
 
“My performance as a batsman during the 2011 Coke Week in Cape Town was also special.
“My most memorable innings was for the South African under-19 team in a match against England. I knew it was going to be my last game for the team. We needed about 230 runs from 30 overs when I started to bat. From the very first ball I saw the cricket ball as a soccer ball. Everything seemed to hit the middle of the bat. It was probably one of ten innings where I managed not to make any mistake. Everything I tried came off. It was an innings every cricketer dreams of batting. I scored 110, not out.
 
“I can honestly say there were a lot of highs in my cricket career but I also experienced quite a few disappointments.  My biggest shortcoming was the fact that I was not able to be more consistent as a batsman. 
 
“But I am not complaining. I have always considered myself as a cricket playing nerd because to learn new things was always as important to me as scoring runs. I like to keep my brain stimulated. As a doctor it is guaranteed that it will happen because things are always changing in medicine. The challenge is to keep abreast of the latest developments.”
- Author Wilhelm de Swardt

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