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18 January 2018 Photo Free State Cricket.
Kovsie cricketer, Raynard van Tonder, impresses at U19 World Cup
Raynard van Tonder, captain of the South African under-19 cricket team, is a BSocSci student at the University of the Free State. Izel Cilliers, a BCom student at the UFS, was included in the women’s squad of Cricket South Africa’s national academy programme.
Raynard van Tonder, captain of the South African under-19 cricket team, has had an excellent start to the U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.

The Kovsie student smashed 143 runs in his team’s 169-run victory over Kenya in the teams’ first outing in the tournament on 14 January 2018.

Player of the match

Van Tonder’s century came from just 121 deliveries and earned him the player of the match award.

With that, the 19-year old recorded the third-highest score ever by a South African in under-19 one-day internationals, matching AB de Villiers’ 143 he made back in 2003.

The South African youngsters will next be in action on Wednesday 17 January 2018 when the team faces the defending champions, the West Indies.

Van Tonder, who is studying for a BSocSci at the University of the Free State (UFS), is going places with his cricket. Last year he played in 19 international fixtures in which he scored six 50s and one century – a brilliant 131 not out against the Windies.

He had already made his first-class debut whilst still in matric in Grey College in 2016.

Member of Cricket SA academy programme

He scored 22 and 39 not out in his first-class debut and scored an impressive 63 in his very first A-list match.

On 15 January 2018, Van Tonder was named as a member of the national academy programme of Cricket South Africa.

Izel Cilliers, a BCom Kovsie student, was included in the women’s squad.

The programme runs from 21 May until 27 July 2018 and aims to prepare young players for the demands of professional cricket.

News Archive

UFS first to mechanise agricultural technique
2006-05-09

    

Small farmers from Thaba `Nchu were the biggest group attending the farmers day at the UFS Paradys experimental farm.  From the left are Mr David Motlhale (a small farmer from Thaba 'Nchu), Prof Leon van Rensburg (lecturer at the UFS Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences and project leader), Mr Nhlonipho Nhlabatsi (Agricultural Research Council, Glen), Ms Meisie Mthethwa (small farmer from Bloemspruit).  In front is Mr Patrick Molatodi (chairperson of the Tswelopele Small Farmer Association).
 

 

Some of the participants of the farmers day at the UFS Paradys experimental farm were from the left Prof Leon van Rensburg (lecturer at the UFS Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences and project leader, Mr Patrick Molatodi (chairperson of the Tswelopele Small Farmers Association) and Prof Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean: UFS Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences).

UFS first tertiary institution in world to mechanise agricultural technique
The University of the Free State (UFS) is the first tertiary institution in the world to mechanise the in-field rain water harvesting technique on a commercial scale.

The technique was recently demonstrated to about 100 small farmers at the UFS Paradys experimental farm outside Bloemfontein. 

“With this technique rain water is channeled to the plant and in this way food security is increased.  The advantage of the technique for commercial farmers lies in the reduced cultivation of land.  Small farmers will benefit from this because they can now move out into the fields and away from farming in their back yards,” says Prof Leon van Rensburg, lecturer at the UFS Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences and project leader.    

Rain water harvesting is an antique concept that was used by communities before the birth of Christ.  In South Africa the technique is mainly used in the plots of small farmers where they make surface structures by hand. 

"The technique is also used for the first time by the UFS on commercial scale by means of the cultivation of a summer crop on 100 ha at the Paradys experimental farm,” says Prof Leon van Rensburg,

Of the farmers who attended the farmers day most represented about 42 rural communities in the vicinity of Thaba ‘Nchu.  A group of seven from KwaZulu-Natal also attended the proceedings.  These small farmers can for example apply this technique successfully on the 250-300 ha communal land that is available in the Thaba ‘Nchu area. 

The project is funded by the UFS and the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the farmers’ day was funded by the Water Research Commission.   

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
9 May 2006

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