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John Faure Six-A-Side Tournament – 03 February 2019

Groot Drakenstein Games Club, hosted their annual ‘John Faure’ Six-A-Side cricket tournament on Sunday the 3rd of February. The heavy rains that fell during the day only delayed the start by 20 minutes and did little to dull the excitement of the eight teams that were invited to play. Some top-notch cricketers turned up, including a celebrity team consisting of international sporting legends; Allan Donald, Nantie Hawyard, Louis Koen, Aubrey Martyn, Frikkie Welsh and Luther Bakkes, captained by Groot Drak stalwart, Pierre Fourie. With plenty of craft beer and mouth-watering food being sold throughout the day, the spectators and players that arrived were treated to some great cricket and a wonderful atmosphere at the ground.

Two very tight pools saw several teams being separated only by the number of sixes hit and wickets lost. The plate final was played between the Celebrity Invitational Team and Coronation Cricket Club, with Coronation snatching third place overall, winning a hamper of fabulous local wines and beers.

The grand final was played in bright sunshine between Maties and Durbanville, with Maties pulling off a comfortable victory in the end – claiming the title and a massive hamper of spoils!

Individual prizes went to JT Schoeman from Durbanville for ‘Best Catch’, Nicholas Scholtz from Maties for ‘Biggest Six’, Richard Lackay from Coronation for ‘Best Bowler’, Fritz de Beer from Maties for ‘Best Batsman’ (scoring an unbeaten 127 over the course of the day) and Jaco Castle from Durbanville for ‘Best All-Rounder’. Western Province CC deservedly walked away with the prize for ‘Most Gees’ after bringing along a bus-load of eager supporters to cheer and support the club’s bar!

The day ended up a massively successful one for Grook Drak, with plenty to build on for next year’s tournament. Here’s hoping for better weather and an even better turn-out in 2020! Huge thanks to all the sponsors, without whom the day would not have been possible.

 

Deserving Winners, Maties!

Deserving Winners, Maties!

Nantie Hayward fires one in

Nantie Hayward fires one in

Glittering prizes!

Glittering prizes!

Allan Donald turns his arm over

Allan Donald turns his arm over

Textbook cover drive from Allan Donald

Textbook cover drive from Allan Donald

The celebs celebrate their spot in the plate final

The celebs celebrate their spot in the plate final

SA Rugby legends: Frikkie Welsh and Louis Koen

SA Rugby legends: Frikkie Welsh and Louis Koen

Groot Drak vs Kai Tak – 02 February 2019

Groot Draks’ unbeaten run finally came to an end against the spirited Kai Tank touring side from Hong Kong. They had their heads in the clouds after their victory against Cape Town Cricket Club and the pilots were determined to make it two tour victories in a row.

To honour the Groot Drak tradition, Kai Tak batted first and were soon on the ropes at 40/5. Our opening bowlers Colin Myburgh (3/18) and Corrie Brand (1/26) did an exceptional job. Just before the drinks break, Craig McNaught (1/1) bowled one magical over to send the tourists further into disarray. To ensure a proper game, skipper Jono Boulton took the foot off the proverbial jugular and brought some slower bowlers on.  A South African, an Englishman and a Kiwi might sound like an intro to a bad joke, but after a while, none of the Groot Drak players were laughing anymore… Kai Tak’s SA-born captain, JP Du Plessis (56) and Matts Parkinson (35) steadied the ship. It was unfortunate that Kiwi Jeff Maw (44*) would end up short of a well-deserved 50 as the innings came to a close at 212 after 40 overs.

Groot Drak, who bat fairly deep were confident and always thought the total was a achievable. Unfortunately, none of the usual suspects ended up in the runs. This was due to really good pin-point bowling aided by late Kai Tak swing bowling. Colin Myburg (77) tried his best but eventually ran out of batting partners with Groot Drak falling short by 37 runs. Gus Simmers(24) and Jannes Mouton (20) got starts, but could not convert to a match-winning batting display. JP Du Plessis (who was only not given the man of the match  award because he received it in their previous game) also ended up shining with the the ball with figures of 3/26.

Where we lacked in performance, Groot Drak made up for at fines…. We will be back to slay another day…

 

Kai Tak honouring tradition and saluting the flag

Kai Tak honouring tradition and saluting the flag

Kai Tak's Batting Card

Kai Tak’s Batting Card

Groot Drak's Batting Card

Groot Drak’s Batting Card

 

Match report by Conrad Harley

Groot Drak vs Cape Town Cricket Club

After a near cancellation and a three-player-donation from Groot Drak, Saturday the 26th of January 2019 saw what is always a great fixture, against  Cape Town Cricket Club.

A very solid start from the visitors meant that in the over before drinks, Cape Town lost only their first wicket for 85 runs. After being told that they were largely a ‘bowling unit’, Groot Drak knew this would be a tough game from here.

Opening, Darren Nash hit a dominant 71, with valuable contributions from brothers, Jannie (29) and Andri le Roux (26 not out) further down the order.

Good bowling performances from Corrie Brandt (0/28 from 7), Jannes Mouton (1/28 from 6), Angus Simmers (2/41 from 7) and MC Uys (1/31 from 5), kept Groot Drak in the game, albeit only just. Angus’ figures don’t truly reflect his performance, as he had two successful appeals retracted in two overs!

