Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 24/05/2024
Unusually, this year’s 50-over Topklasse gets under way as the T20 Cup reaches its conclusion, and the sides already have a full round robin in the shorter format under their belts. How they adapt to the demands of the one-day game will be one of the imponderables in the coming couple of weeks, as will the absence for several early rounds of national team players, which affects some clubs (most of all defending champions Voorburg) much more than others. The structure of the competition is essentially unchanged, so the initial battle will be to make sure of a place in the top six, who will contest the championship in the second and final phases.
RJL: Voorburg’s first challenge will be at the Hazelaarweg, where they will face a radically restructured VOC Rotterdam. The change is to a significant degree the result of the departure of Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards to Kampong, but the Bloodhounds have compensated by recruiting four new overseas players, Taylor Bettelheim, Jock McKenzie, Jason van der Meulen and Ryan Schierhout. They didn’t really hit their straps during the T20 Cup, but they are likely to make a greater impact during the 50-over competition. Voorburg, however, also lost some key players over the winter, and go into the season’s second phase without several more, due to national team commitments. That said, they did top the T20 round robin, and their reserve strength is greater than that of many of their rivals. It was an encouraging sign for the champions that Ryan Klein was able to bowl a couple of tentative overs last weekend, since his contribution with the ball could be very important as the season develops. All this makes it a difficult game to call, but it would not be a massive surprise if VOC inflicted an opening day defeat on the defending champions.
BdJ: While Ryan Klein will still be in this weekend and is expected to feature on T20 finals day before flying out to join the national team, word is he won’t be playing 50-overs on Saturday. Though Noah Croes himself missed out on selection, he will be without the services of Engelbrecht, Kingma and Levitt too. VOC’s new side has had some time to settle now, and they will be at full strength facing what is essentially a second string Voorburg. Undoubtedly an opportunity for the Bloodhounds to put one over on the title-holders, though there will perhaps be less pressure on Voorburg’s understudies for whom every early season win will be a bonus.
RJL: Last year’s defeated grand finalists, HCC, will be at home to Sparta 1888. The Lions, too, have reinforced their squad significantly, and batter Conor McInerney and seamer Adam Leonard both did enough during the T20 competition to indicate that they will have key roles to play in the longer format. Jed Wiggins has been slower to settle into the side, but again, he may be better suited to the 50-over game. But with former internationals Tonny Staal, Boris Gorlee and Hidde Overdijk likely to make significant contributions and Daniel Crowley and Patient Charumbira both bowling well, HCC seem certain to be a force again this season. They may well be too strong for a Sparta side which struggled in the T20 Cup, despite the presence of another swathe of overseas players, wicketkeeper-batter Riley Mudford the most impressive of them so far. Ahsan Malik and Khalid Ahmadi remain their potential trump cards with the ball, but it’s a real question whether the bowling unit has the collective firepower to bowl sides out, and they may face a tough season ahead.
BdJ:Sparta are hardly alone in their reliance on overseas players for runs this season,but their dependence on Mudford specifically for match-winning knocks has been particularly pronounced. Whether the prospect of having 50-overs to bat curbs his natural aggression is an open question, but Sparta will likely need him to bat time. Khalid Ahmadi and Ahsan Malik have been excellent in the short format, but the rest of the attack will indeed need to back them up better if Sparta are to keep sides under pressure. HCC bat a fair way down now with the addition of the three overseas, while also providing the lion’s share of the wickets in the T20 season. meanwhile the homegrown trio of Staal, Overdijk and Gorlee looks set to become a quartet with the emergence of Teun Leijer as a force with the ball. Though the Lions have yet to really fire on all cylinders this season, they’ll start as heavy favourites in their first match.
