Things didn’t look good on Sunday morning, with dark storm clouds moving in from the North. Both teams drove to the ground in the rain, hoping that the sun would make an appearance at some point.

While the start was delayed by more than an hour, the covers eventually came off and Groot Drak elected to bat on a surprisingly dryish pitch against first-time opponents, Green Point Gullies.

Having pretty much cemented their opening spots, Quintin van der Westhuizen and Rikus Walters faced the new ball, but struggled with timing early on. Quintin nicked off for 14 from 19, finally giving Bruce Taylor a rare batting opportunity at number 3. Just three overs in and the rain came down again, forcing the covers back on to the field and 22 men in to the bar.

After losing another 45 minutes to the rain, the covers came off again and the game was reduced to 30 overs a side.

Bruce managed a run-a-ball 10 before being gunned LBW, brining Herman Fourie to the crease. Herman was also given out LBW for 4, exposing the middle order very early on as Claude Chantler made his way out to face the music.

Producing a solid knock of 36 from 48, Rikus was caught out after a mistimed pull shot to square leg.

Craig McNaught joined Claude at the crease to try and stabilise the innings, with Groot Drak on around 60/4 after 16 overs. Claude was seeing the ball big, and smashed 3 big sixes in his innings, bringing up a well-deserved fifty for his efforts. Craig also got stuck in, as the two put on a partnership close on 100 runs at roughly 8.5 an over – ensuring that there would be a defendable total on the board at half time.

Claude was eventually caught on the long-on boundary for a world-class 64 from 47 deliveries, bringing the ever-dangerous Tim Whitfield out to bat.

Tim got on with things immediately, bludgeoning 24 not out from just 9 balls as Craig (52* from 37) just got to his fifty just before the end of the innings.

With Groot Drak posting 218/5 from their 30 overs, the boys were fairly chuffed with their efforts, considering that we had talked about 170 likely being tough to chase, given the conditions.

A shortened lunch interval saw both teams back on the field, ready for the run chase in no time.

Morne Maritz (1/12 from 4) opened the bowling and landed a series of unplayable deliveries in his spell. Joubert Kotze opened with Morne and produced a stunning yorker with his first delivery after many months at sea, uprooting the woodwork and finding himself back on the deck.

Joubert had to be removed from the attack as he took down 4 Gullies batters for just 6 runs in a remarkable spell of quick bowling.

Having been overlooked as a bowler for the past season, Mike Devine was finally given the opportunity to land a few offies. Mike found the edge twice and was rewarded with figures of 2/11 from 4 overs.

Hugo Brink (2/21 from 4) also joined the attack and, once the radar started to work, he had two good catches taken from his bowling, seeing off the last of the Gullies batters in the 16th over – just after they had celebrated their team half century.

Despite the rather one-sided affair, everyone was just pleased that the weather had allowed a game of cricket to take place. Fines were dished out in their usual fashion as a healthy dose of left-handed beverages were consumed, while we all thoroughly enjoyed the company of our new friends from Green Point.

Good luck to the Gullies for the rest of their season and congrats to Joubert Kotze on his man of the match performance with the ball.

Match report by Craig McNaught.

Although we had never played against the Somerset College Old Boys before, we had met a few of the lads when we squared off against Elgin earlier in the season. Everyone was amped for not only some good cricket, but also the exceptional company that we knew would be on offer.

After a quick chat on the pitch, the captains agreed that Groot Drak should bat first, with some serious fire power in their top-and-middle-order.

Quintin van der Westhuizen and Rikus Walters got things underway, putting on a solid opening partnership of 64, before Quintin (45 from 29) was castled for his fifth 40-something score in a row, after bludgeoning 9 boundaries. Rikus too, fell just a few runs short of a half-century with a solid knock of 41 from 36.

Starting his innings slowly, Cassie Carstens accelerated after getting his eye in, with support from Alan Sherratt at the other end after drinks. Alan smashed a quick 40 from 20, including 3 sixes and 3 fours before finding the hands of backward square on the pull.

