Merrick Brett might have done yesterday what no other Tuks cricketer had done: to take four wickets with four balls. On Sunday, April 14, the Tuks captain did so during the 2024 CSA National Club Championships against Bohemians from Border. The game was played at the TuksCricket Oval. 

It seemed as if the batters from Bohemian were on course to set Tuks the challenge of scoring more than 200 runs in 50 overs. After 43 overs, their score was 149/6. 

But it all changed in the next over as Brett started his runup. With his third delivery, he got Reinhardt Knoetze (0) caught for nought; with the next ball, Chad Clark-Evans (0) was bowled leg before wicket, and Adam Royers (0) was cleaned bowled as was Travis Hawkes (0). It meant the Bohemians were bowled out for 151 runs.

Tuks ended up winning by 10 wickets, scoring 152/0 in 21 overs. Christiaan du Toit was impressive, scoring an unbeaten 89 runs from 53 deliveries. Raees Salie was also not out with 53 runs from 68 balls.

According to Blanche Conradie (TuksCricket Club Manager), several Tuks cricketers have achieved hat tricks. Still, neither she nor Kruger van Wyk (head coach) know about any Tuks bowler ever getting four wickets with four balls. 

"It was quite amazing to watch," said Conradie.

According to Cricinfo, the first bowler to take four wickets with four balls was Joseph Wells, the father of the author HG Wells. He did so in 1862, playing against Sussex. 

Until now, no bowler had achieved the four-with-four feat in test cricket. It has only happened once in International One Day Cricket. During the 2007 World Cup, Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga managed to do so against South Africa. 

The Tuks captain has genuinely been on sung in his first two games at the Club Championships. On Saturday, playing against Maties, Brett scored an unbeaten 97 (7x4 and 5x6) from 77 balls. He also took 2/35 to help Tuks beat Maties by three wickets. 

So far, the Tuks and Northwest are the only unbeaten teams in the tournament. They will play each other on Wednesday. The winner will, in all probability, be the 2024 CSA National Club champions. 

The tournament is hosted in Pretoria. The teams competing are Tuks, Maties, Kovsies,  Northwest University, Hollywoodbets Crusaders (KwaZulu Natal), and the Bohemians (Border). There is no final. Every team will play everyone. The team with the most points after five games is the winner. The tournament will be played in Pretoria.