On Sunday, Groot Drak traveled to the Constantia, where we were hosted fantastically by the Gents from Claremont.

Looking to turn around 2 consecutive losses to the Gents in as many years, Groot Drak were hungry to make amends.
With a little moisture around, the natural choice when winning the toss was to bat. With virtually no experience in the coin-toss department, Groot Drak lost the toss and were asked to bowl first.

Corrie Brand (0/39 from 7) opened the bowling and had his usual run of bad luck, having a simple chance dropped at gully off his bowling, while Andri le Roux at the other end did a great job of keeping things tidy while also picking up two wickets – bowling 6 overs for just 15 runs.

Kudu Kotze (1/27 from 5) and Morne Maritz (0/18 from 3) were a touch expensive, but toiled hard on a flat wicket that was perfect for batting – something that the home team capitalized on very well.

Resident spinners, Bruce Taylor and Claude Chantler bowled their 7-over quotas on the trot, with Bruce nabbing 3 scalps (including a great reactionary caught-and-bowled) for 49 and Claude just the one wicket for 43.

The innings drew to a close with Groot Drak requiring 190 for victory from their 35 overs. At half time it looked very doable on a great batting track.

Without their regular opening batsmen, Kudu Kotze and Herman Fourie were tasked with seeing the shine off the new ball. Herman was desperately unlucky, smashing a cover-drive straight to a fielder who took a blinder, bringing Morne Maritz to the crease at number 3.

Morne (20 from 19) and Kudu (41 from 60) batted well, before a middle order collapse exposed the tail far too early in the innings.

Corrie Brand (26 from 27) was aggressive, hitting the only six of the day on a very big field.

Jono Boulton (26 not out from 27) and Claude Chantler (18 from 13) battled valiantly to get Groot Drak close, but at the end of the day the runs were too many and the wickets too frequent, as Groot Drak suffered their third consecutive defeat at the hands of Claremont Gents.

The loss, however, was insignificant as both teams shared a cold beverage and soaked in the beautiful scenery at the Clubhouse, while dishing out a few thoroughly-deserved fines.

Thanks to Richard Gill and Claremont Gents for their superb hospitality, a wonderful day of cricket and lots of good laughs. We look forward to seeing you all again very soon!

Match report by Craig McNaught.

On the Boland’s hottest day of 2020 so far, Groot Drak hosted the guys from Rondebosch Pumas in what promised to be an epic encounter.

The Pumas were asked to bat first, while the Drakies triple-dosed themselves in sunscreen and took the field. Mixing things up a bit, Morne Maritz and Claude Chantler opened the bowling for the home side with a double-pronged seam attack. Claude struck early, claiming two wickets for 37 from 4, while Morne (0/26 from 5) kept things tidy at the other end and was unlucky not to pick up a wicket.

Even though there is always an element of risk when bringing on a spinner first change, Bruce Taylor started off with a maiden and then claimed the vital wicket of Garth in his second over. From there he took some punishment, finishing up with figures of 1/47 from 6 overs.

Groot Drak were in trouble at tea, having only taken 3 wickets, with the visitors starting to fire on all cylinders, finding the boundary with alarming regularity.

Danie van der Nest (0/47 from 7) joined the attack and started well, having a few chances dropped off his bowling. Not what you want as a fast bowler when you bowl seven on the trot under the scorching African Sun.

Jannes Mouton was without a doubt the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets for just 21 runs in his seven overs, bringing Groot Drak firmly back in to the game as the Pumas surpassed the 200 run mark.

With plenty of work still to be done, Corrie Brand (2/35 from 5) was thrown the ball, coming on as a very unusual sixth bowling choice. He toiled hard and took two important wickets, but went for seven per over as the visitors piled on the runs.

Feeling that the Pumas needed even more runs, Craig McNaught brought himself on to bowl for the last over, which went for 13.

The side from Rondebosch would have been very happy with their effort as they went in to the break after a brilliantly paced innings of 230 for the loss of 8 wickets. A big total, requiring just more than 6.5 an over from the start!

After a quick cool-down in the pool, MC Uys and Charl Ackermann were asked to open the batting and started the run chase.

Being tasked with seeing the shine off the ball, both openers did extremely well, with Charl, while only scoring 7, saw off a vital 25 deliveries. MC at the other end took no prisoners and blasted an impressive 46 off 32, receiving a spectacular in-swinging Yorker to be dismissed just 4 short of what would have been a well-deserved 50.

A mini-collapse precipitated by Sean Petzer’s golden duck and Claude Chantler’s 3 from 5, had Groot Drak in all sorts of trouble at 50 for 4 just before drinks. Certainly not the start that the home side was hoping for.

It was time for the middle-order to show some mettle. Craig McNaught (28 from 29) and Jono Boulton fought hard and put on a solid 5th wicket partnership to steady the ship somewhat before the skipper was bowled through the gate.

Morne Maritz came in at 7 and wasted absolutely no time, making his intentions clear by smashing 47 from just 31 in a great display of hitting that included 4 sixes! [See the video below] Another unlucky batter to fall just short of 50, but an innings that played a massive role in getting Groot Drak a little closer to victory.