Next in was Claude Chantler, who could only manage 2 runs from 5 deliveries, making way for Tim Whitfield at number 6.

Cassie and Tim went after the bowling in spectacular fashion, with Cassie notching up his first 50 for Groot Drak and showing no signs of slowing down. It only took 26 more deliveries for him to convert his 50 into a century – retiring after an epic knock of 100 runs from 64 balls.

Craig McNaught (13 not out from 18) joined Tim in the middle, as Tim smashed his way to yet another half ton, bringing the Groot Drak innings to a close with a superb 63 not out from just 32 deliveries, continuing his rich vein of form.

The home side had amassed a mammoth total of 340/4 after their 35 overs.

After a short break for lunch, Johann Agenbag and Bruce Taylor opened with an unconventional pairing of seam and leg-spin bowling.

Johann (0/52 from 7) toiled hard from the top but couldn’t manage a breakthrough, while Bruce took 2 overs to find his line and length.

The College boys started exceptionally well, as Allister and Rob put on a very healthy opening stand of 60 before Allister helped himself to one too many pies, becoming Bruce’s first victim for the day.

Bruce turned one into two, picking up Andre for a duck in his next over and ending his seven over spell with 2 wickets for 37.

While the openers took a well-deserved breather after bowling their quota on the trot, relief arrived in the form of Hugo Brink and Angus Simmers as the first-change bowlers.

Struggling to control the prodigious swing, Hugo’s first three overs went for 31 runs. Angus’s ‘offies’ from the other end caused several headaches for the batters as he created a multitude of chances early on, having two simple catches dropped off his bowling. Undeterred, Gussie soldiered on and picked up 3 wickets for 35 in his 7 overs, while Hugo got the radar working and only conceded 12 more runs in 4 overs, ending with figures of 0/43.

A brilliant throw by Cassie from the boundary saw a rare run-out for Groot Drak, as the opposition slumped to 153 for 6 after 28 overs.

Craig McNaught and Claude Chantler (0/7 from 3) turned their arms over at the death, with Craig picking up 3 wickets for 11 in his four overs and having no fewer than three catches dropped in the process.

Somerset College Old Boys were bowled out for 171, but the result was neither here nor there, as the spirit on the field was, without a doubt, the winner on the day.

The incredibly-prepared pitch was honoured with a frosty beverage, having provided us with more than 500 runs. Some hard-earned fines were dished out while we thoroughly enjoyed the company of our new friends from Somerset West.

We look forward to the next time we get to share the field with this bunch, who taught us that “cricket is life”!

Match Report by Craig McNaught
Player of the match: Cassie Carstens

We hadn’t seen our friends from Somerset West in a few years, so after a quick pitch assessment, Bobby and the Oakes were offered the chance to bat, with some gloomy overhead conditions in the morning.

Hugo Brink and Stephan Krige took the new ball and bowled two very different opening spells. Stephan (0/27 from 7) had the ball on a string, landing it in a good area and beating the bat delivery after delivery – this meant that he would bowl his entire quota of overs on the trot. From the other end, Hugo struggled to control the prodigious movement in the air, which saw him leak multiple wides before being given a rest.

Craig McNaught (1/11 from 4) managed to take the first wicket and kept the batters reasonably quiet, before making way for Tim Whitfield, joined by Bruce Taylor.

Tim (2/9 from 2) and Bruce (3/7 from 3) bowled ridiculously well, with Bruce nabbing 3 wickets in his first over, which should have been 4 had it not been for a simple dropped chance at short fine leg. Tim was also dropped by the same fielder, this time at first slip. With the Oakes struggling at 69 for 6, Johann ‘No Hands, No Man’ Agenbag (2/20 from 4) joined the attack and picked up two well-deserved wickets with his left arm seamers.

