The 2016 Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals will be taking place in Sri Lanka, where it all began five years ago. After more than 250 universities fought it out to be the best university in their country, the top 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 in the fifth edition of this tournament.
These Universities will be:
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 be taking place from 5-7 September in Colombo and the semi-finals and finals will be taking place in Galle on 10 and 11 September, respectively. The fixtures will only be determined the day before the tournament begins, when Red Bull host a uniquely Sri-Lankan draw ceremony.
The teams will be playing their matches at international grounds in both Colombo and Galle, namely Sinhalese Sports Club Ground and the Galle International Cricket Stadium.
Tuks qualified for the tournament having retained their Varsity Cricket title in January, after defeating UWC in the final in Potchefstroom.
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.”
Tuks squad:
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 a third time and we are looking forward to defending our title a third time. 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 have been a part of 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 SA A team in various series. Also, players like Aiden Markram, Ruben Claassen, Heinrich Klaasen, Corbin Bosch and Lungi Ngidi, who have been part of these tournaments, have gone on to play franchise cricket for the Multiply Titans.
One of the players who have been involved in both the 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.
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