The second day of 2018 Varsity Cricket action saw Tuks and NWU face off in a repeat of last year’s final, a determined Maties side looking to stamp their authority and UJ setting the pace with big hitting in the arc which sent balls out of the park. Here is a summary of what went down on Day Two:

Tuks bowlers blast away Madibaz magic
UP-Tuks carried on their good momentum in this year’s Varsity Cricket tournament with a satisfying 36 run win against the Madibaz at the NWU-Puk Oval on Tuesday.

Tuks made first use of the pitch as opener Niel Brand hit a smashing 58 (46) that included 4 fours and 1 six. Ruben Hermann (38 off 41) also chipped in as the two laid the foundation for Tuks’ score of 147/6.

It still was not a massive target and if the Tuks bowlers were not on song, then the Madibaz could edge out a victory. This though was not the case as Ruben Trumplemann (3/24) and Corbin Bosch (2/9) has the Madibaz in Dire Straits at 7/5. The Madibaz could never truly recover from that collapse as they fell 36 runs short. Solomzi Nqweni with 51 off 48 and Vian Maritz with 46 off 49 though put on a brave fight with a 103 run partnership.  

Samsung Man of The Match: Niel Brand (Tuks)
FNB Best Batsman: Niel Brand (Tuks)
FNB Best Bowler: Ruben Trumplemann (Tuks)
Steers Best Catch: Donovon Ferreira (CUT)

Maties stroll past CUT with 7-wicket win
Maties made light work of CUT on Tuesday morning with a 7-wicket victory at the same Ibbies Oval where they tasted defeat yesterday against UJ.

The men from Stellenbosch were not resting on their laurels and knew that they needed to get a much needed first win of the competition.

CUT batted first but could only manage a score of 119 all out as Maties bowlers Kyle Simmonds (4/13) and Timothy Whitehead (3/17) put in some of the best bowling yet in this year’s tournament.

The star for Maties with the bat were Vezokuhle Mntungwa (49*), who just missed out on a half-century. He batted around the other big hitters in the team as Maties strolled to victory with 21 balls to spare. 

Samsung Man of The Match: Kyle Simmonds (Maties)
FNB Best Batsman: Vezokuhle Mntungwa (Maties)
FNB Best Bowler: Kyle Simmonds (Maties)
Steers Best Catch: Cheppo Ntuli (CUT)

UJ steam forward with big win against UWC
It was UJ all the way against UWC at Senwes Park when runs flowed from ball one in a thorough 61 run victory. UJ batted first and the impressive; Joshua Richards was once again on top form with a quick fire 77 from 49 balls. His knock from the opener’s spot included 8 fours and 2 sixes.  

Neels Bergh also hit a superb half century (55 off 33 balls) to set up a grand total of 190/6. UWC needed to be at their best with the bat, but they were in early trouble when Michael Mahlaba (3/19) and Andrew Rasemene (2/16) had them in tatters at 44/5. Some resistance from the experienced Jean Heunis (31 off 26) and Axola Ngwana (24 off 21) gave UWC a more respectable score of 129 all out. UJ have now stamped their authority in this year’s edition of Varsity Cricket and are beginning to look like dangerous opposition.

Samsung Man of The Match: Neels Bergh (UJ)
FNB Best Batsman: Joshua Richards (UJ)
FNB Best Bowler: Michael Mahlaba (UJ)
Steers Best Catch: Juan Landsberg (UJ)

Lees and Meier bowl UCT to big win against CUT
UCT’s bowlers tore apart the CUT batsman on Tuesday afternoon at the Puk-Oval with a majestic bowling display in a 56 run victory. CUT were dismissed for a paltry 97 in pursuit of UCT’s 153/9, mainly due to the guide of Matthew Lees (4/10) and Craig Meier (4/17). These two bowlers had a perfect day with the ball and match figures that they will treasure.

Earlier on Hlumelo Notoko hit an impressive 63 (43) as he anchored the UCT innings.

CUT’s best bowlers were Franklin Damons (3/32) and Phillip Visser (2/16) and they helped to restrict the opposition to 163/9, which in hindsight should have been a target that the CUT batsmen backed themselves on getting.

This was a much needed win for UCT and will give them a lot of confidence going into their clash with the champions, NWU on Wednesday.

Samsung Man of The Match: Hlumelo Nothoko (UCT)
FNB Best Batsman: Matthew Luus (UCT)
FNB Best Bowler: Hlumelo Nothoko (UCT)
Steers Best Catch: Nealan van Heerden (CUT)

NWU’s Van Wyngaardt bowls home side to victory against Tuks
In the first big clash of the titans, NWU took on Tuks at the Ibbies Oval in a mouthwatering contest which NWU deservedly won by 15 runs.

The man of the match was Jovaun van Wyngaardt who picked up figures of 3/14 in his four overs, and bowled brilliantly under pressure to wrestle the grip from the Tuks batsmen.

NWU batted first and put on 169/4 as Shane Dadswell’s half century (61 off 40) and contributions from Edrich Lubbe (22 off 17) and Van Wyngaardt (32 off 21) took the defending champions to a defendable total.

Tuks made solid start reaching 65/1 after 10 overs, but NWU never let the scoring go out of hand as Jovaun van Wyngaardt (3/14) in two overs and Ruan Haasbroek (0/23) in four overs bowled economically. Haasbroek also took and excellent catch at mid on to get rid of the dangerous Brand.

Tuks’ Ivan Kriek and Ruben Hermann upped the scoring rate after the strategy break going after Dyllan Matthews and Katle Leokaoke with a couple of big hits. Hermann was especially destructive as he hit Leokaoke for 24 in one over. Van Wyngaardt returned in the next over and clean bowled Kriek to get the much needed breakthrough.

It was Van Wyngaardt who was once again the star when he clean bowled the dangerous Hermann for 64 with a picture perfect Yorker. The delight on Van Wyngaardt’s face summed it up as he bowled a match winning over under pressure in the powerplay, conceding just four runs from his over.

Janneman Malan then pulled off a superb catch on the boundary as Tuks lost the wicket of Ruan de Swardt for 10.

NWU then went for the kill as the constant loss of wicket stopped Tuks victory charge as NWU remain unbeaten in this year’s competition.

Samsung Man of The Match: Jovaun van Wyngaardt (NWU)
FNB Best Batsman: Ruben Hermann (Tuks)
FNB Best Bowler: Jovaun van Wyngaardt (NWU)
Steers Best Catch: Janneman Malan (NWU)

Maties vs Madibaz – match drawn due to rain

By Wouter Pienaar