Hugo returned for a second spell and got wickets in each of his 2 overs, ending up with figures of 2 for 32 from 5, while Herman Fourie (0/28 from 4) bowled leggies from the other and created a few half-chances before the visitors were bowled out for 137 in 29 overs.

After a quick lunch break, the Groot Drak boys were feeling confident, with the middle-and-lower order batsmen tucking in to the bar offerings early on, knowing that Quintin van der Westhuizen and Rikus Walters were opening the batting.

Quintin and Rikus dealt almost exclusively in boundaries and had the fielders collecting balls from parts of the ground that hadn’t been explored since the late 70s. Spectators would have been excused for thinking that Drak were chasing 400, with the scoring rate red-lining at around 14 runs an over.

Quintin smashed 41 from just 20 deliveries before being dismissed, making way for youngster, Joubert van Zyl.

Joubert obviously also liked the look of the bowling and got off the mark with a boundary and continued to be ruthless with anything near to the slot. Joubert departed for a quick-fire 33 from 19 balls and brought Bruce Taylor to the crease at number 4.

Unfortunately Bruce didn’t get to face a delivery as Rikus got himself to 48* from 29 balls, securing a mammoth 8 wicket victory for Groot Drak in just the 11th over.

Fines were justifiably severe, with both sides having plenty of performances to reward and reprimand. At the end of the day it wasn’t the closest game, but always a pleasure to host the lads from Somerset Oakes and we wish them well for the remainder of the season.

Match report by Craig McNaught

It’s always special to get a visit from the Elgin lads, especially on a Saturday with glorious weather.

The toss went the way of Groot Drak and after much deliberation, it was decided that Elgin should bowl first on a stunning wicket.

MC Uys was castled without scoring in the first over, which meant that Rikus Walters joined Quintin van der Westhuizen earlier than he would have liked.

Both batters started slowly due to some terrific bowling from Elgin’s Jaco and Oliver. Quintin put on a stylish 40 from 43, while Rikus was finally dismissed for a slow but steady 35 from 56 deliveries.

In at number 4, Alan Sherratt got going quickly to up the run rate and was joined by Tim Whitfield who did the same. Alan and Tim helped themselves to 48 runs each before they were bowled just 2 short of their half centuries – they had done their jobs and gave Drak a chance of putting up a decent total.

Claude Chantler (19 from 9) wasted little time, carting 3 glorious boundaries to the fence with just two overs left in the innings. Danie van der Nest (3 from 7), Morne Maritz (2 from 3) and Craig McNaught (2* from 2) dealt with the last few deliveries to see Groot Drak post 235/8 from their 35 overs.

With the clouds starting to cover the sky, the conditions shifted suddenly in favour of Groot Drak as they took to the field.

Craig McNaught (0/15 from 3) opened the bowling with Danie van der Nest who were able to contain things fairly well at the start. Danie found some serious rhythm in his third over and produced 2 consecutive wicket maidens, with his last over the only blemish, taking 2 for 18 from 5 overs.

Hugo Brink (0/30 from 4) and Bruce Taylor (0/34 from 4) bowled in tandem to Jack and Kevin who were looking set to take a comfortable win at drinks, where the score was 95/2 after 17.

Alan Sherrat (4/32 from 7) was tossed the ball in desperation after the break and bowled a superb spell of leg-spin that produced 4 wickets and a hat-trick opportunity. Morne Maritz (3/18 from 6) joined in and made his presence felt as he pocketed 3 wickets, all clean bowled, bringing up the old adage of ‘you miss, I hit’. Aside from his 3 wickets, Morne went for only 3 runs per over! An almighty collapse meant that Claude Chantler (1/1 from 1) was afforded just the solitary over, which produced a wicket, before Elgin were bowled out for 148 in 29 overs.

The scorecard unfortunately doesn’t tell the full tale, as a handful of good deliveries changed the course of the game very quickly! In any event, both teams enjoyed the refreshments on offer after the match, as well as each other’s company in fines, before our visitors headed back over the mountain.

