Rod Lyall 30/06/24
The last unbeaten record in this season’s Topklasse was expunged on Saturday, when title-holders Voorburg took full advantage of the batting paradise which sometimes appears in the Amsterdamse Bos, chasing down VRA’s 306 for seven and winning by three wickets with 20 deliveries to spare.
The home side owed their imposing total to half-centuries from internationals Vikram Singh (63) and Teja Nidamanuru (51), but above all to a remarkable seventh-wicket stand of 106 between Udit Nashier and Luke Scully, 77 of them coming from the final five overs.
Scully was eventually run out for a 61-ball 64, but Nashier remained on a career-best 59 not out.
Gavin Kaplan was the pick of the bowlers with two for 32 from his ten overs, while Michael Molenaar was again effective, taking two for 40 from seven.
Voorburg’s reply was anchored by Michael Levitt’s 72-ball 90, but it was Kaplan who saw his side home, adding with 136 for the third wicket with Noah Croes before the latter was bowled for 60 by seamer Sharad Hake, one of two wickets for the debutant.
Kaplan finished on 106 not out, his second century of the season, and he has now made two hundreds and two half-centuries in five innings, for an aggregate of 370 at an average of 92.50.
The defeat meant that VRA were displaced at the top of the table by Punjab-Ghausia, who were untroubled in beating ACC at the Zomercomplex.
The Amsterdammers were all at sea against Punjab’s experienced attack, and collapsed to 72 all out in 27.3 overs, Guy Sheena top-scoring with a run-a-ball 26 amidst chaos at the other end.
Saqib Zulfiqar took four for 10 with his leg-breaks, and there were two wickets apiece for Suleiman Tariq and Ahmad Shafiq.
With an outstanding opportunity to boost his side’s net run rate Musa Ahmad proceeded to take the ACC bowling by the scruff of the neck, hitting three fours and as many sixes in his 21-ball 34, and although Izhaan Sayed did his best with three for 30, Saqib finished the job with an unbeaten 22 as Punjab won by seven wickets in just 10.4 overs.
Excelsior ’20 further enhanced their reputation for defending low totals when, having made a modest 141 all out they dismissed Sparta 1888 for 109, a victory which catapulted them into third place on the table, at least for 24 hours.
Struggling at 29 for four, Excelsior were partially rescued by their lower-middle order, particularly Niels Etman, whose 35 was instrumental in their reaching a halfway-respectable score, despite Martijn Snoep’s three for 29 and Khalid Ahmadi’s demolition of the tail, which yielded him figures of four for 25.
But Sparta were quickly in trouble themselves, Jason Ralston again bowling fast and attacking the stumps, backed up this time by Jens Blankestijn, and within seven overs they had reduced their visitors to 15 for four.
Will Clark and Cameron Fraser redeemed the situation with a stand of 56 for the fifth wicket, but then Lorenzo Ingram took over, claiming a career-best six for 17, twice taking wickets with successive deliveries and spinning Sparta from 71 for four to 92 for nine.
Manminder Singh showed some fight towards the end with a hard-hitting 34 not out, but he couldn’t prevent Excelsior winning by 32 runs.
Down the road at the Loopuyt Oval, Hermes-DVS put up a gallant fight against HCC, but eventually lost by 34 runs.
The Lions set them a fairly demanding target, posting 244 for eight thanks to 78 from opener Conor McInerney, 58 from Teun Kloppenburg, and a brisk 42 from Tim Pringle; Sebastiaan Braat was the most successful of the Hermes bowlers with three for 65.
McInerney’s knock was matched by 76 from Hermes opener Ashley Ostling, but he needed 138 balls against a persistent and varied HCC attack, and by the time he was fifth out with the total on 163 another 82 runs were required from just eight overs.
Braat and Ralph Elenbaas did their best to meet the challenge, but with Pringle and Andrew Leonard bowling well in tandem the demand was ultimately too great, and with four wickets falling in the space of eight deliveries Hermes were all out for 210, Pringle finishing with four for 40 and Leonard three for 35.
The scheduled match between HBS and VOC at Craeyenhout was postponed until Sunday.
TKcricket 