With Jono Boulton still at the crease, Corrie Brand picked up where Morne left off, dispatching each of the remaining bowlers to all corners. Corrie blasted 31* from 12, while Jono was left stranded as the third batter to narrowly miss out on 50 – scoring a stalwart-like and unbeaten 46 from 64 deliveries.

On paper, the victory looked fairly comfortable with 3 overs remaining, but the scorecard doesn’t necessarily tell the full story, as both teams sweated (literally) until the final runs were scored.

A wonderful game of cricket, with more than 460 runs scored on the day, was brought to a close with another splash in the pool and a brief fines meeting, before saying goodbye to our friends from Cape Town. We thoroughly look forward to a rematch at the Pumas’ new home ground in Rondebosch in the latter half of 2020!

Match report by Craig McNaught

Nine years ago, Groot Drakenstein Games Club lost their captain, Alfie Cupido, on the field during a fixture against Western Province Cricket Club. Since that day, our annual home fixture against WPCC has been dubbed the Alfie Cupido Memorial Game. This year, the fixture was held on Sunday the 8th of December.

This game is always highly-anticipated, with both teams being very well acquainted with each other. WPCC were asked to bat first on a beautiful day with a pitch that looked like it would do a bit for the bowlers on the right length… and do a bit it did. Corrie Brand, who is typically Groot Drak’s unluckiest bowler, found the edge of Nick Zaiman’s bat with the first ball of the game – starting with a wicket maiden. A similar story from the other end, with Joubert Kotze picking up a wicket with the batsman chasing a wide one outside off. Corrie’s next over produced an unplayable delivery, which uprooted the stumps and WPCC found themselves three wickets down without a run on the board. Corrie Brand finished up 8 for 3 from his 5 over spell and Joubert Kotze; 15 for 2 from his 5. Both openers did more than what was required at the top before being replaced by Andri le Roux and Kudu Kotze.

The first-change bowlers did well, with Kudu (0/22 from 4) bowling up the hill & into the breeze, while Andri (1/9 from 4) picked up the WPCC skipper, Shane Eglinton cheaply.

Morne Maritz and Bruce Taylor were the only Groot Drak bowlers to get through their full quota of overs, with Bruce picking up a wicket for 46. Morne Maritz nabbed the two vital wickets of Derek Mitchell (22 from 35) and Shawn Dyson (55 from 58).

Adrian Raisbeck only had to bowl 4 deliveries before claiming Damian de Vos’ wicket to see the visitors bowled out for 145.

Not the biggest total, but the old adage of ‘runs on the board’ was in the back of everyone’s mind as Groot Drak started the run chase.
MC Uys did a sterling job at 1, scoring 34 from 33 deliveries. James Basson in his first match for the club looked good, but could only manage 4 from 3 before nicking one to slip from the bowling of Shane Eglinton.

Angus Simmers (7 from 10) and Adrian Raisbeck (9 from 12) fell quickly, bringing Craig McNaught (20 from 30) and Andri le Roux to the crease to attempt to steady the ship. It was looking like a formality until Andri (32 from 34), Corrie Brand (9 from 17), Kudu Kotze (9 from 7) and Morne Maritz (2 from 3) all threw their wickets away, while Matt Hart-Davis did the bulk of the damage to the Groot Drak middle order, ending with 3 from 16 from his 3 overs.

Requiring 8 to win with Joubert Kotze and Bruce Taylor at the crease, 9 wickets down, it was looking all over for the home side. Bruce Taylor got off the mark with a lofted straight drive over the bowler’s head to bring Groot Drak within 4.

WPCC captain, Shane Eglinton brought himself on to bowl in an attempt to wrap up what was turning out to be a nail-biting game.
Alfie was clearly looking down on the home side favourably as a straight delivery to Bruce Taylor found the inside edge of the bat and miraculously just missed leg stump as the ball limped to the fine leg boundary to seal the win for Groot Drak.

A wonderful day spent with a bunch of great cricketers who are quickly becoming good mates, was closed out with a swift fines meeting and a casual beer afterwards.

Here’s looking forward to the away leg in February next year!

Man of the Match: Corrie Brand (honourable mention: MC Uys and Andri le Roux)

Match report by Craig McNaught

On Saturday, the 30th of November it was time for the big derby game between Groot Drak and the Scorpions. A game that always provides big moments and bragging rights for the next 12 months. The Scorpions came to avenge their agonizing loss on their home field last season, but under the astute leadership of stand-in captain MC Uys, the Drakies were just too much for Scorpions.

