The last game of the year is always a special one for the Groot Drak team – not only because its a time to remember Alfie Cupido but also due to the competition being in the form of the ever talented WPCC side. This year was certainly no different with the visiting team sporting some fresh members that were all young and highly competent cricketers currently playing at various impressive levels. Led by the experience of their skipper Louis Koen – the stage was set for a great game. WPCC won the toss and elected to bat – a great move in the post rain heat that had presented itself on that fine Sunday.

Groot Drak welcomed back Mr Hughes (0/19 from 3) who chose to start running up the hill and quickly found his ever consistent rhythm. Craig McNaught (0/18 from 4) continued on his current form from the other side and the 2 openers cameoed beautifully with a few nearly finding the edges of the opening WPCC pair. C. Pratt (46 from 37 balls) looked dangerous from the word go and anything straying outside the line or too short was quickly dispatched.

Conrad Schultz (2/42 from 7) was first change and picked up an early breakthrough wicket in his second over before powering through his allotted 7 overs on the trot whilst getting another great wicket and being very economical in all but his final over. Alan Sherratt (3/17 from 7) bowled in tandem with Conrad and the two of them managed to strangle the middle order whilst Alan picked up 3 wickets to effectively get a bit deeper towards the visitors tail.

Seeing the effectiveness of spin, the skipper opted for the seasoned off spin twins of Jaco Swarts (4/17 off 6.2) and Angus Simmers (1/12 off 4) to further tighten the screws on the batting side. In amongst all of this the fielding side managed to hold onto every opportunity given which is unusual in friendly cricket. None of the other batsmen managed to get above 20 despite a few looking like they were about to get going and WPCC were all out for 123 with a few over left to bowl.

After a short break, lunch and a quick dip in the pool for some – Quintin VD Westhuizen (62 from 58 not out) and Jaco Swarts (14 from 15) strode out to take on the WPCC attack comprising a young and wily spinner in the form of JR (1/18 from 7) together with the Dutch international in the form of Mikkie. On Jakes dismissal – Rikus Walters (3 from 23) looked in promising form before being dismissed LBW and Conrad Schultz (28 from 23 not out) joined Quinny to hunt down the final few runs and make sure fines started early and all could make it home to watch the Blitz Bokke in the final.

All in all Groot Drak managed to clinch this one in a comprehensive 8 wicket victory which doesn’t really show how the game could have swung in WPCC favour at any stage.

Both teams gathered on the pitch post match in a time honored tradition to show gratitude to the oldest turf wicket in SA and to say a few fond words remembering our late skipper Alfie. A few cold orange juices were then consumed during fines and some humorous moments recalled as the two sides watched the afternoon light settle in over the Drakenstein Valley.

We would like to thank Louis and his team for the spirit in which the game was played and to all that were involved to make this a memorable fixture.

Man of the match: Alan Sherratt

A rather gloomy and overcast day greeted us for our fixture on the 10th of November. Groot Drak’s opposition for the day was a remarkably youthful and athletic bunch from The City Bowlers. Standing in as skipper for the day, Jonathan Boulton almost made it out to the middle with opposing captain, Greg Bowles, to toss, before the two came to a mutual agreement that saw Groot Drak padding up.

The pitch looked like it had just undergone Swiss-engineered roadworks. Flat, hard, and not a crack nor a blade of grass to be found.

The innings got underway with Marko Combrink and Jaco Swarts at the crease. Marko opened his account with a boundary but capitulated for just 5, bringing Conrad Schultz out to the middle.

Jaco did some pretty serious damage upfront, showing off classic lofted drives through the covers as well as a slog sweep that cleared the clubhouse. The Bowlers were fortunate to get Jaco for 38 from 35, because he was looking hungry. Turns out he was just thirsty.

Seldom getting a chance to bat before drinks, Jono Boulton strode out at number 4 to get in on the action.

