Round 2 Preview

Rod Lyall and Bertus de Jong 31/05/2024

Thanks to last weekend’s appalling weather only four teams were able to get a nibble of the candy bar that is the 2024 Topklasse competition, so there are almost as many questions about how that competition is likely to develop as there were a week ago. Especially since the two games that were played went down to the final ball, and could essentially have gone either way. So much remains enigmatic as we cross out fingers that this Saturday at least will see a full round completed.

RJL: Having squeezed out a victory over HBS last week, Punjab-Ghausia will take on promoted side Hermes-DVS at the Zomercomplex. Almost the whole of the Rotterdammers’ top and middle order got a start against HBS, none of them going on to make a really decisive contribution, but it was the bowlers, and especially seamers Sajjad Kamal and Sikander Zulfiqar and spinner Shoaib Minhas, who made the crucial difference. But there will be days when Punjab’s batting line-up lives up to its potential, and on their own patch against a somewhat untested Hermes attack could just prove to be one of those days. On the other hand, their bowlers will need early wickets against their visitors’ powerful top order, for whom openers Chris Klijnhans and Daniel Doyle have been in outstanding form. Captain Sebastiaan Braat, too, is likely to play a significant with with bat and/or ball, and Hermes will be keen to establish that they are worth their place back in the top flight. A hard-fought contest is in prospect here.

BdJ: The Hermes top order have already shown what they can do on a mat with short boundaries, so the Zomercomplex is unlikely to phase them, but equally we’ve already seen Hermes crumble if they lose early wickets. In the fifty over format the Hermes top three will have to be more circumspect, even on a diminuitive ground. One or other of Hermes openers will likely have to play a hand like Wlabrugh did last week, and even then it may not be enough against Punjab’s enviably deep batting card.

RJL: Defending champions Voorburg will also be at home, entertaining Excelsior ‘20 at Westvliet. They owed their narrow, and not altogether uncontroversial, victory over VOC last Saturday in large measure to their South African overseas Gavin Kaplan, whose 65-ball 84 gave them a total they could defend, even with a mostly second-string pace attack. The absence of their internationals puts great onus on him and on skipper Noah Croes, and they will be facing an Excelsior side with both Lorenzo Ingram and Derek Mitchell in the middle order, and with openers Tim Etman and Roel Verhagen in great form. The Schiedammers’ bowling unit, too, is varied, with both overseas Jason Ralston and home-grown Niels Etman taking plenty of wickets in the T20 Cup. Ingram’s spin is also a potent force, and the acquisition of allrounder Victor Lubbers has given the side an additional dimension. Without any demands from international commitments, Excelsior will go into this game as marginal favourites, but it’s an opportunity for Voorburg’s back-up players to establish their credentials in the side.

BdJ: Fair to say that Croes’ non-selection for the World Cup, while doubtless a disappointment to him presonally, has been a tremendous boon to VCC’s chances of defending their title. It whould be said that the Voorburg cadre of understudies have generally given a fine account of themselves so far this season, perhaps most notably legspinning match secretary Floris de Lange, but there’s no denyng they’re undertrength and Excelsior are among the best-placed clubs to take advantage.

RJL: Having had the worse of their opening game by the narrowest of margins, VOC Rotterdam will want to get back on a winning track when they take on HCC at De Diepput. Jock McKenzie’s 74 not out took them to the brink of victory against Voorburg, and his allround contribution, along with the batting of his fellow-overseas Ryan Schierhout, Taylor Bettelheim and Jason van der Meulen will doubtless be vital if the Bloodhounds are going to prevail in what promises to be an epic struggle for a place in the top six. Here they will be matched up with HCC’s Conor McInerney, Jed Wiggins and Adam Leonard, but in batters Tonny Staal and Boris Gorlee and allrounder Hidde Overdijk the Lions have three former internationals who may also have a significant part to play. On the visitors’ side, brothers Arnav and Aaditt Jain, skipper Tim de Kok, veteran allrounder (and also a former international) Jelte Schoonheim, and spinner Asief Hoseinbaks will be augmenting the quartet of overseas players.

BdJ: Should be noted that the newly-minted Flamingo van der Meulen is an overseas no longer, understood to be both Dutch-eligible and under consideration for the upcoming Emerging Pro-Series fixtures next week. Absent from that list we hear is Boris Gorlee, who we hear is rather under the weather at the minute and thus unlikely to feature on Saturday either. Whether that’s enough to swing the balance in VOC’s favour is still open to question, hoe advantage perhaps the key consideration at this point in the season.

RJL: Despite having missed out on the points last Saturday, HBS Craeyenhout will have taken enormous comfort from the return to form of Tayo Walbrugh, whose unbeaten 126 saw him playing with as much assurance as ever. They will also have been cheered by Lehan Botha’s bowling on Saturday and batting on Sunday, confirming between them that he may well emerge as one of the season’s most influential players. The Crows’ visit to Het Loopveld this week will be a severe test for ACC, still to get their first taste of top-flight cricket for the year. Shreyas Potdar’s side have been cutting their teeth so far in the Hoofdklasse T20, and although Rahil Ahmed and new overseas Guy Sheena were pretty successful there, Sheena and his fellow-newcomers Ben van der Merwe and Izhaan Sayed will find the demands of the Topklasse a definite step up. Last year, though, ACC twice sprang a surprise on HBS, reducing them to 148 for six before their opening game of the season was abandoned and then beating them by 36 runs when the match was replayed. It would, however, be no less of a surprise were history to repeat itself.

BdJ: I’ll confess to not having seen much of ACC during the short-format season, though judging by scorecards they do look somewhat dependent on a mercurial top three for runs. Sahil Kothari seems to have left his batting behind in Schiedam on return to his old club, while Mahesh Hans’ transformation to all-rounder seems to have stalled. Compounding those concerns come Saturday will be the form of Julian de Mey with the ball, the HBS left arm spinner looking more threatening than ever. Even without skipper Barresi and key all-rounder Kyle Klein, HBS look a solid top-flight outfit, while ACC look to have a ways to go it they’re to be able to say the same.

RJL: VRA Amsterdam’s spinners excelled in the miserable conditions at Westvliet last Sunday, and will no doubt be hoping to have a similar impact this week, when they visit the Bermweg to take on Sparta 1888. Having acquired Clayton Floyd and Shariz Ahmad over the winter and brought in Australian pace bowler Elijah Eales, the Amsterdammers have some claim to having the most effective attack in the competition, while even without Vikram Singh and Teja Nidamanuru their batting also looks strong. Sparta’s wicketkeeper-batter Riley Mudford, though, was one of the successes of the T20 Cup, and if the rest of the side – the perennial Ahsan Malik apart – haven’t quite fired yet, skipper Martijn Snoep will be looking to them to step up in the longer format. They undoubtedly have plenty of potential on paper, but they will need to bet at their best if they are to make a serious challenge for a spot in the top six.

BdJ: Floyd and Ahmed both looked in fine form this week against (an admittedly amateurish) MCC side at the Bos, and Ben Fetcher also looked to be enjoying the chance to finally get a bowl on VRA’s notional home ground again. The Bermweg wicket may be a different proposition however, while the VRA batting looked brittle even before the departure of Nidamanuru and Singh. Though Floyd and Eales may be able to hit them out of hole, VRA’s top order looks ripe for a collapse on Saturday.

RJL’s picks: Punjab, Excelsior, HCC, HBS, VRA.

BdJ’s picks: Punjab, Excelsior, VOC, HBS, Sparta.