It is said cometh the hour, cometh the man, but at TuksCricket, it is more a case of cometh the hour, cometh the captain. 

TuksCricket Men had a brilliant season whereby winning has been finetuned to an art form. Definite highlights include winning the 2023 USSA Cricket title in December and the 2024 CSA National Club Championships in April. The captains, Jack Lees and Merrick Brett, led from the front in both tournaments. 

Their heroics had not gone unnoticed. At Wednesday's TuksCricket Annual Award ceremony, Lees got the Batsman of the Year award while Brett was crowned the Player of the Year.

Lees ended the USSA tournament, scoring 209 runs in four games at an average of 41.80. The former captain's best innings was his knock of 110 runs against UWC. In the final, he scored 54 runs. 

During the National Club Champs Brett might have done what no other Tuks cricketer has done before. He took four wickets with four balls twice. The Tuks captain also scored an unbeaten 97 runs against Maties. 

Few would bet that the same two batsmen would be involved in a match-winning partnership against the same team to clinch a national title within months. It did happen. Brett and Matthew Boast did so during the Club Champs and the USSA final. The only difference was that Boast scored the winning runs during the Club Champs. At USSA's, it was Brett. Tuks won both games against Northwest University by three wickets. 

Brett, who debuted for Tuks in 2019, was appointed captain in January. With him at the helm, Tuks has also won the Northerns Premier League. Being captain is, for Brett, all about the team. 

"My first goal was to gain the trust of every teammate. I never pretend to know everything. I often consult the bowlers and our wicketkeeper when setting a field placement. The one thing I bring to the team is energy. I am continuously encouraging teammates."

When asked about his bowling abilities, Brett said he can bowl at 138km/ph, on a good day.

"But my best trait is my consistency. I can hit my areas for long periods at a time. I keep it simple, ensuring I am bowling at good length and throwing in the odd bouncer. It is how I go about setting the batsman up."

Snamile Mthembu, who captained the Tuks women's team to the finals of the Northerns T20-final and the Northerns One day-final (35 overs), is the Women's Player of the Year. 

"Snamile (aka Sneezy) played an integral role for the Tuks Women's side, not only as a senior player within the team but as the team leader. Her willingness to learn allowed her to lead from the front. Despite having a fantastic season with bat and ball, the highlight of her season was when she put her hand up to keep. She did an excellent job," is how Blanche Conradie (TuksCricket Manager) praised her. 

Kundai Matigimu got the Bowler of the Year award and Aphiwe Yako was named Young Upcoming Player of the Year.