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

On Saturday the 29th of January 2022, the Scorpions made the groot trek from Stellenbosch to the Pickstone Oval to come and get their revenge for losing against the Drakies on their homefield earlier in the season.

For many it was the first time that Vitalis has prepared the oldest strip and what a pitch it was! Due to various excuses, like fishing trips and family commitments, coupled with some injuries and the dreaded Corona virus the Drakies had to field 5 debutants. Even having to go so far as to import Neil and Matt White all the way from the lowveld. Stand-in skipper, Claude Chantler, won the toss and decided to put the Scorpions in to bat.

Tim Whitfield (0/34 from 6) and Hugo Brink (0/29 from 4) did well to manage the top order rampage from Johan Kapp (52 from 53 balls) and Andre Geldenhuys (70 from 80 balls), before Johann Agenbag took a sharp catch off Claude’s (1/33 from 7) bowling to get rid of Kappie. Stephan Krige (1/24 from 4), on debut, bowling Andre. Nico Ras made his wicket to smash the bowlers to all corners of the ground on his to 80 from 49 balls. It has to be noted that Nico was dropped on no less then 7 occasions. Johann Agenbag (1/54 from 5), also on debut, tried his best. Neil White (3/33 from 3), on debut, came on to bowl at the death to take his first hattrick and bringing the innings to a close with the Scorpions having put on 270/6 in their allotted 35 overs.
After a nice swim and some lunch, it was the Drakies turn to bat. Claude Chantler (11 of 13), was unlucky to play on to G. Selding (2/59 from 7).

Tim Whitfield (66 from 61 balls) batted like the champion batsman he is and combined well with Quintin van der Westhuizen (48 from 37) who was stunningly caught by a running Nico Ras in the deep to bring the partnership to an end. Joubert van Zyl, also on debut and with a hand he injured while fielding, tried his best but was bowled for 1 run off 6 balls.

Morne Maritz (62 from 44 balls) made his way to the wicket. Batting brilliantly, Morne scored his maiden fifty for Groot Drak and savoured his well deserved drink from the cup during the fines meeting. Morne Landman (7 runs of 17 balls), Stephan Krige (5 off 12 balls), Hugo Brink (8 runs of 8 balls), Johann Agenbag quacked on his 2nd ball, Matt Whyte (2 runs from 6 balls) and Neil Whyte 0* from 0, tried valiantly to keep the Drakies in the game, but unfortunately 232 was just not enough.

With 502 runs scored on the day it was time for a well deserved dip in the pool before the usual fines meeting.
Congratulations to the Scorpions on their win and we are looking forward to the next game!

Match report compiled by Claude Chantler & Tim Whitfield

It was great to squeeze in a fixture against our good mates at Black Batts after our previous engagement was called off because of the weather. From one extreme to the other, the Boland experienced temperatures in the low 40s on Saturday, which meant our swimming pool saw more action than the Durban beachfront on New Year’s day.

Having a huge amount of faith in the Groot Drak batting lineup, the home side decided to bat first with the hope of putting on a big total on a batsman-friendly wicket. MC Uys was the only top-order batsman to put on any meaningful runs with 25 from 22, while Jaco Swarts (10 from 9), Cassie Carstens (11 from 12), Rikus Walters (8 from 15) and Craig McNaught (16 from 25) put enormous pressure on the lower order by gifting their wickets to the opposition.

Christo la Grange, fresh from a trail-run, came in at 6 to stabilize the innings with Jono Boulton joining him at 7. Both batters slowed the run rate and stood firm in an attempt to rescue Drak from an embarrassing collapse. The two put on a very healthy partnership and showed real grit throughout their collective stints.

Christo finally fell after putting on a stoic 26 from 43, while Jono Boulton was unceremoniously run out on 25 from 40, pulling a muscle in the process which would rule him out of the rest of the game.

Claude Chantler (7 from 11), Tim Whitfield (2 from 4) and Hugo Brink (3 from 8) had the unenviable task of needing to slog towards the death, but in the end Groot Drak were bowled out for a paltry 162 after 34 overs, with Bruce Taylor being stranded on 5 not out.

The runs felt at least 50 light of a defendable total, but after a quick swim and a refreshment, the Drakies were ready to take on the challenge with the ball.

Tim Whitfield (1/32 from 7) broke through in his first over, starting with a wicket maiden to give a little hope to the situation, while Hugo Brink (0/21 from 4) toiled hard and was unlucky not to nab a few wickets in his spell.

The top order for the Batts fired, with Paul (43), Callum (18) and Brandon (19) chipping in with valuable runs at a good lick.

Bruce Taylor (1/48 from 7) and MC Uys (2/33 from 4) were brought on early and both managed wickets as stand-in keeper Claude Chantler took a sharp stumping off Bruce’s bowling and MC picked up two wickets from catches in the outfield.

While wonderful to watch at the crease, Bruce Sharpe and Steve Palframan are not who you want at the wicket when defending a small total. Sharpie breezed to 63*, while Palfers only needed 11* to get the Batts over the line after just 25 overs.

Despite the one-sided game, the match was enjoyed almost as much as the cold beer in the shade afterwards. Congrats to Black Batts on their victory and good luck for the rest of the season!