John Faure Six-A-Side Tournament – 03 February 2019

Groot Drakenstein Games Club, hosted their annual ‘John Faure’ Six-A-Side cricket tournament on Sunday the 3rd of February. The heavy rains that fell during the day only delayed the start by 20 minutes and did little to dull the excitement of the eight teams that were invited to play. Some top-notch cricketers turned up, including a celebrity team consisting of international sporting legends; Allan Donald, Nantie Hawyard, Louis Koen, Aubrey Martyn, Frikkie Welsh and Luther Bakkes, captained by Groot Drak stalwart, Pierre Fourie. With plenty of craft beer and mouth-watering food being sold throughout the day, the spectators and players that arrived were treated to some great cricket and a wonderful atmosphere at the ground.

Two very tight pools saw several teams being separated only by the number of sixes hit and wickets lost. The plate final was played between the Celebrity Invitational Team and Coronation Cricket Club, with Coronation snatching third place overall, winning a hamper of fabulous local wines and beers.

The grand final was played in bright sunshine between Maties and Durbanville, with Maties pulling off a comfortable victory in the end – claiming the title and a massive hamper of spoils!

Individual prizes went to JT Schoeman from Durbanville for ‘Best Catch’, Nicholas Scholtz from Maties for ‘Biggest Six’, Richard Lackay from Coronation for ‘Best Bowler’, Fritz de Beer from Maties for ‘Best Batsman’ (scoring an unbeaten 127 over the course of the day) and Jaco Castle from Durbanville for ‘Best All-Rounder’. Western Province CC deservedly walked away with the prize for ‘Most Gees’ after bringing along a bus-load of eager supporters to cheer and support the club’s bar!

The day ended up a massively successful one for Grook Drak, with plenty to build on for next year’s tournament. Here’s hoping for better weather and an even better turn-out in 2020! Huge thanks to all the sponsors, without whom the day would not have been possible.