RJL: After a blistering start to their T20 Cup campaign Hermes-DVS Schiedam fell away somewhat, and they face a tough return to the Topklasse itself when they take on VRA Amsterdam at the Loopuyt Oval on Saturday. They will, moreover, be missing Aryan Dutt, although this is balanced by the absence of VRA opener Vikram Singh and captain Teja Nidamanuru. The Hermes top order boasts CP Klijnhans and Ashley Ostling as well as Spanish international Daniel Doyle, who has two centuries to his credit already, and with Olivier Elenbaas and skipper Sebastiaan Braat spearheading the attack the Schiedammers have the nucleus of a useful side. Whether the supporting cast are capable of taking them into the top six one might legitimately doubt, although Hermes’ first task will be to stay well clear of relegation. Even without Singh and Nidamanuru VRA have a pretty formidable outfit, and the fact that most of last year’s team are playing in the seconds is testimony to the Amsterdammers’ strength in depth. The acquisition of international spinners Clayton Floyd and Shariz Ahmad along with Australian overseas Elijah Eales makes them genuine championship contenders, and they will want to establish their credentials from the word Go.
BdJ: While stand-in skipper Johan Smal is expected to return this weekend, Nidamanuru’s deputy has been sidelined with a hip injury for the entire season so far. He’ll be taking over command of a side that was struggling for cohesion even before the departure of his two predecessors as captain, and one that has been reliant on Singh especially delivering with bat and ball. While Hermes remain a top-heavy batting side, if the top order were to fire the sky blues could very well put one over on a makeshift VRA outfit.
RJL: ACC’s season began in the Hoofdklasse T20 Cup, but a much better performance in last year’s 50-over competition, where they finished in the top six, kept them in the top flight for the longer format. With three overseas players – South Africans Guy Sheena and Ben van der Merwe and Indian Izhaan Sayed – they will be aiming to do at least as well this time round, but they face a tricky initial assignment with a visit to Thurlede to take on Excelsior ‘20. The Schiedammers narrowly missed out on a spot at the T20 finals day, but with experienced South African Derek Mitchell forming a solid middle-order partnership with the evergreen Lorenzo Ingram, openers Tim Etman and skipper Roel Verhagen in good form, and Stan van Troost emerging as a useful number three, they will be looking for a much-improved performance than last year’s, when they found themselves in the relegation pool in the latter part of the season.
BdJ: While ACC managed a surprisingly strong finish in last year’s competition, it’s worth noting most of their runs last season came from either Heino Khun or Thomas Hobson, neither of whom will be turning out for them in 2024. Old Dosti hands Rahil Ahmed and Mahesh Hans have been were similarly instrumental in keeping them afloat in the top division, but even with some overseas reinforcement they’ll be starting as underdogs in most every game they play this season and tomorrow is no exception.
RJL: Perhaps the most intriguing match of the round will be at Craeyenhout, where a Barresiless HBS will entertain newly hyphenated Punjab-Ghausia. With Jonathan Vandiar having returned from HCC and Musa Ahmad transferring from Voorburg the Punjab top order may be less Zulfiqar-dependent than in recent seasons, although both Saqib and Sikander, the latter having taken over the captaincy from Suleiman Tariq, but their trump cards may well be opener Shoaib Minhas and left-arm spinner Ahmad Shafiq. The Belgium-based pair of Fawad Shinwari and Burhan Niaz, too, seem likely to make useful contributions, while Sajjad Kamal and Samiullah Salarazai complete a new-look pace attack. For HBS, allrounders Lehan Botha and Matthew de Villiers join fellow-South African Tayo Walbrugh in a strong squad, while Kyle Klein’s pace bowling has brought him to the brink of the national squad. Expect a high-scoring tussle, with the Crows’ home advantage perhaps enough to give them the edge.
BdJ: Neither Kyle Klein nor Saqib Zulfiqar will feature tomorrow of course, as their plane to the States leaves mid afternoon. Despite the latter’s solid season thus far, one nonetheless feels HBS will feel the loss of their internationals more keenly. Walbrugh himself has been in middling form with the bat, and while the two new South Africans seem to have adapted to conditions well, the Crows don’t have the bench strength to easily cover for Klein’s all-round contribution.
RL’s picks: VOC, HCC, VRA, Excelsior, HBS.
BdJ’s picks: VOC, HCC, VRA, Excelsior, Punjab
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