Groot Draks’ unbeaten run finally came to an end against the spirited Kai Tank touring side from Hong Kong. They had their heads in the clouds after their victory against Cape Town Cricket Club and the pilots were determined to make it two tour victories in a row.
To honour the Groot Drak tradition, Kai Tak batted first and were soon on the ropes at 40/5. Our opening bowlers Colin Myburgh (3/18) and Corrie Brand (1/26) did an exceptional job. Just before the drinks break, Craig McNaught (1/1) bowled one magical over to send the tourists further into disarray. To ensure a proper game, skipper Jono Boulton took the foot off the proverbial jugular and brought some slower bowlers on. A South African, an Englishman and a Kiwi might sound like an intro to a bad joke, but after a while, none of the Groot Drak players were laughing anymore… Kai Tak’s SA-born captain, JP Du Plessis (56) and Matts Parkinson (35) steadied the ship. It was unfortunate that Kiwi Jeff Maw (44*) would end up short of a well-deserved 50 as the innings came to a close at 212 after 40 overs.
Groot Drak, who bat fairly deep were confident and always thought the total was a achievable. Unfortunately, none of the usual suspects ended up in the runs. This was due to really good pin-point bowling aided by late Kai Tak swing bowling. Colin Myburg (77) tried his best but eventually ran out of batting partners with Groot Drak falling short by 37 runs. Gus Simmers(24) and Jannes Mouton (20) got starts, but could not convert to a match-winning batting display. JP Du Plessis (who was only not given the man of the match award because he received it in their previous game) also ended up shining with the the ball with figures of 3/26.
Where we lacked in performance, Groot Drak made up for at fines…. We will be back to slay another day…
Kai Tak honouring tradition and saluting the flag
Kai Tak’s Batting Card
Groot Drak’s Batting Card
Match report by Conrad Harley
