Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 27/06/2024
Last week’s full round of Topklasse fixtures produced, at least for the present, a very crowded table, with seven teams clustered within two points of each other (although with varying numbers of games played), and two more just a point or two behind. Although this Saturday notionally sees round 6, some sides have only played three matches, so assessing the standings is a bit like trying to figure out who’s leading an 800 meter race before the stagger unwinds. And last week’s results didn’t help much, either, although they did confirm that ACC will have a big fight on their hands to climb out of the relegation zone.
RL: Unbeaten VRA Amsterdam, having demolished HCC last week, return to the Bos to take on defending champions Voorburg in what promises to be one of the most significant matches of the round. With returning internationals Teja Nidamanuru and Vikram Singh now combining with Johan Smal, the chief contributor to their decent total against HCC, the VRA batting line-up looks remarkably strong, as it will need to be against a varied Voorburg attack. Neither top order, in fact, has been as consistent as its credentials on paper might suggest, but it is the champions who have so far relied very heavily on a single big partnership to boost their total. Still and all, the emergence of Ryan Klein as a powerful No. 5 is a real bonus, as is the growing role of Michael Molenaar as an allrounder. That said, it’s VRA’s pace attack which, on present evidence, is the more menacing of the two, and after last week’s disappointment against Punjab, Voorburg will need to be at their best to get the better of their hosts.
BdJ: There’s plenty of open questions around what indeed looks a potentially key match for both sides at the Bos, not least what sort of surface they’ll be playing on given the transitional custodial situation at VRA this week. It looks an inopportune juncture for VCC’s troubled top order to play themselves into form however, with the host’s bowling attack, already looking in fine rhythm, currently honing their skills across the border in Germany. Despite the emergence of a slew of promising youngsters at Westvliet, VCC look aside that may need another season to recover from the recent winter exodus, while VRA’s new-look first team seem to be hitting their stride.
RL: Level on points with the leaders but having played two more games, Punjab-Ghausia are also at home this week, taking on current wooden-spooners ACC at the Zomercomplex. It’s imperative for the Amsterdammers that they don’t let the gap at the foot of the table grow any bigger, but Punjab at home are never an easy proposition, and with their home-grown crop yet to make a significant contribution ACC will need strong contributions from their overseas contingent, Van der Merwe, Sheena and Sayed, if they are to threaten Sikander Zulfiqar’s side. For them, a century by Mohsin Riaz, a near-miss by Saqib Zulfiqar on his return from World Cup duty, and fifties for Shoaib Minhas and Jonathan Vandiar demonstrate the power of their top order, only Musa Ahmad yet to get past fifty. Punjab’s attack, moreover, seems well suited to exploiting the fragility of the ACC’s top five, and it would be one of the biggest shocks of the season were the Amsterdammers to head back north with the points.
BdJ: While they may find themselves at opposite ends of the table for now, both ACC and Punjab will be looking in the same direction at this point – namely down. For ACC the looming threat of relegation will be the principle focus, while Punjab have two losses against them and can ill-afford another at home to the league’s whipping boys if they’re to mount a serious challenge this season. It would indeed be the upset of the round if not the whole summer should ACC take two points back North on Saturday. The ACC top-order looks particularly out of their depth thus far, especially in the absence of Heino Kuhn, and without Dosti castaways Rahil Ahmed and Mahesh Hans the Amsterdammers have simply looked out of place in the top flight this year.
RL: Wins last week propelled both Excelsior ’20 and Sparta 1888 into the middle of the table, although the Schiedammers’ destruction of HBS was probably a more notable victory in the longer term than Sparta’s over ACC. Jason Ralston is unlikely to have many better days than he did against the Crows, but Niels Etman and Jens Blankestijn provide a useful foils, and the arrival of Victor Lubbers as a genuine allrounder gives skipper Roel Verhagen plenty of options. There are, perhaps, more questions about the Schiedammers’ batting, especially in the middle order, and in Cameron Fraser, Khalid Ahmadi and Martijn Snoep Sparta have a seam attack capable of causing their hosts some problems – if they can work their way through Excelsior’s solid-looking top four. Sparta’s own batting hasn’t really fired as yet, and one senses that that might be where this battle centres. But the winner of this encounter will stake a significant claim to a spot in the top six, while the loser may well find themselves dropping back into the relegation zone. So nowhere in this week’s games will the stakes be higher than at Thurlede.
