After a long and rainy winter, Saturday the 18th of September saw the beginning of Groot Drak’s cricket season. The annual President’s vs Chairman’s fixture kicked off on a sublime Spring day in the Boland. Claude Chantler captained the President’s side and won the toss. After much deliberation, the Chairman’s team was asked to bat first – an opportunity that was gratefully received!

Tim Whitfield and Colin Myburgh did an incredible job of opening the batting and both looked like they had been playing in the IPL during the off season. Tim was dismissed for a run-a-ball 27, while Colin smashed a destructive 51 from 40 before retiring.

Darren Pilz decided to slow the run rate with a 13 ball duck alongside club debutant, Justin Vellacott, who put on a solid 21 from 26.

Having to deal with some excellent swing bowling from Hugo Brink (23/1 from 4), Alan Sherratt nudged 29 valuable runs from 42 before being castled.

A brief cameo from Kudu Kotze (9 from 9) saw Craig McNaught (28* from 22) join Stephan Krige at the crease to face the death bowling. Stephan paced his innings fantastically and finished up with 30 not out from 35 deliveries.

Had it not been for tidy bowling performances from Andri le Roux (19/0 from 4), Dylan Dowell-Ellis (7/0 from 3) and Brendan van Zyl (18/1 from 4), the Chairman’s team would no doubt have amassed far more than their 223/5 after the allotted 35 overs.

A quick refreshment at the clubhouse and it was time to start the run chase.

Club debutant, Quintin van der Westhuizen, was tasked with facing the new ball with Christo la Grange (1 from 8). Christo fell early to a lovely in-swinger from Stephan Krige (9/2 from 4), who swiftly dislodged Brendan van Zyl (1 from 12) a few balls later.

Claude Chantler (0 from 5) was comically run out at the non-striker’s end without troubling the scorer, putting all sorts of pressure on Quintin and the rest of the President’s team.

Things didn’t improve a great deal from here, with Clive Webb (0 from 5), Dylan Dowell-Ellis (2 from 7) and Morne Maritz (4 from 4) getting out cheaply. Quintin van der Westhuizen was clearly batting on a different pitch, going past his 50 with relative ease.

Colin Myburgh (10/1 from 3) and Alan Sherratt (14/2 from 3) were unplayable and had to be removed from the bowling attack to allow some relief for the batters.

Andri le Roux offered some much-needed support at number 8, scoring 10 runs before an unbelievable one-handed catch from Darren Pilz behind the stumps exposed the tail.

Quintin managed to farm the strike and before anyone could blink, had scored an epic hundred. His impressive innings saw the bowlers carted all over the field from an array of classic cricket shots.

Hugo Brink, Francois Marais and Bruce Taylor (who defected in an attempt to get some batting in) could only manage 3 runs between them as the Presidents slumped to 133 all out, leaving Quintin van der Westhuizen stranded on 112* from 90 deliveries.

Despite the one-sided result, everyone enjoyed a fun-filled day of well-spirited cricket and camaraderie, with a few cold beverages thrown in for good measure.

Welcome to all the new members, who we look forward to seeing more of at Groot Drak. Here’s to what will no doubt be a wonderful 2021/2022 cricket season!

Match report by Craig McNaught

After the previous weekend’s fixture had been cancelled, the Groot Drak players were all chomping at the bit to get a game in before the end of the season. After a tight game against Somerset Oakes last year, everyone was anticipating another thrilling match up.

The Oakes were asked to bat first and Johannes got the visitors off to a great start while having to contend with some sharp bowling from openers Corrie Brand and Liam Carruthers. Corrie picked up 1 wicket (and as usual could have had several more) for 25 runs in his 7 overs, while Liam was even more economical than usual, taking two wickets for just 19 runs in his quota.

Morne Maritz (17/1 from 5) and Kudu Kotze (20/0 from 4) bowled in good areas and limited the runs in the middle overs. Johannes went to his 50, unnoticed by his team-mates, who apparently, only celebrate hundreds.

Resident spinners, Jaco Swarts and Bruce Taylor were introduced to allow some respite from the pace, but both caused problems for the batsmen. Jaco managed a wicket with his second ball and from there only went for 11 runs in 4 overs, while Bruce bought Groot Drak 3 wickets for 23 in his 3 overs.

