Lungi Ngidi was recently introduced to the world in the Proteas’ second test against India. The fast bowler ripped through the batting of the world’s number one test team, with match figures of 1/51 and 6/39 in the second innings. This earned him the Man of the Match award in his test debut.

Ngidi acknowledges the role that TuksCricket at the University of Pretoria (UP) played in his success on the international stage. He thanked his mentor, Pierre de Bruyn (former head coach at the University of Pretoria), for giving him the chance to become a professional cricketer. De Bruyn recruited Ngidi to UP, which Ngidi says was the right move because it was at UP that his cricket flourished.

The current Head of Programme at Assupol TuksCricket, Kruger van Wyk, says that the UP environment is conducive to producing mature people, not just athletes. ‘Good values of hard work, commitment to the cause and a real hunger to achieve are values that we instil in all our athletes’. When asked what is different about UP, he said that it was a commitment to excellence, ‘taking pride in our structures and trying to lead with our training methods, [and] recruitment and guidance of students who wish to pursue a dual career’. He added that UP is ‘where great friendships are forged and being part of the stripe generation is a way of life, where athletes receive specialised coaching with world-class facilities and coaches who are always willing to go the extra mile to develop players through good student-athlete management’.