Chairman’s Corner
Many congratulations to the Maties 1st XI on winning the Boland Premier League 50 over competition on Sunday with three matches still to be played. Well done guys!
Congratulations and thanks to Andrew and all the coaching and support staff on a wonderful effort; the team really performed exceptionally well in this competition.
To all the players who played for the Maties 1st XI this season, many thanks – it was a fantastic team effort.
A huge thanks must also go to Thys Carstens and the ground staff; our cricket fields have been looking exceptional and I much appreciate all the effort that has gone into preparing the fields on a daily basis.
Thanks also to our loyal sponsor, Steinhoff International, for their support again this year. Without such support it is difficult to achieve success consistently year in and year out.
Finally, I would like to wish Leenert van Wyk all the best for his cricketing career at the Knights; Leenert has been a loyal member and servant of this Club; a good example of what a Matie cricketer should be – on and off the field. We all wish him just the best for the future. I trust that Leenert will look back at his time at Stellenbosch with very fond memories. We shall miss him a lot!.
To all the players; thanks all for a wonderful season so far.
Coach’s Corner
Steinhoff Maties at the Momentum Club Championships
The Steinhoff Maties cricket squad have recently returned from a very challenging yet successful Momentum club Championships in Pretoria.
The Steinhoff Maties squad last year’s finalists had been drawn in a very difficult Pool alongside 2012 Winners Tukkies and this year’s favourites Old Edwardians from Gauteng who boasted a host of Franchise and 1st class players.
The week started off on a high note against SWD’s Champions Union Stars as Steinhoff Maties raced to a 10 wicket Bonus point win thanks to the fine bowling spell of 6/48 of D Botha and 50’s from Openers Van Heerden and Van Vuuren. The 2nd match against Old Edwardians proved to be a very well contested affair as Maties went down by 39 runs with the Class of Ex protea Neil Mackenzie (82) proving to be the difference in two closely matched teams
The 3rd match was a big showdown with the Champions from Western Province, Western Province Cricket Club and Maties played some organised cricket with van Vuuren (69) and Captain Emile Kriek (63) helping to set a target of 224. The veteran Faan Fourie bowled with precision to pick up 4/29 to leave the WPCC 107 runs short and hand the Maties a another big bonus point win.
The 4th Match was must win encounter with the much favoured Tukkies outfit, and the Maties batting line up at one stage on 170/3 with Birkenstock (48) and Kriek (50) looked set to post a very challenging total but a middle order collapse limited the total to a modest 207/9. The early loss of fast bowler Fourie to a knee ligament injury proved crucial in defending the total as Maties fought bravely and with passion despite a critical umpiring decision and took the game into a nerve wracking 2nd last over which Tuks won by 4 wickets.
The last day against Crusaders enabled the side to finish off on a high with a very comprehensive 4 wicket win against the Champions from KZN with Birkenstock (74*) and Botha (42*) seeing their team home with 4 overs to spare chasing 215.
The week thus proved to be a very successful week despite the tight loss to eventual Tournament Winners Tuks and the strong Gauteng side Old Ed’s, where the Maties squad played excellent cricket and competed brilliantly throughout. This will prove to be a very important tour for this relatively young squad as they look to grow from strength to strength.
A special thanks to all the players at the club who have helped make this season such a successful one, your commitment and work ethic at training throughout the year has been commendable and the rewards have proved worthwhile. I certainly look forward to the Pre -season starting early July and trust that you will all have a good break.
To Warren, Leon and Faan the coaching staff thank you for your time and most of all passion towards what we as a club are striving for, your leadership during the season has been remarkable.
To Mr Sidney van Heerden , Andre Du Toit and our proud sponsors Steinhoff thank you for your management and support that has contributed towards the Club’s success.
Andrew Wylie
Head Coach Steinhoff Maties Cricket