As per usual, Corrie Brand (7 overs on the trot, 1 maiden for 22 runs) opened the bowling running down the hill and was extremely unlucky to be the only bowler of the day not taking a wicket. The tearaway youngster, Liam Carruthers, had to run uphill and bowled beautifully in partnership with Corrie. The youngster finished with figures of 1 for 17 in his 5 overs. Coming on first change Herman Fourie was a tad expensive, picking up 1 wicket for 31 runs in his 5 overs. Colin Myburgh replaced Corrie from the top and took 1 wicket for 2 runs in his first over, bowling out Dangerous Dave for 22 runs. As the dangerous Nico Ras made his way to the wicket, the captain showed his tactical genius by bringing Claude Chantler on to bowl the last over before drinks with the explicit instructions to make sure Nico Ras is back in the hut before drinks. The most attractive cricketer in Groot Drak’s history, Conrad Harley, took up position at cow corner with Claude tossing one up, Nico obliged by hitting it straight into the pair of safe hands of Conrad waiting for him on the boundary. Colin continued after drinks to finish with figures of 2/36 in 5 overs. Angus Simmers and Claude took over from Colin and Harry. Angus finishing with figures of 2/21 in 4 overs and Claude finishing with 2/22 in his allotted 7 overs getting rid of AD Visser who scored 51 vital runs. Conrad Harley (1/3 in 0.4 overs) brought the innings to a close by taking the last wicket.

After lunch the Drakies set about chasing the modest target of 161 in 35 overs. As per usual MC and Gary Seaman (21 runs of 32 balls) opened the batting. The Scorpions were very lucky to dismiss MC for 4 runs. In came the other youngster, JC Burger, who batted beautifully on debut to score 25 off 21 balls before being bowled. The attractive Conrad Harley, batting in his preferred number 5 spot, came in and batted beautifully to score 30 of 51 balls, steering the ship as Claude fell for 9, Herman for 2 and Colin for 6. Angus Simmers batted well to score 17 of 25 balls. Chairman, Jonathan Boulton (15 runs of 13 balls), smashed a six and a four. As expected Corrie made sure his six was the biggest of the day by smashing the first ball Andre bowled onto the roof of the clubhouse to get his team over the line and make sure that Groot Drak win the game by 2 wickets.

Playing in his last game for the club, Conrad Harley was dually awarded Man of the Match for his contributions on the field and the “TFC award” for his contributions off the field. All of the best for your next adventure and in the words of Gary Seaman, “wishing you all of the best for your new adventure Conrad, enjoy you beautiful man”.

Match report by Claude Chantler

On Saturday the 23rd of November, The Willburys travelled from far and wide to play against a Groot Drak side who were keen to level the scores after the drubbing they received 2 years ago.

The Willburys were sent in to bat after their skipper, James Carmichael introduced a new rule in to the fray: the first 22 overs of each innings had to see 11 different bowlers. To their own surprise, Gary Seaman and MC Uys were handed the new ball for the first 4 overs of the game.
Gary bowled well for his 0/9, while MC was in business with just his third delivery, trapping Matt McCormack in front for a duck and then catching Ed Lepine the very next ball, setting up a hat-trick chance that was not to be.

First change saw keeper-cum-swing-bowler-extraordinaire, Jono Boulton (2/9 from 2) nab two valuable wickets, including an impressive, full-stretch diving catch from MC Uys, while Sean Petzer chased leather, going for 21 in his 2 over spell.

Herman Fourie (1/19 from 6) was the pick of the bowlers and bowled a brilliant line and length in the middle overs, supported well by Moustache Maritz (0/19 from 2).

While a touch expensive, Colin Myburgh took 2 wickets, while Louwtjie Uys (0/17 from 2) helped out with his medium pace.

Claude Chantler decided to do away with his regular off-spin and bowled some seam-up for a change, which proved mighty effective, as he took 1/9 from 2.2 overs – his wicket being top-scorer, James Carmichael. Liam Carruthers (1/5 from 2) from the other end was far too accurate and had to be taken off after 2 overs, but had dangerous-looking Rob Pearce caught at gully with a brilliant reflex catch from Claude Chantler.

Craig McNaught had no choice but to bowl a few overs and surprised everyone, taking a wicket and going for just 14 from his first 4 overs and then returning to his usual self, by donating 12 runs off his last over.

The Willburys were bowled out in the last over of the innings for a very competitive 204 runs.

After a quick bite and a salute to the Groot Drak flag, the boys were ready for what promised to be a tough run chase.

MC Uys and Claude Chantler opened the batting and both batted with flair to put the home side well in the driving seat, with MC making 32 from 36 and Claude being run out just one run shy of his 50 from only 32 balls.

Loutjie Uys fought hard for his 3 runs, while Liam Carruthers was promoted to number 4 and had a real chance to score some proper runs for the club. From ball one, Liam looked settled and played some glorious shots all over the park, while Morne Maritz wasted no time and smashed a quick 30 from 22 before being given out LBW.

Jono Boulton was not out for 12 from 13, while Liam earned an incredibly well-deserved 51* from 48, his first half-century for the club, which earned him Man-of-the-Match, as Groot Drak romped to victory with 10 overs to spare.

A quick beer to honour the pitch and both teams settled in for some side-splitting fines, largely dominated by Mike ‘Fun’ Tonder.

After fines, all the players and some of their partners sat down to an awesome dinner prepared expertly by Lejean Pieterse and Sarah Boulton – cooked by braai-master Colin Myburgh.

A wonderful day of cricket and camaraderie came to an end after a few bottles of wine and plenty of laughs. We look forward to hosting the Willburys any and every time they find themselves in our part of the world.

Man-of-the-Match: Liam Carruthers
TFC: Sean Petzer
Pacman: Louwtjie Uys