‘WE have made Addison Park a fortress and we need to keep it that way.
‘Visiting teams must be fearful of the prospect when they journey here to take us on in our sweltering conditions.’
With those aggressive sentiments, RH Construction uThungulu cricket manager Bryan van Aswegen brought down the curtain at the end of a fantastic season for the local outfit.
Unbeaten at home all season, uThungulu were denied the opportunity to keep that unblemished record when persistent rain saw the Castle Premier League called off on Sunday without a ball being bowled.
uThungulu thus ended joint second on the log, despite having lost one game fewer than top of the table Crusaders.
Three rained-out matches over the course of the 2015/16 season were all that stood in the way of uThungulu claiming top spot, but it was far and away their best finish to date in the 50-over format competition.
‘Even though we did not always play to our full potential – our pace attack and some senior batsmen could have done better – we were more than a handful for every team we faced,’ said Van Aswegen.
‘Next year we can go one better and win this league; we have the ability and character to do so.’
At a celebratory braai on Sunday when he paid tribute to the main and supporting sponsors, the manager also announced the players of the season.
Simon Savides was far and away the best with the bat, amassing 455 runs at a superb average of 41.36.
Stephan Joubert scored 346 at 23.06 average, while Eugene Zwart totalled 270 at 22.5 average.
Joubert proved his all-round credentials by heading the bowling stats with 33 wickets at an average of 10.9 runs per wicket and 2.69 runs per over.
Fellow spinner Chad Neuhoff, who was also voted the Players’ Player of the Season, took 25 wickets at 14.96 average and 3.52 runs per over.
Ruan van Rensburg fared next best with 11 scalps at a cost of 16.36 each and 3.01 runs per over.