Conrad looked set, but was gunned for 21, causing a wobble in the middle order. Wessel Lourens (4 from 5) and Herman Fourie (5 from 15) were back in the clubhouse without too much fuss. Jono, all the while, was steadily getting on with things and middled everything that he threw the bat at. Several pulls through mid-wicket saw him notch up a perfectly paced half-century with a lot of cricket still to come.

Joining Jono at number 7, Albert van Tonder put together a supportive knock of 23 from 31, giving the lion’s share of the strike to his skipper, who was seeing it big. Jono’s hitting became so destructive that after being smashed for four boundaries in four balls, City Bowlers’ opening bowler changed from seam-up to off spin in an effort to suppress the bleeding.

After 31 overs, Drak surpassed the 200 mark and Craig McNaught was sent in at number 8.

Knowing that Jono was closing in on a big milestone, Craig (11* from 7) pushed to keep Jono on strike, even though the body was resisting twos so late in the piece.

With just three balls remaining in the innings, Jono was tantalizingly close to three figures, on 97.
A back-of-a-length delivery and Jono’s eyes lit up as he pulled the ball through mid wicket to the fence, bringing up an absolutely magical, unbeaten, maiden century for the club.

Groot Drak had posted a competitive 234/6 in their 35 overs, but would need to back up the batting performance with the ball, on a pitch that was not offering much assistance for the bowlers.

Opting for experience over youth, Craig McNaught (1/19 from 5) and Conrad Schultz (0/23 from 4) were asked to open the bowling and they did their job up front.

First change bowlers, Albert van Tonder (0/32 from 4) and Jo Lloyd (0/26 from 3), were a touch expensive, even though Albert was unlucky not to pick up a couple of sticks, having multiple chances missed from his bowling.

William Cumpsty was introduced into the attack with Simon and Shannon from City Bowlers notching up quick fifties. At drinks, the visitors were well and truly on top, having amassed roughly 120 for 1 after 17 overs.

The breakthrough finally came as William (1/35 from 4) nabbed his first ever scalp for Groot Drak, exposing the middle order of the opposition, now needing a little more than 6 per over.

Turning to the spinners, Herman Fourie and Jaco Swarts were tossed the ball. ‘Harry’ was a touch expensive early on in his spell, but settled into his work nicely, while Jaco got into the wickets almost immediately. Jakes’ wily offies had the City Bowlers struggling. He picked up four wickets in as many overs and was on the hunt for a fifth. Arguably his most important wicket was that of Shannon (83), who was finally caught at cover by Jo Lloyd.

Herman deserved his two wickets and ended with returns of 2/31 from his 7 over spell.

The final wicket of the day fell thanks to a good catch in the deep from Marko Combrink, completing Jaco’s exceptional five-for and bringing the game to a close with the Drakies on top.

On paper, the match looked fairly one-sided, but it was in the balance for most of the game. Without two individual displays of skill with the bat from Jono (102* from 90) and with the ball from Jaco (5/17 from 6) we would have seen a very different movie.

A quick fines meeting was held before the icing on the cake: watching the Springboks dismantle the Scots with the Groot Drak bar in full swing.

Thanks to the City Bowlers for a highly entertaining day. We look forward to welcoming them back next season.

Man of the match: Jonathan Boulton
Lifesaver: Jaco Swarts

Match report by Craig McNaught

With the promises of a cut-off low storm hitting that evening – we were warmly welcomed to the Scorpions home ground on a mild Saturday morning. After the Drakkies and half the Scorpions introduced themselves to the other half of the new members at Scorpions, the toss was made and the home team skipper, Gav opted to bowl on a wicket freshly prepared by the Greek Goddess Antheia.

It was great to see the opening pair of Jaco Swarts and Marko Combrink stride out to the middle to face the opening attack from Maze and Graham. It was quickly evident that trusting the bounce on the pitch was going to be impossible and both Jaco and Marko tried to bed down against the openers before Jaco was caught behind by a ball that both seamed and popped. Conrad Schultz entered the fray and was by far the pick of the batsmen for Drakkies on the day. He seemed to catch onto the speed of the pitch quite quickly and scored an impressive 45. Along the way he was joined by new member Christiaan Ritter who looked in great form before being caught for 23 as he got into the swing of it.

