UWC are heading to Potchefstroom for the inaugural Varsity Cricket tournament, from 3-8 February, with one thing on their minds – to enjoy themselves.
The Bushies are coached by former Proteas bowler, Charl Langeveldt who Christians believes prepared them well, despite being with the Proteas for the West Indies Series.
“Everyone is very excited and can’t wait to get to Potch and start playing. Our main aim for the tournament is to have fun and enjoy ourselves but having fun comes with playing our brand of cricket, executing our skills and giving a good account of ourselves, which will show what we are capable of.
“Our preparation for the event went really well and everyone is ready. Not having Charl [Langeveldt] for the last few weeks hasn’t affected us in any way because he had planned for it and had us preparing for the event early in year while he was still around, which made up for the time he was away with the Proteas.
“The game of cricket can become very complicated but I see it as a game between bat and ball. To me, a batsman’s job is to see the ball and hit it. So that’s the approach we will have in the tournament. We want to go out, do the basics, take calculated risks and the result will take care of itself,” he told varsitysportssa.com.
Not many captains will have the luxury of turning to a franchise player on the field for advice and assistance but, fortunately for the 19-year-old, he can call on Cobras bowler, Lizaad Williams whenever he wants.
“Lizaad [Williams] brings more experience into our team. In the field, he keeps everyone calm and allows everyone to play their own game and express themselves in their respective rolls. He helps me to set the field and gives me advice on what to do in certain situations. All these things contributes to him bringing an X factor into the side,” he added.
While many of the teams are apprehensive about how to use the Power Play Plus Over, the second-year Sport Science has a unique way of how he views the new innovation and what he expects from his team when that over is called.
“I will approach that as a death over. The bowlers will look to minimise runs by bowling deep in the crease and restricting the batsmen. We won’t be looking to get wickets in that over, although it would be a bonus if we do.
“Our batsmen will not change the way they bat or go for an all-out slog, rather, they will continue to play the ball on its merit,” he stated.
The batting all-rounder expressed his feeling on the opportunity handed to university cricketers by playing in the Varsity Cricket tournament.
“Varsity Cricket gives us, as players, a good platform to launch our cricket careers. At the end of the tournament, you could hear about some players being given a chance to play at a higher level or even handed franchise contract. That, to me, is the most exciting part of the tournament. The fact that it could be the start of becoming a professional player,” he said.
