More than 250 universities competed to be the best university in their respective country. The top performing universities from South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, England and Australia will compete in this competition to become best in the World. The universities that will be competing in the fifth edition of this tournament are:

South Africa: Assupol TuksCricket, Pretoria

Australia: University of Sydney

Pakistan: University of Central Punjab, Lahore

England: Loughborough MCC University

Sri Lanka: Business Management School, (Colombo)

Bangladesh: University of Liberal Arts (ULAB), Dhaka

UAE: Heriot Watt University, Dubai

India: Marathwada Mitra Mandal College of Commerce (MMCC College), Pune

The group stages of the tournament will take place from 5-7 September 2016 in Colombo while the semi-finals and finals will be taking place in Galle on the 10^th and 11^th September 2016, respectively. The fixtures will only be determined the day before the tournament commences when Red Bull hosts a uniquely Sri-Lankan draw ceremony.

The teams will be playing their matches on international grounds in both Colombo and Galle, namely Sinhalese Sports Club Ground and the Galle International Cricket Stadium.

Head Coach for team South Africa, Kruger van Wyk, said, “I think it is a great competition that encapsulates the excitement and spirit of being a student, mixed with the opportunity to compete in cricket at an international level. It is a proud moment for Assupol TuksCricket to compete in this competition. Our squad is as well prepared as ever and just very excited to test our skills against the other countries. We will be fighting harder than ever and I look forward to seeing a beautiful country that is passionate about the game.”

The final squad was announced and consists of:

Murray Coetzee (Captain)

Blake Schraader

David Mogotlane

Evan Jones

Gerry Pike

Lungi Ngidi

Roger Arendse

Rubin Hermann

Sean Phillips

Thomas Kaber

Tony de Zorzi

Vincent Moore

Willie Ludick

Kruger van Wyk (Head Coach)

Chris van Noordwyk (Assistant Coach)

Blanche Conradie (Manager)

Lizahn Naude (Physiotherapist)

Captain of the Assupol TuksCricket, Murray Coetzee, said, “We are very excited to have qualified for the tournament for a third time and we are looking forward to defending our title. The tournament is a great opportunity to meet like-minded student cricketers from other countries and we look forward to measuring our skills against them once again. It is always a proud moment to be able to represent your country at whatever level you can and we also look forward to touring Sri Lanka very much. We are as well prepared as we can be and promise to represent South Africa as best as we can both on and off the field.”

The previous World Finals that Assupol TuksCricket participated in has shown what a great opportunity this competition is for young talent. Theunis de Bruyn, who captained the side in England in 2014, has since become the Captain of the VKB Knights franchise team and has played for the South African A team in various series. Players like Aiden Markram, Ruben Claassen, Heinrich Klaasen, Corbin Bosch and Lungi Ngidi, who have participated in this tournament, have gone on to play franchise cricket for the Multiply Titans.

One of the players who has been involved in both previous tournaments, David Mogotlane, said, “We can’t wait for the tournament to kick off in Sri Lanka. We are aware of the pressures and expectations but I am excited to see what we can achieve as a squad. Each Red Bull tournament is a unique experience and we want to make the most of this opportunity and be proud ambassadors of our university and country.”

The team will be leaving for Sri Lanka on Thursday 1 September 2016.