Thanks to Kevin and the Elgin team for a wonderful day and a game that is always played in terrific spirit!

Match report by Craig McNaught

The lads from Cape Town Cricket Club paid a visit to Groot Drak after our scheduled fixture earlier in the season was rained off. The weather on Sunday the 6th of February was glorious and Groot Drak had no hesitation in opting to bat first on yet another belter of a pitch prepared by groundsman, Vitalis Burombo.

The opening pair of Jaco Swarts and Quintin van der Westhuizen got the home team off to a flyer of a start. Both looked in good touch, but the partnership came to an end with Quintin’s compression socks failing him as he set off for a rather relaxed single and pulled a calf muscle. Not long after Quintin retired on 41 from 46, Jaco nicked off for a well-played 43 from 32.

Rikus Walters and Claude Chantler subdued the run-rate somewhat, having to contend with some accurate bowling from the CTCC boys. Rikus (34 from 42) and Claude (23 from 32) got starts, but neither was able to kick on. Paul du Plessis (on loan from Scorpions) was virtually unplayable as he leaked only 18 runs from his 7 overs in a seriously impressive stint of spin bowling.

After a sensational season so far, Tim Whitfield had to fail at some point and was run out on 8 by some sharp fielding and dodgy calling from the other end. Morne Landman went on the rampage and consistently found the middle of the bat, carting 5 sixes over cow-corner, while Craig McNaught (13 not out) at the other end merely needed to rotate the strike to keep the Land-man in the hot seat. Morne notched up a long overdue 52 from just 33 balls to get Drak out of some pretty serious trouble before being stumped in the final over.

Trying to reverse-sweep your first delivery is not generally what you read in the coaching manual, but Hugo Brink attempted it in any case, only to find first slip’s obliging hands, departing for a duck.

Morne Maritz faced just one ball for one run as the innings drew to a close, with Groot Drak posting a reasonable total of 221 for 6 after their 35 overs.

After some world-class lunch, supplied kindly by 12th man, Sean Petzer, the teams were revitalized and headed back out in to the summer sun for the run chase.

Morne Maritz along with debutant, Joubert Lategan, took ownership of the new ball and asked plenty questions of the batters. Joubert picked up a wicket in his first over by means of a cracking yorker that uprooted the stumps of Shane Martin.

Morne (2/37 from 7) then got in on the action as he trapped Dave Holgate in front before he could do too much damage, followed shortly by another wicket.

CTCC’s Rodney Mupfudza had just gotten himself to a deserved 50 before cutting the ball to first slip, where Craig McNaught took a good catch off the bowling of Bruce Taylor (2/37 from 6)

Opting to take the pace off the ball, Jaco Swarts was introduced in to the attack. Jakes kept things tidy but couldn’t find a breakthrough and finished with figures of 0/29 from 5.

Coming on later than expected, Hugo Brink still swung the ball late in the day and caused all sorts of issues for the batsmen. Hugo (1/32 from 6) deservedly picked up a crucial wicket, seeing Storm depart just 5 short of his 50.

From the other end, Tim Whitfield (0/35 from 5) started well, but lost his rhythm as he took some punishment from the lower order batsmen.

At this point, Cape Town were taking the game deep, needing around 30 runs from the last 3 overs with 4 wickets still in hand.

It took a sensational piece of fielding from Rikus Walters to get rid of CTCC skipper, Roger Moult, without facing a delivery as Rikus managed a direct hit from square leg with just one stump to aim at.

A super tidy over from Claude Chantler (0/3 from 1) meant that the total was just too much for the visitors, with Groot Drak clinching an eleven run victory in an enthralling match.

With both teams happy to take the game close, a quick drink was shared on the historic pitch, before setting up for a well-deserved fines meeting and a boerie roll on the braai.

Thanks to CTCC for their fantastic company and for a world-class day of cricket and camaraderie.

Man of the Match: Morne Landman

Match Report by Craig McNaught