At the half-way mark, CTCC had posted a very competitive target of 203 for victory in 35 overs at a required run rate of a just under 6 per over.

Groot Drak’s openers, MC Uys (20 off 19) and debutant, Claude Chantler (21 off 31) got the local boys off to a reasonable start. Very few batters were allowed to settle as wickets fell regularly. Wilhelm Esterhuizen played a great knock, scoring 37 from 37, supported ably by Jono Boulton (18 from 16).

At 162 for 8, Groot Drakenstein were looking down and out as they needed around 8.5 per over with only one batsman to come.

Cometh the hour, cometh the men.

Jannes Mouton and Corrie Brandt put on a heroic 9th wicket stand, with Corrie smashing 26* from 11 and Jannes playing a very mature innings, ending with 19* from 19 to see Groot Drak finish in style. Securing a narrow victory, Groot Drak continued their unbeaten streak for the 2018/2019 season!

As is always the case against CTCC, the game was played competitively, but each player maintaining a sense of humour and sportsmanship throughout.

A well deserved swim and fines meeting in the shade, followed by a quick post-match braai brought a fantastic day to a close.

Congratulations to Corrie Brandt for picking up yet another Man-of-the-match award for his outstanding all-round performance.

 

CTCC's Batting Card

CTCC’s Batting Card

Groot Drak's Reply

Groot Drak’s Reply

Groot Drak vs West Coast Rollers

On the 20th of January 2019, Groot Drak hosted their great friends, West Coast Rollers at Pickstone Oval.

Looking to continue their unbeaten streak, Groot Drak took the field with loads of energy. Danie van der Nest (2/21 from 4) and Kudu Kotze (1/17 from 4) did the damage up front, with continued pressure from Conrad Harley (1/14 from  5) and Adrian Raisbeck (1/9 from 4) . Some good catching from the Drakies saw the Rollers struggling at drinks, having lost 5 wickets after 17 overs.

The spinners took over the attack after the break. Martin van der Merwe (0/25 from 7) and Wynand Grobler (2/6 from 2.2) kept things incredibly tidy and continued to hurt the opposition. Marco Bosman (2/42 from 6) and Jaco Swarts (1/10 from 2) took some valuable wickets as the innings was wrapped up, with the West Coast Rollers managing 138 all out.

A quick lunch saw Groot Drak begin the run chase with openers Jaco Swarts and Craig McNaught (33* from 37). Despite some good bowling from the visitors, a few chances went awry, allowing the home side to capitalise early on. Jaco retired after a blistering innings of 59 from just 37 balls, which earned him ‘man-of-the-match’. Hannes Langeveldt (TFC) came in at 3 and got a corker of a ball that removed his leg stump for a duck. Wynand Grobler didn’t need any sighters and blasted Groot Drak to victory with a quick-fire 36 from 17 balls. The second innings lasted 16.2 overs before the total was knocked over.

A post-match swim and beverage was in order after a boiling hot day of cricket. A few well-deserved fines were enjoyed in the shade, some good, some not so much. Even though the game ended a little one-sided, both teams played the game in a wonderful spririt and Groot Drak continue their unbeaten run in 2019.

Prior performances not forgotten

Prior performances not forgotten

Happy Birthday Mr Chairman!

Happy Birthday Mr Chairman!

The challenge

The challenge

The reply

The reply

Match report by Craig McNaught

Groot Drak vs Coastal Strikers

On Sunday the 13th of January 2019, Groot Drak hosted Coastal Strikers at Pickstone Oval.

A cloudy and cool afternoon meant that bowling first was a great advantage for the home side. Groot Drak’s opening bowlers, Corrie Brand and Andri le Roux, bowled extremely tightly, with a barrage of unplayable deliveries – both unlucky not to get wickets in their opening spells, they ended up with 0/20 off 7 and 1/16 off 7 respectively.

Going in to drinks, Coastal Strikers had only managed 43 runs, but still had all their wickets in tact, setting up the latter half of the innings nicely.

Clearly, the Oros consumed at drinks had a little something extra in it as the visitors turned up the heat immediately. They scored freely, but lost a few wickets along the way. Most of the bowlers went for plenty of runs, but a great performance from Bruce Taylor (2/26 off 6) saw a welcome return to form for Groot Drak’s resident “spinner”.

A quick-fire 57 off 31 from Francois allowed Coastal Strikers to set a respectable target of 189 at lunch.

After a filling lunch, Groot Drak went out to start the run chase. Unfortunately, the openers were both nicked off early, putting pressure on the middle order.

Conrad Harley (25 off 37) and Herman Fourie (45 off 37) did a fantastic job of rescuing the situation and giving Groot Drak a good chance at the drinks break.

Needing 6.5 per over, Jannes Mouton strode out to bat and was later joined by keeper/batsman, Jono Boulton (16* off 14). Jannes blasted a man-of-the-match-winning 62 not out off just 45 balls to see Drak over the line with 2 overs to spare.

As is always the case with Coastal Strikers, the game was played in a fabulous spirit, with both teams having a great outing and enjoying some well-deserved fines back at the clubhouse.

Jannes Mouton - maiden fifty since returning to the club

Jannes Mouton celebrating his maiden fifty since returning to the club