There are few sounds in life as sweet as that of a wicket being uprooted, or that of a bat bludgeoning a ball to the boundary. Cricket is a sport that thrills and enthrals in equal measures, and one the North-West University (NWU) excels at.

On Saturday, 11 May, North West Cricket held its annual awards ceremony and the NWU Eagles occupied the podium crease.

The NWU Eagles’ team from the Mahikeng Campus was honoured as First League team winners, as was the Eagles team from the Potchefstroom Campus, who won both the Premier A League and the Premier A T20 League.

Brady Barends was named Premier League Coach of the Season, and Conrad de Swardt the Best Club Administrator.

Conrad van Dyk was named Bowler of the Year, Marno Erasmus was Batter of the Year and Stef Nel was acknowledged as the Player of the Year. Taheer Isaacs was named Academy Player and Batter of the Year, with Lutando Tsanwani the Academy Bowler of the Year. All these players hail from the NWU Cricket Club Potchefstroom Campus.

The NWU also received a special award for its involvement as a crucial stakeholder and partner of North West Cricket.

Cricket South Africa’s head of Cricket Pathways, Edward Khoza, congratulated the NWU as a key stakeholder of and for their support of North West Cricket, saying that cricket in the province cannot function at the level that it does without the support of the NWU.

Prof Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the NWU, reaffirmed the university’s commitment to helping grow the sport in the province: “Sport is one of the most unifying factors in our country, and cricket is a cornerstone of our national and international success. The North-West University is proud of its association with North West Cricket, and we look forward to strengthening this partnership that has resulted in innumerable achievements that have uplifted and enriched the lives of cricketers in our province.”

Conrad de Swardt, cricket manager and coach at the NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus, said: “I am very pleased with the achievements of the club in the past season. The players worked hard and showed clubs around the country that NWU Cricket is a force to be reckoned with. I wish to thank the players and the coaching staff for their dedication. We also made the finals of the USSA Cricket Tournament and the the CSA Cricket Club Championships, and the semi-final of the Northern Provinces Super League. We now need to focus on winning trophies and producing players for the NW Dragons.”