Alan, Craig, Morne, Albert and William didn’t contribute much whilst Wessel put on a strong 17 and Liam was not out 19 with Drakkies posting a low 132 all out. It was definitely not a 200 pitch and feelings at the lunch break was 150 would have been defendable.

The Groot Drak side knew they had to bowl tight and field well to make a game of this one and opening bowlers Liam (0/12 off 7) and Conrad (1/28 off 7) certainly did this. Liam was very unlucky not to get a few wickets as he beat the batters at least twice an over.

Pat Lawson (20) and Jacques (47 N/O) stuck around with Pat ultimately falling to the bowling of Conrad which brought Dave Bakker to the field which we knew was a big wicket to get. Craig McNaught was introduced to the attack and bowled a steady spell of 0/22 off 4.

Halftime drinks heralded the score being only 57-1 with both a lot of batting and a lot of bowling to do but it gave a hint that the game was shaping up to be a tight one.

Dave was dismissed shortly after drinks by great bowling from Christaan (2/21 from 7) and Mario Solomons shortly after that. With 10 overs to go Scorpions were 92-3 and the game was on.

Alan Sherratt (1/32 from 7) and Albert van Tonder (0/14 from 4) took over the bowling duties and it all came down to the last over where a drop catch and a risky hit over the top meant the Scorpions reached their required 133 with 3 balls to go.

The spirit of the game and drinks and boeries rolls afterwards only added to what had been an amazing day of cricket and we would like to thank the Scorpions for hosting us on a tricky but amazing fixture. It is an honour to play alongside like minded cricketers and this game is a testament to the ethos of friendly cricket.

Scorpions – we will see you on the return leg.

Man of the match was given to Liam and Jacques whilst Craig and William shared the duck hat.

Groot Drak had the honour of hosting the illustrious Oxford University back in 2019, where the game went down to the wire and resulted in a tie. Both teams were keen on going one-up when Oxford revisited Pickstone Oval on Tuesday the 19th of March.

After a brief pitch inspection, Oxford skipper Ben – who was part of the setup five years ago – was more than happy to accept the offer of batting first. Having arranged a fifty-over-per-innings match, the local (and far older) hosts were anxious to see what was in store for them.

The first over was bowled by local paceman Achille Cloete, who settled into his work well after finding some rhythm. Even though he managed two maidens in his first spell, the wickets column remained empty for now. Opening the bowling from the south was Groot Drak’s captain, Craig McNaught (1/33 from 6) who started with a maiden and picked up an early wicket to see Oxford 13/1 in the fourth over.

The visitors took advantage of the bowling changes and were looking set before the first drinks break. Conrad Schultz (0/33 from 6) and Alan Sherratt (0/69 from 10) created some half-chances and were both unlucky to not pick up a wicket.

Robbie Hardwick, batting at 3, looked a little shaky for Oxford to start, but eventually started to time the ball – he chalked up a fifty and shortly after that a century, which saw him retiring in the comfort of the clubhouse.

In his second spell, Achille Cloete (2/63 from 10) forced a very necessary breakthrough, but Oxford were firmly on top at 196/2 after 34 overs.

Having played countless matches at Groot Drak, Angus Simmers (0/37 from 6) and Colin Myburgh (0/44 from 7) bowled better than their figures might suggest, as the youngsters from Oxford started to accelerate, sensing a big score.

Unfortunately, Quintin van der Westhuizen was asked to bowl towards the end of the innings and was taken for 51 runs from his 5 overs as the students amassed 343/4 from their 50 overs, with a run out from the last ball. Three of Oxford’s top five had put on scores of 90 or more.

At almost seven an over required, Daryll decided that the young visitors should be dealt double shots of brandy as they saluted the Groot Drak flag and made their way back on to the field after a short lunch break.

Groot Drak’s most successful opening pair for quite a few seasons, Quintin van der Westhuizen and Rikus Walters were asked to face the music first up.

While the duo did their job in seeing some of the shine off the new ball, both Quintin (16 from 26) and Rikus (8 from 27) got starts but couldn’t convert.

