#Assupol TuksCricket: Assupol-Tuks in for a tough challenge to defend National Club Championships title

Posted on April 19, 2018

Complacency is the one word everyone who plays for Assupol-Tuks hates that is why the team is currently one of the top club cricket teams in the country raking in the titles.

“It does not matter whether we bat or bowl we always go for the maximum wanting to score as many runs as possible or get the wickets tumbling,” explained Kruger van Wyk (head coach).

So from Sunday when Assupol-Tuks take to the field at home to play against Wellington in their first game of the Momentum National Club Championship Tournament, it will be again a case of what is right today will count for absolutely nothing tomorrow.

Assupol-Tuks is the defending champions.  The team proved they are in good form by winning the Varsity Tournament in February.

Only the top club team of each of the six cricket franchises are competing. According to Van Wyk that makes it quite an intense competition. There is no final. Every team get to play each other. The winner will be the team with the fewest losses. So there is no margin for error.  As far as Van Wyk is concerned every game will be like a final.

He reiterated that Assupol-Tuks is not a team of individual stars.

“If we ever get to rely on one or two individuals to win a game for us I would be a worried coach. For me it will always be about the team. To be able to win means every player must give a 100% all the time.”

The team’s wicketkeeper-batsman, Rubin Hermann, agrees with his coach.

“Our success is due to a sense of pride. If you get to play for Assupol-Tuks failure is never an option. Being so successful means that we have become the team that everyone wants to beat, however, we are not too fazed by it. We got used to the pressure.”

As a batsman, he can change the outcome of a game. Last year when he debuted for Northerns, he scored a century showing that he is capable of lifting the standard of his game when it is needed.

To also be playing wicketkeeper is something he relishes. His best performance so far is getting to take six dismissals in a game against the University of Johannesburg.

Hermann views Van Wyk as his mentor as his coach also was a wicketkeeper playing for the Titans and New Zealand.

“The most important thing I learned from the coach is that no game is won or lost up until the last ball is bowled.”

The recent test series between South Africa and Australia highlighted how sledging had become part and parcel of the game. The wicketkeeper can be in the thick of things.

Hermann does not want to elaborate on what happens behind the stumps apart from saying that he has got one firm rule and that is never to let it get ugly.

“I do try and get under the skin of a batsman, but I will never resort to trading insults. There are other ways to undermine a player’s confidence.”

The teams competing are Yorkshire Cricket Club (Knights), Wellington Cricket Club (Cobras), Fort Hare University (Warriors), Crusaders Cricket Club (Dolphins), Northwest-Pukke (Lions), Assupol-Tuks (Titans).


The fixtures are:

Sunday, 22 April: Yorkshire Cricket Club v Northwest-Pukke at the Tshwane University of Technology Oval; Wellington Cricket Club v Assupol-Tuks at Tuks Cricket Oval; University of Fort Hare Cricket Club v Crusaders Cricket Club at Irene Villagers Cricket Club.
Monday, 23 April: Yorkshire Cricket Club v Assupol-Tuks at the Tshwane University of Technology Oval; Northwest-Pukke v Crusaders Cricket Club at Memorial Park; Wellington Cricket Club v University of Fort Hare Cricket Club at Tuks Cricket Oval.
Tuesday, 24 April: Yorkshire Cricket Club v Crusaders Cricket Club at Tuks Cricket Oval; Assupol-Tuks v University of Fort Hare Cricket Club at Memorial Park; Northwest-Pukke v Wellington Cricket Club at Irene Country Club.
Wednesday, 25 April: Yorkshire Cricket Club v University of Fort Hare Cricket Club at Tuks Cricket Oval;  Crusaders Cricket Club v Wellington Cricket Club at Irene Country Club;  Assupol-Tuks v Northwest-Pukke at the Tshwane University of Technology Oval.
Thursday, 26 April: Yorkshire Cricket Club v Wellington Cricket Club at Memorial Park; University of Fort Hare Cricket Club v Northwest-Pukke at Irene Villagers Cricket Club;  Crusaders Cricket Club v Assupol-Tuks at Tuks Cricket Oval.
Friday, 27 April will see the winners of the 2018 National Club Championship meet Durbanville Cricket Club, who are the Multiply T20 Community Cup title holders, in the Super Cup at Tuks Cricket Oval.
 

 

 

- Author Wilhelm de Swardt

Copyright © University of Pretoria 2024. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 Corona Virus South African Resource Portal

To contact the University during the COVID-19 lockdown, please send an email to [email protected]

FAQ's Email Us Virtual Campus Share Cookie Preferences