After our nerves had been rattled for the second week in a row thanks to the Springboks’ last minute antics in the World Cup, we were greeted with glorious weather on Sunday the 22nd of October. It’s a long drive from Kleinmond to Groot Drak, so it was great to see the friendly faces of the Kleinmond CC players already waiting for us when we arrived at the club.
Kleinmond skipper, Dannie Gerber, won the toss and opted to bowl first on an out-of-sorts Groot Drak pitch.
In only his second game for the club, Marko Combrink was asked to open the batting with Ian Nel. Both batters got off to very cautious starts, with Ian being dismissed for 14 from 26 balls.
Marko was joined by club-debutant Justin Barnes, who settled into his work nicely. The two put on a healthy partnership, with Justin chipping in with a valuable 34 from 41 before a sharp stumping opened the door for Kudu Kotze at number 4.
Having not played cricket for nearly 3 years, Kudu let us all know that he was very rusty and that we should not expect too much. His first ball disappeared into the swimming pool area for six. This started a trend of rapid-fire boundary striking for the big all-rounder. Kudu fell just 4 runs short of what would have been a memorable 50, considering he had only faced 16 balls before nicking off.
At the other end, Dr Combrink was diligently going about his business and racked up his first half century for Groot Drak, finally being caught behind on 78 from 85 balls.
The next five wickets fell very cheaply, but Groot Drak somehow managed to avoid being bowled out, posting 210 for 9 from their 35 overs.
After a short break, Kleinmond were ready to start chasing down what felt like a par score on the day.
Another Justin making his debut for Groot Drak, Justin Laubser was asked to open the bowling with Ian Nel (0/14 from 3).
Justin’s pace and swing caused plenty of headaches for the opposition, being retired from the attack after five overs. He picked up two wickets for just 17 runs.
With a surfeit of bowling options, the attack was rotated at regular intervals.
Wessel van Deventer (30/0 from 3) and Hugo Brink (27/1 from 2) were somewhat wayward, but Hugo landed a perfect inswinging yorker to castle the ever-dangerous Christiaan Jordaan.
Justin Barnes showed his all-rounder capabilities landing the ball in consistently good areas, bringing the run rate down a touch.
At the drinks break, Kleinmond were bossing the game – comfortably ahead of the 8-ball at 120 for 5 from 17 overs.
Groot Drak turned to their destroyer-in-chief, Bruce Taylor, who dished up some lovely flighted deliveries, which Kleinmond could not resist. Two stumpings and a slip-catch from Bruce’s bowling had the opposition in all-sorts shortly after drinks. The leggie ended up with figures of 3/30 from 5. Even more impressive were Justin Barnes’ figures of 3/28 from his five overs.
With the result firmly in the bag, Christo van Deventer was tasked with nabbing the last wicket, which took him just seven balls, allowing both teams the opportunity to grab a beverage and catch some shade.
Kleinmond were bowled out for 157 in 25.1 overs, a remarkable comeback by the local boys.
The visitors showed good form and all stayed to share a few hard earned fines and many hearty laughs. Thanks to Dannie and the Kleinmond lads for what is always a memorable day with great human beings.
Man of the match: Marko Combrink
Match report by Craig McNaught