A further flurry of wickets saw Mark Nel (4 from 22) and Jaco Carstens (13 from 11) depart early, bringing Conrad Schultz to the crease with the score on 40/3 after 14 overs.

While Conrad dug deep, wickets continued to fall cheaply around him; Alan Sherratt (7 from 22), Morne Landman (0 from 4), Achille Cloete (1 from 3) and Colin Myburgh (9 from 12) succumbed to a combination of good bowling and poor shot selection as any hope of a close game sailed swiftly out the window.

Groot Drak were 102/8, with 22 overs still remaining when Craig McNaught joined Conrad at the crease to start picking up the pieces. The two managed a 59 run stand before Conrad was finally adjudged LBW for a hard-earned 70 from 59.

Angus Simmers, batting about 7 places below his usual spot, walked in at number 11 and looked in fine form as he carved two boundaries behind point in successive balls. Unfortunately Groot Drak’s skipper, Craig was clean bowled for 36 from 29 bringing the game to a close, leaving Angus stranded on 13 not out.

The fairy tale ending was not meant to be for the veteran Drak side, succumbing to the superior fitness and skill of the Oxford clan, losing by 167 runs in the 40th over.

After the comprehensive result, both teams gathered on the pitch for a beverage and Richard von Hoesslin’s ever-informative walk down memory lane. A few well-deserved fines were enjoyed in the shade before wishing Oxford all the best for the rest of their tour with a promise to be in better shape for a rematch down the line.

Match report by Craig McNaught

After a few years of fixtures being rained out, we finally got to meet the lads from Craig Matthews Band. The visitors were highly spirited and eager to bat when skipper Sam won the toss.

Things didn’t start terribly well for CMB, with Craig McNaught (2/12 from 4) getting rid of both opening batters and Johann Agenbag at the other end just as good with the new ball, recording figures of 1/11 from his 4 overs, including two maidens.

Fresh off a World Cup victory for the Proteas Over 40s, Pieter Booysen joined the attack and was, quite literally, unplayable. With steep bounce and genuine pace, conceding just 3 runs from his 2 overs, Pieter had to be removed from the attack prematurely to make way for Herman Fourie and Bruce Taylor before drinks.

Bruce started with a maiden, but deteriorated big time as he travelled at 8 an over, somehow picking up a wicket from a full toss that was spooned to mid-on for an easy catch. Pushing up the hill, Herman Fourie took a few deliveries to find his length as he offered a mix of offies and leggies to the middle order. A super catch behind the stumps from Jono Boulton and a leggie that went through the gate gave Harry 2 wickets from his 4 overs, while he conceded 27 runs.

Young Callum Woolley (1/20 from 4) was sublime after drinks as be bowled in very good areas and picked up a well deserved wicket. With the opposition in serious trouble at 8 down, the two wicket-keepers in the side, Jono Boulton and Mark Nel, were asked to bowl to the tail.

The plan back-fired with both part-timers claiming a wicket and brining the innings to a close in the 25th over. Craig Matthews Band had been bowled out for 132.

After the lunch break, the Booysen brothers were given the opportunity to open the batting for Groot Drak.

Albert Booysen (27 from 25) did his best to keep his brother on strike as Pieter put on a batting masterclass. Finding the fielder on only a few occasions, Pieter Booysen breezed his way to 51 from just 20 deliveries before retiring in the shade.

With the game firmly in the bag, Wessel Lourens (17* from 26) and Mark Nel (21* from 13) didn’t have a huge amount of work to do as they guided Groot Drak to victory in the 15th over.

The game may have been won, but the players were all keen for another knockabout, so a quick 10-over-per-innings match was organised, which was a fair deal tighter than the first game.

After all was said and done, both teams enjoyed a beverage on the pitch and then dished out fines in front of the clubhouse. Thanks to Sam and the rest of the CMB chaps for a lovely day – we look forward to seeing them all again very soon.

Man of the match: Pieter Booysen

Match report by Craig McNaught