BdJ: While back-to-back wins for both sides in the last couple of weeks may have put worries about relegation to rest for the time being at least, it still looks like the mid-table ain’t big enough for the both of them and which side gets to start setting their sights higher and which needs to start thinking about survival may well be decided at Thurlede on Saturday. For all the pedigree of their top order, Excelsior have had reason to be grateful for the depth that the arrival of Lubbers lends to the batting and a wagging tail of late, with only Tim Etman alone averaging over 30 and Niels Etman outscoring many recognised bats. Verhagen himself seems to have found some form in Germany however, and while Sparta’s seam attack has looked solid they still struggle to find fifty good overs in a game. The spartan trump card remains the destructive Riley Mudford of course, but the big-hitting keeper-bat has yet to replicate his short format form in the 50-over comp, and Sparta’s fans may be beginning to wonder how deep a hole that particular ace is hiding in.
RL: HBS Craeyenhout, back on their own astroturf to face VOC Rotterdam, will need to put last week’s remarkable collapse behind them quickly if they are to return to winning ways. Here, too, both sides need the points to stay with the clustering pack, and both will doubtless again be looking to their overseas contingent to provide a good deal of the muscle. Walbrugh, Botha and De Villiers all had off days for the Crows against Excelsior, leaving Wesley Barresi to fight a rearguard action in company with Julian de Mey, while Schiehout, Bettelheim and even the injured McKenzie proved their worth for VOC. The balance of the sides will be influenced by whether McKenzie is able to play this week, but it’s also significant that the Rotterdammers’ local brigade – especially Jelte Schoonheim and Asief Hoseinbaks – have been able to contribute more to their campaign than the Crows’ equivalents.
BdJ: A remarkable symmetry between the Crows and the Bloodhounds this season indeed, both mired in the mid-table and reliant on their overseas for most all of their runs and a good chunk of the wickets, albeit both boasting some promising youngsters that look at most a season away from being genuine assets. It would be nice to imagine that this weeks encounter will be decided by the efforts of a Boddendijk or a Jain, and indeed it may well be. More likely it’ll be down tom which side’s overseas have the best day out, and it’s a brave man who bets against Walbrugh at Craeyenhout.
RL: The same remark about a quick recovery applies to HCC, who this week face a potentially tricky visit to the Loopuyt Oval to take on Hermes-DVS. Sebastiaan Braat’s side gives the impression of having settled down as a unit more than the Lions, with Ostling, Doyle, Braat himself and the returning Aryan Dutt all weighing in with the bat and an attack spearheaded by the Elenbaas brothers, Braat and Niels Woermeijer, backed up by Murid Ekrami. HCC’s season, of course, has been badly disrupted by the weather, but they will be concerned that no-one has managed more than 36 with the bat in their three matches so far – and that came from bowling allrounder Daniel Crowley. So Boris Gorlee will be keen to step up himself and to get more from the rest of his top five. The bowling has been more effective, it is true, but whether setting or chasing the Lions will need a better start than they have so far been able to achieve.
BdJ: Survival was Hermes’ stated ambition at the start of the season, and despite having picked up just the one win thus far it could be argued they’ve set their sights a little low. While the bowling looked a little light ahead of the season, the efforts of Woermeijer, the brothers Elenbaas and reinforcements from south of the border have kept them competitive even in Dutt’s absence. HCC meanwhile have looked strangely out of sorts this season, for a side that’s maintained a core unit for a half-dozen summers now the Lions nonetheless look oddly incoherent and less than the sum of their parts. On paper the visitors’ extensive top-flight experience ought to make them heavy favourites against the newly-promoted Hermes, but it doesn’t really feel that way two days out.
RL’s picks: VRA, Punjab, Excelsior, VOC, Hermes.
BdJ’s picks: VRA, Punjab, Sparta, HBS, Hermes.
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