Bertus de Jong 18/04/2023
Excelsior ’20’s 2023 season is not fondly remembered in Schiedam, the club’s traditional prioritising of the 50-over format meaning an impressive showing in the T20 competition is rated poor compensation for a 9th-place finish in the Topklasse, but nonethless the Schiedammers have had more success in the short format in recent years, twice finishing one win short of silverware as runners-up to VOC.
Roel Verhagen leads an appreciably stronger side into this year’s competition, having picked up Salland skipper Victor Lubbers in the off season and the prodigal Joost Kroesen returning from Sparta, while two new signings join the evergreen Lorenzo Ingram in the overseas section.
South African opening bat Derek Mitchell will likely partner either Verhagen himself or his predecessor Tim Etman at the top, while former Australia u19s seam all-rounder Jason Ralston will lend a cutting edge to the pace attack as well as hitting power down the order.
Despite these new arrivals, Excelsior’s squad looks like an island of continuity in a broiling sea of change this season, with a reassuringly stable contingent of van Troosts, Kroesens and Etmans (Etmen? Etmannen?) filling out the rest of the roster.
Umar Baker’s switch to Sparta is the most notable departure over the winter, along with the non-return of overseas Michael Hart and the rumoured retirement of Tom Heggleman. In their absence Verhagen may have to bowl more than he’d like again, though given his return of 13 wickets at an economy under 7 in last year’s T20 competition his reluctance is perhaps unwarranted.
The word at Thurlede is that Excelsior’s principal ambition for 2024 is to return to the top end of the table in the 50-over competition, and perhaps it’s the freedom afforded by treating T20 as a secondary concern that’s allowed them to
Young prospects: Stan van Troost has been a regular in the first team since taking over the gloves from Verhagen a couple of seasons back, but is tipped for a big season with the bat after a winter spent turning out for Curtin-Victoria in Perth grade cricket. Youn Jens Blankestijn, who spent part of the off-season at the Gary Kirsten academy in South Africa, is also ecpected to play a more prominent role with the ball for the coming season.
T20 Record: 2023 RU | ’22 RU | ’21 QF | ’20 SF | ’19 GS | ’18 ⅛F | ’17 QF | ’16 SF | ’15 QF | ’14 QF
Defending champions VOC Rotterdam find themselves facing the ever-tricky challenge of dynastic succession this season, the side’s remarkable domination of the T20 competition in recent years, winning four titles of the last five, being in no small part down to the effectiveness of the partnership of Dutch internationals Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards at the top of the order, as well as the eaerlier efforts of their sometime flatmate Corey Rutgers and Edwards’ predecessor as Netherlands captain Pieter Seelaar.
Rutgers and Seelaaar had already been edging their way toward retirement, but the well-publicised departure of O’Dowd and Edwards (along with Rutgers) to Kampong Utrecht over the winter leaves the Bloodhounds without four key figures in their most successful short-format side.
Yet skipper Tim de Kok adds some welcome perspective; “Obviously Max and Scott will leave a gap, but with their Dutch commitments we didn’t always see much of them anyway.” Indeed O’Dowd and Edwards appeared in only three T20s for VOC last season, Seelaar just two, Rutgers not at all and Edwards already handed over the gloves to Francois Fourie some time ago. “The three new Kiwis we’ve got look to be serious players” adds de Kok, “and [Jock] McKenzie can bowl pretty rapid too.”
Along with NZ u19s and Auckland all-rounder McKenzie, the new Kiwi contingent includes top order bat and part-time leggie Taylor Bettelheim, and all-rounder Ryan Schierhout, both of whom have provincial A team experience back in New Zealand.
While there have been further departures from Hazelaarweg, with last season’s overseas Lane Berry not returning, Burhan Niaz heading to Punjab and Max Hoornweg back to Sparta, most of VOC’s regulars from last season will be back for the Bloodhounds. Alongside de Kok himself, the veteran Jelte Schoonheim (onze vedette as de Kok describes him) has signed on for another season, while slow-bowling pair Asief Hoseinbaks and Arnav Jain are also retained, the latter now joined by younger brother Aaditt, the left arm quick making the switch from VRA over the winter.
In de Kok’s assessment, a fourth consecutive title and a berth at the European T10 Championships well within reach. “We’re really happy with the group we have, there’s a good vibe and the talent to beat any team. We’ve got our sights set on going back to Spain.”
Young prospects: Alongside spinner Sieb van Wingerden, de Kok identifies his two young pace prospects as worth watching for in the coming season, “Aaditt [Jain] really showed some skills [at the 2023 ECL] in Spain – him and Roman [Harhangi] for my money are the two stand-out talents in that age group for the Dutch.”
T20 Record: 2023 TKC | ’22 TKC | ’21 TKC | ’20 GS | ’19 TKC | ’18 QF | ’17 GS | ’16 GS | ’16 QF | ’14 GS
TKcricket 