The moment that the NWU-Pukke Varsity Cricket captain, Wihan Lubbe, hoisted the Red Bull Campus Cricket trophy alongside his jubilant Pukke boys, a sense of relief, achievement and raw emotion enveloped him.

The immensely talented and gifted Varsity Cricket champion team of the NWU-Pukke put on their national colours in Sri Lanka and went on a   five-game unbeaten run to take home the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals Trophy after a 7-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the final on Saturday, 16 September.

‘I am still emotional after the win. It is difficult to put into words, especially as it was my last T20 game for NWU-Pukke. The win is just a culmination of hard work through the years that has finally paid off and that makes the victory so special,’ said an ecstatic Lubbe.

The Pukke Boys may have looked different in the yellow and green Red Bull Campus Cricket kit but there was nothing different about their performance and they exceeded all expectations on the international stage.

2017 has been immense for this Pukke unit whose grit,   determination, professionalism and class were on full display like never before. The Varsity Cricket champions kicked it into a higher gear in Sri Lanka as Conrad de Swardt’s boys delivered with crushing victories over Australia (6 wickets), India (72 runs) and Pakistan (76 runs) in the group stage.

They followed that up with victories over Bangladesh (7 wickets) in the semi-final and Sri Lanka in the final to complete a clean sweep over all the sub-continent nations.

In fact, Pukke seemed at home in Sri Lanka as they set the tone for victories through a combination of tight fast bowling, aggressive spin bowling and excellent fielding as they kept a stranglehold on opposition batsmen. The batsmen, themselves, excelled whenever they     were called upon, with captain Wihan Lubbe and Janneman Malan setting the tone with numerous 50-run opening partnerships.

Photos: Wouter Pienaar

It was no surprise that Malan was named the player of the tournament for his 259 runs at the top of the order, with an average of 129.5. His half-centuries against Australia in the opening match and in the semi-finals and final were crucial and showed his temperament for the big stage.

Dyllan Matthews took the leading wicket-taker award for his 12 wickets at a miserly economy rate with his leg spin that     caused havoc on the dusty Sri Lankan pitches.

What made the Pukke’s effort even more special was the immense team dynamic and spirit as everyone played their part in the victory. Julian Soutter, for example, took home the man of the match honours in the final for his 3/16, while young gun, Ruan Haasbroek hit an impressive 46* against India to take    home the man of the match honours. JP le Roux also gets a mention for his 6 wickets in the tournament with a best of 4/18 against Pakistan.

‘The team spirit was a big contributing factor in our win. The individual performances at key moments were also very satisfying and we played good cricket throughout the week. Every player did their part with bat or ball and everything subsequently fell into place.’ Lubbe added.