It’s never a dull affair when we are visited by our friends the Spin Doctors. After winning the toss, it was not with a great deal of confidence that Groot Drak elected to bat first.
In just the 7th ball of the day, Rikus Walters managed to nick off down the leg side to earn himself his first Golden Duck for Drak. Joined by Ian Nel, Quintin van der Westhuizen was just getting started. The two looked good before Ian was caught out on a well-played 28 from 29 deliveries.
Craig McNaught (10 from 11), Claude Chantler (6 from 5), Colin Myburgh (4 from 11) and Zak Barnard (5 from 12) couldn’t contribute significant runs and put the home team in some serious trouble early on.
Fortunately, Quintin was seeing it like a beach ball as Jono Boulton stood resolutely by his side and refused to offer up any chances. Quintin smashed his way to 50 and then, what felt like moments later, found himself on 100 not out with several overs still to go. Groot Drak were back on track for a respectable total.
Jono (25 from 42 not out) and Quintin carried on their merry way until the last over. With just one ball left in the innings, Quintin was on 148, needing two runs for the almost unthinkable individual score of 150 in a 35 over game. Calm as a Hindu cow, Quintin guided the ball past the keeper to the boundary, bringing up his ton-and-a-half in emphatic fashion. Quintin carried his bat, remaining unbeaten on 152* from just 98 balls. Thanks largely to his efforts, Groot Drak posted exactly 250 runs.
Having not had a chance to bat, the young and energetic Liam Carruthers made his welcome return to Groot Drak by opening the bowling with Colin Myburgh. Colin took three wickets for 21 runs and had to be removed from the attack after only 3 overs. Liam from the other end posted returns of 1 for 22 in his 4 over spell. A run out from Claude Chantler saw the Doctors struggling on 29 for 5 after 6 overs.
The plan to bring on Bruce Taylor to donate a few runs backfired in spectacular fashion. Bruce conceded just 13 runs in his 7 over spell, at an economy rate of 1.8, while nabbing two wickets in the process. From the other end, Hugo Brink had a few GPS-related issues and tested Jono Boulton’s agility behind the stumps. Nevertheless, his efforts earned him two wickets for 42 runs in his full quota of overs, including the wicket of Kurt (35 runs), who was offering some staunch resistance in the latter overs.
Wanting to get Rikus Walters involved in the action, he was tossed the ball in an attempt to wrap up the last wicket. A long hop above the wickets was the eventual demise of ‘Judge’, who smashed his own stumps out of the ground to end the game. Spin Doctors were bowled out for 95.
The result was soon forgotten as both teams assembled outside the clubhouse on a perfect summer evening in the winelands. A few well-deserved beverages were dished out before the Doctors headed back home. Thanks to Rodney and the lads for a hugely enjoyable day!
Man of the match: Quintin van der Westhuizen
