Bishops and Groot Drakenstein: A Tradition of Cricket and Friendship

There are cricket fixtures that are simply matches on a fixture list, and there are others that become part of the fabric of a school. The annual Bishops Preparatory School fixture against the Groot Drakenstein Games Club belongs firmly in the latter category.

On Saturday, 19 September 2026, the Bishops U13A will once again make the journey to the historic Groot Drakenstein Games Club for a fixture that represents far more than another game of cricket. It is a meeting shaped over generations by friendship, hospitality, family and a shared love of the game.

The connection between Bishops and Groot Drakenstein dates back to the early 20th century and has developed into one of the school's enduring cricket traditions. A 2015 Bishops publication highlighted the important role played by Old Diocesan Jack Manning, who was closely associated with Groot Drakenstein and served the club in a remarkable variety of capacities, including as cricketer, groundsman, captain, chairman, president and patron. The relationship was further strengthened in the 1990s and early 2000s through the involvement of another Old Diocesan, Richard von Hoesslin, who has also enjoyed a long association with the club.

The Prep fixture itself has a remarkable history. By 2015, Bishops recorded that the annual contest between the Prep U13 leavers and masters and Groot Drakenstein had already been running for 66 years, placing its origins around 1949. It is a longevity that few school cricket fixtures can match.

The venue makes the occasion still more significant.

Founded in 1895, the Groot Drakenstein Games Club has a long sporting history, while the famous Pickstone Oval occupies a particularly important place in South African cricket. In 1921, H.E.V. Pickstone made land available to the club, with cricket forming part of the conditions attached to its use. In 1926, a turf wicket was established through a substantial community effort, and the ground is recognised as the site of South Africa's oldest turf cricket wicket. The oval was formally named the Pickstone Oval in 1999.

For successive generations of Bishops boys, therefore, the fixture has provided an opportunity not only to play cricket but to do so on a ground steeped in the history of the game.

The character of the fixture has evolved with the times. What was once an afternoon fixture became a December morning game and has more recently developed into a pre-season fixture ahead of the Fourth Term. The opposition has changed too.

In earlier years, Bishops boys could find themselves facing a formidable collection of experienced Groot Drakenstein cricketers — the affectionate image of the occasional grumpy old men, still keen to turn an arm over and show the youngsters a thing or two. Over time, father-and-son combinations became part of the story, bringing another generation into the fixture. Today, the opposition can be a local boys' XI representing the community under the Groot Drakenstein name.

The names, ages and composition of the teams may have changed, but the spirit of the fixture has remained remarkably consistent.

On occasion, the relationship has even produced two matches involving Bishops around the same period. During the 1999 celebrations of Bishops' 150th anniversary, a senior Groot Drakenstein side played a Bishops XI made up of College boys who had previously represented the Bishops Prep U13A. It was a fitting celebration of the relationship between the two institutions, bringing together players from different generations in the spirit of friendship and enjoyment.

More recently, a Bishops Stags side , representing the Prep staff , played a fixture against Groot Drakenstein XI that continued well into the setting evening sun. Such occasions demonstrate that the connection extends well beyond the Prep cricket programme. Over the years it has brought together Prep boys, College boys, masters, Old Diocesans, parents, staff and local cricketers.

That sense of community is central to the Groot Drakenstein experience.

The cricket is competitive, but the occasion has always retained a genuine family atmosphere. The match is followed by the social traditions that make a visit to the club memorable: the braai, time around the clubhouse and, for the youngsters, the opportunity to enjoy the pool and snooker inside or cool off in the club swimming pool.

It is cricket in the fullest sense of the word , not simply the contest between bat and ball, but the friendships and memories created around it.

For the Bishops U13A boys, the fixture also provides a valuable lesson in what the game represents. Cricket is bigger than a scorecard. It is about respect for the opposition, sportsmanship, enjoying the occasion, understanding tradition and appreciating the privilege of playing on grounds where generations of cricketers have played before them.

One tradition perhaps captures this spirit better than any other.

After the match, the players gather on the pitch for an after-match drink. It is a brief moment of thanks and reflection — an opportunity to stand together on the playing surface and appreciate the privilege of playing the game they all love.

In earlier days, alcohol may have featured in the post-match proceedings for the adults. For the Prep boys of today, fortunately, a simple soft drink is more than sufficient. The tradition, however, remains: a moment to pause, acknowledge the day and celebrate the game.

The continuation of this tradition has also depended on individuals within the Prep School who have recognised its value and ensured that it remained part of the Prep cricket calendar. Edward Milne and Rob Riches, both now deceased, together with Richard Goedhals and Murray Anderson, have each been instrumental in keeping the Groot Drakenstein tradition alive within the Prep School. Their contribution forms part of the story behind a fixture that has survived across generations and continues to give Bishops boys an experience that extends well beyond the boundary.

On 19 September 2026, another generation of Bishops cricketers will walk onto the Pickstone Oval.

They will play on a ground carrying more than a century of sporting history. They will face opponents whose composition may once again be different from those who came before them. And, like generations of Bishops boys before them, they will experience a fixture in which the result is only one part of the story.

The essentials remain unchanged: a bat, a ball, a historic cricket ground, good friends, generous hospitality and the timeless spirit of the gentleman's game.

For Bishops, the Groot Drakenstein fixture represents something increasingly precious in modern school sport — a tradition sustained by generations of players, parents, masters and friends of the school, and by those who understood that some fixtures are worth preserving simply because of what they represent.

Long may this remarkable Bishops vs Groot Drakenstein tradition continue.