Wednesday the 5th of Feb saw the club in action against The Southern Cavaliers – a touring team all the way from Washington DC. Fielding a midweek team can be challenging, especially in harvest time, so it was a good opportunity to get some new faces on the pitch. Debutant member, Hadro Slabber, did well and we were grateful to 1st Class Cricketer and Maties coach, Ryan Bailey, for helping us out as well. After having our traditions explained, the tourists padded up and Groot Drak took to the field. We were very quickly aware of the fact that these lads travelling 12,705 km meant business! All their batsmen contributed, but the feisty Kushal Reddy hit a classy 68 off 61 and veteran Keeper Harry Low finished off their innings with an impressive switch hit for 4 off the last ball taking the visitors to 239.The pick of Groot Drak’s bowling was Claudia Chandler who took 1 wicket in his 7 overs going for just 20 runs.

Everyone’s fielding and catching was actually faultless and mentions deserve to go to Darren Pilz whose efforts saved countless runs and Craig McNaught’s 3 great catches in the outfield.

After a little top order jitter that had whites being put back on quicker than was expected, Groot Drak’s batting settled down nicely. Solid contributions by Jaco Swarts 39 off 35, Ryan Bailey 33 off 22, Jono Boulton 37 off 46 and Jannes Mouton 48 from 53 had the total column looking good but overs left to reach the target not pleasing on the eye at all! With the required run rate creeping up all the time, the skipper, Craig McNaught (45 not out), headed out needing around 10 an over. Some brutal boundaries coupled with some clever strategic running between the wickets to keep the strike saw him hit the winning runs with just on ball to go – as they say, you cant write that stuff!

Fines as always was a hoot, the roast lamb at dinner made even better accompanied by several gasses of Stony Brook wine, and aching bodies and heads the following day signalling yet another hugely successful day of cricket at Groot Drak!

Match report by Jono Boulton

Always a highly-anticipated fixture for Groot Drak is the occasional visit by the Forty Club from the UK.
After the visitors were stuck on the N1 for over 2 hours, the game’s start was delayed by an hour. Mercifully, the game was also reduced to 35 overs from the intended 40, which was a blessing because of the scorching heat!

The Forty Club were asked to bat first and against a rare new-ball combo of Craig McNaught and Jacques Viljoen.
Craig picked up two wickets for 13 runs from 5 overs, while Jacques was forced to bowl his quota, finishing with 1 wicket for 47 runs from his 7.

Ian Rippongal was dropped on 0, which proved costly as he went on to score 79 from 71 before being bowled by Claude Chantler, who claimed 2 wickets for 27 from his 7 over spell.

Angus Simmers kept things very tidy with his offies, going for 23 from his 6 overs, while debutants Darren Pilz (1 for 24 from 2) and Paul Hogginbottom (0 for 29 from 2) tried to wash off the rust while donating some big runs.

Groot Drak’s secret weapon, Bruce Taylor, was saved for the end of the innings and bowled a really impressive 6 over spell, claiming 3 wickets for just 22 runs – without a doubt the pick of the bowlers.

The Forty Club managed 4 ducks in their innings, but still got to a competitive total of 188 for 9 from their 35 over allotment.

After a quick gourment roll and some hydration, our guests saluted the flag and headed out to bowl.

Christo la Grange and Angus Simmers were tasked with opening the batting for Groot Drak and were resolute in their defense, handling the new ball with aplomb. Both batters timed their innings to perfection and took the Drakies to the first drinks break without losing a wicket. Christo managed 41 from 39 before being stumped just short of his first 50, while Angus retired on 50 from 63, bringing Bruce Taylor and Shayne Ayford to the crease.

Shayne smahsed a quick 20 from 16, followed by Darren Pilz and Claude Chantler who were both dismissed quickly.

Paul Hogginbottom only had to face one ball to knock off the winning runs, leaving Bruce Taylor, who batted brilliantly, stranded on 47 at the non-striker’s end. Bruce did more than enough to earn himself ‘Man-of-the-match’ for Groot Drak.

A particularly humourous fines meeting was enjoyed after a dip in the pool, before both teams donned their dinner gear and enjoyed a lovely lamb on the spit with some red wine. Some wonderful memories and friends were made before having to say goodbye to the Forties, while wishing them well on the rest of their tour.

We hope to see them back very, very soon!

Match report by Craig McNaught

On Sunday, Groot Drak traveled to the Constantia, where we were hosted fantastically by the Gents from Claremont.

Looking to turn around 2 consecutive losses to the Gents in as many years, Groot Drak were hungry to make amends.
With a little moisture around, the natural choice when winning the toss was to bat. With virtually no experience in the coin-toss department, Groot Drak lost the toss and were asked to bowl first.

Corrie Brand (0/39 from 7) opened the bowling and had his usual run of bad luck, having a simple chance dropped at gully off his bowling, while Andri le Roux at the other end did a great job of keeping things tidy while also picking up two wickets – bowling 6 overs for just 15 runs.

Kudu Kotze (1/27 from 5) and Morne Maritz (0/18 from 3) were a touch expensive, but toiled hard on a flat wicket that was perfect for batting – something that the home team capitalized on very well.