Somerset Oakes lost their last two wickets to run outs, which meant the visitors would only post 116 runs all out.

Groot Drak sent in veteran openers, MC Uys and Jaco Swarts to start the run chase after a quick lunch break.
Jaco fell early for 5 after receiving a peach from Hendrik, while new member, James Basson could only manage 4 before lobbing one to mid-on.
MC stuck around and played well for his 28 from 27 before falling to a great diving catch from John Hartley.

Groot Drak were in a spot of bother when Darren Pilz and Craig McNaught decided to get stuck in with the bat.
Darren held on to his wicket resolutely, while Craig freed his arms and sent a few balls to the boundary. Both batters managed to remain not out, with Darren scoring 18* from 26 and Craig unbeaten on 57 from 42 before the final runs were scored in the 19th over.

In the end, a rather one-sided game, but one that was enjoyed by all. Both teams put away a few cold beverages at fines before saying goodbye to Groot Drak for what proved to be the last time for the season, with the Coronavirus putting a premature end to the club’s cricketing calendar.

Man of the match: Craig McNaught
TFC: James Basson/Kudu Kotze
Pacman: James Basson

Match report by Craig McNaught

On Saturday the 29th of February, Groot Drak were visited by the seniors from Surrey.
Kindly honouring the Groot Drak tradition of batting first on what looked like a great pitch, the Surrey lads padded up and got the game underway.

Craig McNaught (0/19 from 7) and Colin Myburgh (2/12 from 8) opened the bowling, both keeping the batsmen very quiet. Colin picked up both the openers for 3 a piece, putting immediate pressure on the visitors.

Newcomer, Brendan van Zyl picked up a wicket coming on first change for 21 from his 5 overs, while Matthew Tracey made his welcome return to the club and bowled 4 overs for 24. Handro Slabber toiled hard in his 5 overs – bowling well for 28 runs. Robbie Izzard (0/28 from 4) also joined in on the action, bowling some very tidy away swing in his spell.

Wickets were hard to come by in the middle overs, but Surrey had not yet experienced Groot Drak’s secret weapon, The Bruce.
While a touch expensive, Bruce Taylor (5/53 from 7) managed to deceive plenty of batters, snatching a five-for from the last ball of the innings, with a sharp stumping from keeper, Jono Boulton. It could easily have been 7 wickets, if a few more chances had been taken in the field, but this is friendly cricket after all.

Surrey had posted 193 for victory from their 40 over allotment.

A quick lunch break and Surrey were ready to salute the flag with the mandatory Brandy shot to lubricate the joints before taking the field once again.

A promising start from Colin Myburgh saw 3 balls from the first over get dispatched to the boundary, before missing a straight one, precipitating a top order collapse from Groot Drak, with Paul Higginbottom (6 from 8), Jono Boulton (8 from 22) and Darren Pilz (0 from 3) departing far too early in the game.

Matthew Tracey looked like he hadn’t in fact taken an 8 year break from cricket as he blitzed a very valuable 38 from 29 in an attempt to stabilize the innings somewhat. Craig McNaught joined him at the crease and was determined to not give his wicket away.

Morne Landman got bowled past the outside edge for a duck, bringing Bruce Taylor to the crease to join the skipper.
Bruce played an out-of-character innings, showing great restraint from the good balls and punishing the loose deliveries. Bruce scored a very well-played 30 from 36 before opposing skipper, Ken Mead (6/22), brought himself back in to the attack and trapped Bruce LBW. Ken would go on to wrap up the innings, claiming Rob Izzard, Brendan van Zyl and Handro Slabber for ducks, leaving Craig McNaught stranded on 56 not out at the other end.

Groot Drak were bowled out 31 runs short of victory in what could have been a much tighter game had there not been 5 ducks from the Drakies, as there were still 10 overs left in the innings! However, the bowling from Surrey was just too good!

Both teams enjoyed a quick beer on the pitch before retiring to the clubhouse for some highly entertaining fines. After a lovely quintessential South African braai, the captains shared a last word of thanks, a few glasses of wine and some memorabilia to close out what was a hugely enjoyable day for all involved.

We look forward to hosting the wonderful men (and ladies!) from Surrey again in the very near future!

Man of the Match: Bruce Taylor (Groot Drak), Ken Mead (Surrey Over 50s)
TFC: Morne Landman

Match report by Craig McNaught