Rod Lyall 16/07/2023
A devastating innings from Max O’Dowd propelled VOC Rotterdam to their third consecutive T20 Cup win and their fourth in five seasons at the VRA ground on Saturday in a final which was reduced to eight overs a side after a band of rain had passed over the Amsterdamse Bos.
Defeated finalists Excelsior ’20 Schiedam contributed to their own defeat, first by not adapting their batting order to the changed circumstances and then by dropping O’Dowd three times as he plundered 50 from just 20 deliveries, but there was no question that Tim de Kok’s side deserved their title.
They had done well to restrict Excelsior to 76 for five after Roel Verhagen had won the toss and elected to bat, Verhagen himself top-scoring with a 20-ball 27, and they had secured a vital breakthrough when Jelte Schoonheim bowled danger-man Lorenzo Ingram for just 3.
Excelsior needed to remove O’Dowd early, but instead he quickly took the game away from them, and after he finally fell to a fine catch by Rens van Troost off the bowling of Umar Baker it was left to Lane Berry and Scott Edwards to knock off the 19 runs that were still required.
Earlier, a fine half-century by opener Francois Fourie had been instrumental in keeping VOC’s hopes of a third successive Cup win alive with a six-wicket victory over table-toppers HCC.
Put in to bat, HCC had begun very cautiously, only 21 runs coming in the powerplay for the wicket of Ratha Alphonse, caught by Edwards off the bowling of Pierce Fletcher.
They were rescued, however, by Tonny Staal and Boris Gorlee who added 78 for the second wicket in just 8.2 overs before Staal, having made a 41-ball 53, walked across his stumps as he tried to turn Asief Hoseinbaks to leg, and was bowled.
Hidde Overdijk then went after Hoseinbaks, twice hitting him for a six and a four from successive deliveries before the slow left-armer had his revenge, as Overdijk was beaten outside off and smartly stumped by keeper Fourie; he had contributed 26 from just ten deliveries.
Gorlee soon followed, caught in the legside deep by O’Dowd off Arnav Jain’s bowling for a 30-ball 35, and although HCC were able to add a further 18 runs the feature of the latter stages was a hat-trick for Ramdas Upadhyaya off the last three balls of the innings.
He finished with four for 21, and despite that second-wicket stand by Staal and Gorlee VOC could feel reasonably content at having held their opponents to 154 for eight.
By contrast with HCC’s start, 56 came from VOC’s powerplay, O’Dowd creating initial momentum with a 9-ball cameo of 16, and although Lane Berry fell to a magnificent running catch by Staal on the midwicket boundary and Burhan Niaz flat-batted a lifting delivery from Daniel Crowley to deep cover, even the dismissal of Fourie with 41 still required did not impede the Rotterdammers’ progress, Scott Edwards and Tim de Kok knocking off the remaining runs to complete the win with nine balls to spare.
In the other semi-final Excelsior dismissed Punjab Rotterdam for 89 as they successfully defended a relatively modest 122 for six, neutralising Punjab’s powerful batting line-up with some extremely accurate bowling.
The foundation of their innings was Ingram’s unbeaten 61, made from 45 deliveries and the highest individual score of the day, smaller contributions coming from Rens Heinsbroek (16) and Tom Heggelman (15 not out).
Punjab’s attack did well to limit the damage, Muhammad Shafiq taking two for 17 from his four overs and Sulaiman Tariq two for 18, while Saqib Zulfiqar’s four overs cost just 14 runs.
But Punjab’s reply never really got going, Jens Blankestijn removing Shoaib Minhas for just 8 and Verhagen collecting three for 11 with his gentle off-spin as every big shot seemed to find a fielder.
Heggelman was especially parsimonious, his three overs yielding just nine runs and the wicket of Yasir Usman, while Niels Etman took two for six in 13 deliveries.
TKcricket 