Resident spinners, Bruce Taylor and Claude Chantler bowled their 7-over quotas on the trot, with Bruce nabbing 3 scalps (including a great reactionary caught-and-bowled) for 49 and Claude just the one wicket for 43.

The innings drew to a close with Groot Drak requiring 190 for victory from their 35 overs. At half time it looked very doable on a great batting track.

Without their regular opening batsmen, Kudu Kotze and Herman Fourie were tasked with seeing the shine off the new ball. Herman was desperately unlucky, smashing a cover-drive straight to a fielder who took a blinder, bringing Morne Maritz to the crease at number 3.

Morne (20 from 19) and Kudu (41 from 60) batted well, before a middle order collapse exposed the tail far too early in the innings.

Corrie Brand (26 from 27) was aggressive, hitting the only six of the day on a very big field.

Jono Boulton (26 not out from 27) and Claude Chantler (18 from 13) battled valiantly to get Groot Drak close, but at the end of the day the runs were too many and the wickets too frequent, as Groot Drak suffered their third consecutive defeat at the hands of Claremont Gents.

The loss, however, was insignificant as both teams shared a cold beverage and soaked in the beautiful scenery at the Clubhouse, while dishing out a few thoroughly-deserved fines.

Thanks to Richard Gill and Claremont Gents for their superb hospitality, a wonderful day of cricket and lots of good laughs. We look forward to seeing you all again very soon!

Match report by Craig McNaught.

On the Boland’s hottest day of 2020 so far, Groot Drak hosted the guys from Rondebosch Pumas in what promised to be an epic encounter.

The Pumas were asked to bat first, while the Drakies triple-dosed themselves in sunscreen and took the field. Mixing things up a bit, Morne Maritz and Claude Chantler opened the bowling for the home side with a double-pronged seam attack. Claude struck early, claiming two wickets for 37 from 4, while Morne (0/26 from 5) kept things tidy at the other end and was unlucky not to pick up a wicket.

Even though there is always an element of risk when bringing on a spinner first change, Bruce Taylor started off with a maiden and then claimed the vital wicket of Garth in his second over. From there he took some punishment, finishing up with figures of 1/47 from 6 overs.

Groot Drak were in trouble at tea, having only taken 3 wickets, with the visitors starting to fire on all cylinders, finding the boundary with alarming regularity.

Danie van der Nest (0/47 from 7) joined the attack and started well, having a few chances dropped off his bowling. Not what you want as a fast bowler when you bowl seven on the trot under the scorching African Sun.

Jannes Mouton was without a doubt the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets for just 21 runs in his seven overs, bringing Groot Drak firmly back in to the game as the Pumas surpassed the 200 run mark.

With plenty of work still to be done, Corrie Brand (2/35 from 5) was thrown the ball, coming on as a very unusual sixth bowling choice. He toiled hard and took two important wickets, but went for seven per over as the visitors piled on the runs.

Feeling that the Pumas needed even more runs, Craig McNaught brought himself on to bowl for the last over, which went for 13.

The side from Rondebosch would have been very happy with their effort as they went in to the break after a brilliantly paced innings of 230 for the loss of 8 wickets. A big total, requiring just more than 6.5 an over from the start!

After a quick cool-down in the pool, MC Uys and Charl Ackermann were asked to open the batting and started the run chase.

Being tasked with seeing the shine off the ball, both openers did extremely well, with Charl, while only scoring 7, saw off a vital 25 deliveries. MC at the other end took no prisoners and blasted an impressive 46 off 32, receiving a spectacular in-swinging Yorker to be dismissed just 4 short of what would have been a well-deserved 50.

A mini-collapse precipitated by Sean Petzer’s golden duck and Claude Chantler’s 3 from 5, had Groot Drak in all sorts of trouble at 50 for 4 just before drinks. Certainly not the start that the home side was hoping for.

It was time for the middle-order to show some mettle. Craig McNaught (28 from 29) and Jono Boulton fought hard and put on a solid 5th wicket partnership to steady the ship somewhat before the skipper was bowled through the gate.

Morne Maritz came in at 7 and wasted absolutely no time, making his intentions clear by smashing 47 from just 31 in a great display of hitting that included 4 sixes! [See the video below] Another unlucky batter to fall just short of 50, but an innings that played a massive role in getting Groot Drak a little closer to victory.

With Jono Boulton still at the crease, Corrie Brand picked up where Morne left off, dispatching each of the remaining bowlers to all corners. Corrie blasted 31* from 12, while Jono was left stranded as the third batter to narrowly miss out on 50 – scoring a stalwart-like and unbeaten 46 from 64 deliveries.

On paper, the victory looked fairly comfortable with 3 overs remaining, but the scorecard doesn’t necessarily tell the full story, as both teams sweated (literally) until the final runs were scored.

A wonderful game of cricket, with more than 460 runs scored on the day, was brought to a close with another splash in the pool and a brief fines meeting, before saying goodbye to our friends from Cape Town. We thoroughly look forward to a rematch at the Pumas’ new home ground in Rondebosch in the latter half of 2020!

Match report by Craig McNaught