Bertus de Jong 16/05/24
As the final round of T20 League matches approaches, the unseasonably wet weather has left us with a substantial backlog of catch-up games to get through at the back end too, with almost as many rain-repeats scheduled over the next few days as actual Round 6 games. Further complicating the schedule is of course the arrival of the international season, with Scotland and Ireland in town for a tri-series that will pull a number of players out of domestic cricket as the scramble for playoff spots comes to a head.
A total of ten matches remain, to be played over the course of the weekend and Easter Monday. One side has already booked their place for finals day, hosts Voorburg, two points clear at the top of the table, can no longer drop out of the top four. That’s perhaps fortunate for them as they may lose a number of players to international duty – Vivian Kingma, Sybrand Engelbrecht and Michael Levitt unlikely to be available for their catch-up against HBS on the eve of the international tri-series, and even less likely to feature against HCC the next day.
For HBS Craeyenhout, currently in second place but unbeaten and with three games in hand, only a catastrophic final stretch could see them miss out. While they likely lose Kyle Klein and skipper Wesley Barresi to national duty, they only need one win from their three matches against Voorburg, Punjab, or Excelsior to be sure of progressing, and perhaps not even that considering their robust net run rate advantage. While Barresi and Klien have been key to the Crows success thus far, it’s hard to see them missing out from here.
Similarly HCC, though they lose the services of Tim Pringle, have two games in hand to make sure of their spot in the top four, one against a likely weakened Voorburg and another against wooden-spooners Salland, who have not looked like winning a game all season. Though the Lions’ core trio of Staal, Gorlee and Overdijk looked a bit rusty early in the season, all three have started to fire, while young Teun Leijer continues to impress. Though their poor net run rate does mean they will almost certainly need some points to make the playoffs, they’re pretty well-placed to collect them.
All of which makes for a nervous few days on the sidelines for VRA, who have completed all their fixures with five wins from nine and a solid but not insurmountable NRR of +0.85. Hermes DVS could yet leapfrog them, though it would take an emphatic win in their final match – the Schiedam Derby against Excelsior– to the tune of about 60-65 runs or with about 8 overs to spare if chasing. That looks a tall order given that they’ll likely be without Aryan Dutt and just possibly Olivier Elenbaas if the latter’s called up as cover for absentees. Any win could still be enough for the Sky Blues, but it would take a lot of improbable results going their way, having frittered away an excellent start to the season. If Daniel Doyle Calle or CP Klijnhand recover some of their early form one could still envisage a last ditch recovery, but finals day looks a long shot for Hermes as it stands.
Excelsior ‘20 themselves could still sneak in too if they got on a run this weekend, with three games in hand and three wins probably enough. In addition to the derby, Excelsior face HBS and Salland in their final matches. Unlike HBS, Excelsior won’t lose any players to the national team, and if they can take the hnours against rivals Hermes they will feel they’re in with a real chance of a surge up the table.
Meanwhile defending champions VOC Rotterdam are slightly better-placed to storm into the top four, level with Excelsior on two wins and a no result for 5 points in the bank with three games to go. The Bloodhounds will be away for all three fixtures however, first heading to Bermweg to take on Sparta, then the Zomercomplex to face Punjab, and finally Craeyenhout against HBS for their final match. With both Sparta 1888 and Punjab-Ghausia already out of contention (as are Salland of course), a full-strength VOC probably pose the greatest threat to HCC and VRA’s position in the top four. By the time Monday roles around HBS may already be safe as well, meaning VOC would exclusively be playing opponents with nothing to gain or lose.
All told there’s plenty of possibilities and permutations still in play, and the final four may well not be decided before the final match on Monday.
TKcricket 