VOC move to second, but Excelsior march on

Rod Lyall 28/05/18

VOC Rotterdam jumped ahead of Sparta 1888 and into second place on the Topklasse table with a comprehensive demolition of their rivals at Sportpark Bermweg on Saturday.

With VOC’s new-ball attack of Fred Klaassen and Pierce Fletcher in rampant form, only Michael Pollard among the home batsmen was able to reach double figures, top-scoring with 19. There were no fewer than six ducks in the Sparta innings, as the Capelle side were dismissed for 49.

Klaassen and Fletcher bowled unchanged for twenty overs, finishing with five for 28 and three for 20 respectively. Then Pieter Seelaar came on himself, and two deliveries were sufficient, not only to claim the final two wickets but to take the VOC captain past 300 wickets in the top flight.

VOC needed just 38 deliveries to reach their target, losing two wickets in the process. Dirk van Baren made 22, while Corey Rutgers ended on an unbeaten 19.

At De Diepput meanwhile, Excelsior ‘20 strengthened their position at the top of the table with an 89-run victory over HCC.

It was slow going much of the time, but Lorenzo Ingram’s 144-ball knock of 109, including 10 fours and two sixes, was the difference between the sides, as he saw the Schiedammers to a decent total of 209 for six.

Sanjit Shankar chipped in with 28, while skipper Tom Heggelman’s breezy 26 not out helped to get his side past the magic 200.

This, and a disciplined Excelsior attack, proved too much for HCC, who battled their way to 120 before they were all out in exactly 47 overs. Boris Gorlee’s patient 29 was their best effort, while Gijs Kroesen’s four for 31 represented his best return in the Topklasse.

On the artificial outfield at Craeyenhout, HBS Den Haag and Dosti United Amsterdam turned on a runfest, 578 runs coming in a match which was decisively won by the home side.

Tobias Visée got HBS off to great start with a remarkable 46-ball 85 which included 12 fours and four sixes, and then Sharn Gomes and Jaron Morgan added 151 for the third wicket as Dosti’s bowlers toiled in the heat.

Sheet-anchor Gomes eventually departed for 63, but Morgan went on to make his first century of the season, making 115 from 93 deliveries with eight fours and seven sixes before he fell to a sharp return catch by Anees Davids.

Then Wesley Barresi and Anil Ahmed took up the challenge, adding 79 quick runs to take their side past 350, 356 for four being a club record total in the top division. Barresi finished on 40 and Ahmed on 34.

It always looked likely to be too big an ask for Dosti, and when Wessel Coster had Taruwar Kohli caught at slip by Barresi for 29 and then Ahmed removed Davids for 39, the writing was on the wall. Vinoo Tewarie played a fine captain’s knock of 65 and Mahesh Hans posted a career-best 42 not out, but with Morgan capping a splendid allround performance with three for 19 and a stunning diving catch in the covers, Dosti were eventually dismissed for 222.

There was a century too for former VRA and Netherlands captain Peter Borren, whose 90-ball 105 included a fourth-wicket stand of 134 with Daan ter Braak (78). Their efforts, and an extremely rapid 41 from Leon Turmaine in the closing stages, saw the Amsterdam side through to 327 for eight against Punjab Rotterdam at Het Zomercomplex.

This, too, was too challenging a total to chase, and despite 85 from Berend Vorster the home side – again without Stef Myburgh – could only manage 233 for nine. Borren followed up his hundred with three for 42, while Ter Braak claimed two for 63 and George Dunlop two for 31.

The bottom-of-the-table clash between ACC and Quick Haag at Het Loopveld was won for the visitors by Lesley Stokkers (81 not out) and Geert Maarten Mol (70 not out), who saw their side home after they had been reduced to 62 for five chasing ACC’s 189.

The Amsterdammers were again disappointing with the bat, Sikander Zulfiqar top-scoring with 45 after elder brother Rehmat had made 30, while Quick’s Sean Davey claimed five for 30 – including three of the five Zulfiqars – and skipper Thijs van Schelven three for 39.

At 16 for three and then 62 for five the ACC bowlers appeared to have brought their side back into the game, but the experienced pair of Stokkers and Mol, helped by some indifferent catching, fought their way out of trouble and paced the chase perfectly, the winning runs coming with just three balls to spare.