On the 20th of January 2019, Groot Drak hosted their great friends, West Coast Rollers at Pickstone Oval.
Looking to continue their unbeaten streak, Groot Drak took the field with loads of energy. Danie van der Nest (2/21 from 4) and Kudu Kotze (1/17 from 4) did the damage up front, with continued pressure from Conrad Harley (1/14 from 5) and Adrian Raisbeck (1/9 from 4) . Some good catching from the Drakies saw the Rollers struggling at drinks, having lost 5 wickets after 17 overs.
The spinners took over the attack after the break. Martin van der Merwe (0/25 from 7) and Wynand Grobler (2/6 from 2.2) kept things incredibly tidy and continued to hurt the opposition. Marco Bosman (2/42 from 6) and Jaco Swarts (1/10 from 2) took some valuable wickets as the innings was wrapped up, with the West Coast Rollers managing 138 all out.
A quick lunch saw Groot Drak begin the run chase with openers Jaco Swarts and Craig McNaught (33* from 37). Despite some good bowling from the visitors, a few chances went awry, allowing the home side to capitalise early on. Jaco retired after a blistering innings of 59 from just 37 balls, which earned him ‘man-of-the-match’. Hannes Langeveldt (TFC) came in at 3 and got a corker of a ball that removed his leg stump for a duck. Wynand Grobler didn’t need any sighters and blasted Groot Drak to victory with a quick-fire 36 from 17 balls. The second innings lasted 16.2 overs before the total was knocked over.
A post-match swim and beverage was in order after a boiling hot day of cricket. A few well-deserved fines were enjoyed in the shade, some good, some not so much. Even though the game ended a little one-sided, both teams played the game in a wonderful spririt and Groot Drak continue their unbeaten run in 2019.
Prior performances not forgotten
Happy Birthday Mr Chairman!
The challenge
The reply
Match report by Craig McNaught
