Rod Lyall 15/06/2023
Compression seems to be the name of the game these days, and incredibly, just a fortnight after they started, most clubs will pass the halfway point this weekend in their gallop towards the finals day of the restyled T20 Cup.
It will be VRA Amsterdam’s turn to play host to a triple-header, taking on Voorburg in the early game at the Bos, and then meeting Excelsior ‘20 in the day’s final game, with their two opponents playing one another as the meat in the sandwich.
As two of the four teams currently on four points, VRA and Voorburg will know that every win is vital if they are to be in the mix for the finals day on 15 July, while Excelsior, one victory behind them, need to make up ground on either or both if they are to have any chance of recovering what has been a pretty disappointing season for the Schiedam club.
VRA and Voorburg are, of course, among the sides that are suffering most from the absence of the national squad; numerically, the Amsterdammers’ losses are only half those of their guests, but Voorburg demonstrated last week that they have enviable strength in depth, with youngsters like Nirav Kulkarni, Tom de Leede and Floris and Cedric de Lange able to step into the breach left by the club’s six internationals.
VRA were scarcely tested by Salland last Saturday, but they too are not without young talent, Aaditt Jain, Udit Nashier, Zamaan Khan and Adam Constant slotting into the side and keen to make the most of the opportunity.
Excelsior, on the other hand, while untroubled by such considerations, are still struggling to find the most effective combination, and their morale will not have been helped by their defeat by Punjab on Saturday after they had reached an extremely promising 160 for two.
These look like three pretty even contests, but the momentum is with Voorburg, and it would be surprising if they didn’t leave the Bos with at least one win to show for their day’s efforts, and quite possibly two.
Their mid-table rivals both face challenging away matches of rather different kinds: ACC will go to Het Zomercomplex to take on unbeaten Punjab Rotterdam, while VOC Rotterdam will head east to Deventer on Saturday to play Salland.
Punjab are already looking like very likely semi-finalists despite the loss of Saqib Zulfiqar: his brother Sikander is a proven matchwinner with both bat and ball, and Shoaib Minhas is a reliable runmaker at the top of the order.
ACC rely heavily on Thomas Hobson, especially in the absence of Heino Kuhn, but Anis Raza has hit a rich vein of form with the bat, and the attack, if not particularly incisive, has plenty of variation.
In the absence of three of their four German internationals Salland are increasingly seeming to be headed for relegation, possibly in both formats, and it will take a greatly-improved team effort if they are to have any serious chance of upsetting either Sparta or VOC.
That said, Sparta themselves are missing spearhead Ahsan Malik from their attack, and although Mudassar Bukhari bowled testingly against Voorburg last week Malik and Khalid Ahmadi’s wicket-taking skills make a big difference to their efforts.
With their three overseas players, though, they are a better side than their none-from-three record suggests, and they will start as favourites to break their duck in Deventer on Saturday.
Having twice beaten VOC in 50-over matches since their arrival in the top flight, Salland will be especially keen to extend that run when they meet them in the shorter format, and the Rotterdammers, after a thumping defeat by Voorburg, have not looked wholly convincing in their two wins since.
But with Lane Berry, Tim de Kok and Arnav Jain in their batting line-up, Asief Hoseinbaks in wicket-taking form, Jelte Schoonheim a never-to-be-discounted force with both bat and ball, and Mussayab Jamil slotting usefully in, VOC remain strong, and their T20 record is second to none.
Winless like Sparta and Salland, HBS Craeyenhout will be at home to unbeaten leaders HCC in Saturday’s remaining match.
The Lions are certainly riding high and will start as favourites to maintain their winning streak, but HBS have been more than a little unfortunate in their four defeats so far.
Their problem, obviously, is keeping their opponents below 200, something they have failed to do in all three matches, but the return of Ferdi Vink and Navjit Singh to their ranks, though it did not ultimately change the outcome against VOC, could if it continues bring a measure of solidity to a young and worryingly fragile attack.
With 773 runs and four centuries across the two formats Tayo Walbrugh is the leading runscorer in the country, but he’s not enough on his own to beat HCC, and even sterling support from Azzam Khan could not see the side home against a workmanlike ACC bowling unit.
Against that, HCC have Alphonse, Staal, Gorlee, Vandiar and Hidde Overdijk capable of making quick runs, and an attack which even without Clayton Floyd looks sharp.
This week’s predictions: Voorburg, Sparta; Voorburg, Punjab; VOC; HCC; VRA.
This article was amended on 17 June to reflect the fact that Sparta and VOC will play each other not on Sunday, 18 June, but on Thursday, 22 June.
TKcricket 