Rod Lyall 04/07/24
And so we reach the first of two weekends in which the stagger will unwind, and by the end of it some teams will only have two first-phase matches left to play. With eight teams at least in with a shout of a top-six place – winless ACC are firmly rooted at the foot of the table and Hermes-DVS, though not yet arithmetically out of the running, have left themselves a huge amount to do – this week’s double-headers are certain to have a huge influence on the table. Not to mention the fact that Saturday brings us the first 50-over Schiedam derby for seven years. We can only hope that the threatened rain on Saturday doesn’t put a dampener on proceedings.
After two lethal performances with the ball in their last two games, Excelsior ’20 go into their meeting with neighbours Hermes-DVS at the latter’s Loopuyt Oval riding high, sitting in fourth spot and facing matches against the two bottom sides this weekend. But derbies like this have a way of bringing the unexpected, and Roel Verhagen’s side will be a lot less comfortable about the recent performances of their batting than those of the attack. Jason Ralston is the competition’s leading wicket-taker by a distance, while Lorenzo Ingram’s career-best effort against Sparta last Saturday should serve as a stark warning to opposing batters. With the Elenbaas brothers and Sebastiaan Braat, though, Hermes have a useful pace attack of their own, and a top order which certainly has the potential to blunt the edge of Excelsior’s bowling.
Having dealt with the local rivalry on Saturday, Hermes will then entertain VRA Amsterdam on Sunday in the game which should have been their season’s opener. They will go into the weekend knowing that they need to secure at least two points out of four if they are to have any chance of making the top six, although in truth their first priority is no doubt to stay well clear of relegation. The Amsterdammers were unable to defend 306 last week, though to be fair the Loopuyt Oval is unlikely to replicate the extreme batter-friendly conditions which saw Voorburg top order run riot. If Elijah Eales is back in the VRA side they will have an attack which will test the Hermes batting to the maximum, while their batting line-up is also full of menace.
Excelsior also have a double-weekend, returning to Thurlede on Sunday for their postponed match against ACC. With a batting side which has failed against less imposing attacks than the Schiedammers’, ACC have every reason to face Ralston, Blankestijn, Ingram and Co. with trepidation, and it will be vital for them to find a way of neutralising that threat if they are to have any chance of rehabilitating their season. Having been bowled out cheaply elsewhere in Schiedam last week, the Amsterdammers won’t relish a return visit to take on a rampant Excelsior, but if their own spearhead, Guy Sheena, is able to put the home side’s batting under pressure they might give themselves a chance of recording their first 50-over win of the season.
On Saturday, ACC will have faced a tough challenge, at home to a Voorburg side which is naturally looking a lot stronger with the return of its international stars. Admittedly their bowlers conceded a motza of runs against VRA last week, but that was attributable more to the nature of the pitch and outfield rather than to any deficiency in the attack, as Michael Levitt, Gavin Kaplan and Noah Croes went on to demonstrate as they guided their team to a seven-wicket victory. The difference between that experience in the Bos and playing at Het Loopveld is approximately comparable to that between a Ron Blauw meal and a plate of bitterballen, but this may give ACC their best chance of pulling off a shock victory. Failing that, you have to think that the sheer class of a team which includes four full internationals and four youth internationals is likely to prevail. After all, ACC have yet to pass 150 in four attempts, and they are in serious need of the order of partnership in which Voorburg have been specialising.
On the other side of Amstelveen on Saturday, VRA take on a VOC Rotterdam outfit who need to come back strongly after last Sunday’s defeat by HBS if they are to maintain their claim to a spot in the championship play-offs. The Bloodhounds have taken their matches down to the wire too often for their supporters’ comfort, but perhaps even more concerning with the lack of discipline with the bat as they fell away from a winning position at Craeyenhout. They were, of course, missing the injured Jock McKenzie, and they will have been heartened by Mussayab Jamil’s display of calculated aggression in the middle order. But they will need to be at their absolute best with both bat and ball if they are to get the better of a VRA side which combines quality, fast-scoring batters with an attack which has both effective pace and plenty of spin options.
Having reinforced their position near the top of the table against VOC, HBS Craeyenhout are again at home on Saturday, taking on Sparta 1888. With Tayo Walbrugh back to something like his best form with the bat, Matthew de Villiers providing allround value and pacemen Kyle Klein and Benno Boddendijk taking wickets, the Crows need a couple more wins to make absolutely sure of their place in the top six, but they, like their main rivals, will also be looking to take as many points as possible into the second phase. Sparta have an outside chance of squeezing into the championship pool as well, but they will need to win at least one of their two matches this weekend to keep those hopes alive, and they will be concerned about the inability of their top order to give the side a strong platform. Riley Mudford began the T20 campaign with a bang, but he has yet to make an impact on the 50-over competition, and no-one has shown much consistency – although the return of Will Clark gave some solidity against Excelsior until Ingram came on and Sparta’s wheels fell off.
Perhaps the most intriguing encounter of Saturday’s round is that between Punjab-Ghausia and HCC at Het Zomercomplex, and not only because it involves Jonathan Vandiar facing his former teammates. Back at the top of the table after their comprehensive dismissal of ACC last week, Punjab look like a very strong combination, the more so with Saqib Zulfiqar back from international duty, but the Lions, despite the absence of a couple of key players in Tonny Staal and Hidde Overdijk, showed against Hermes something like the form which took them to grand final in each of the last two seasons. Their bowling was particularly impressive, while the return of Teun Kloppenburg has clearly heightened the hitting power of the middle order. Punjab, though, have sufficient depth in both departments to see them through pretty much any crisis, and although the HCC overseas, Conor McInerney (newly confirmed in South Australia’s State squad), Jed Wiggins and especially Adam Leonard, have had their moments, they have not yet fired all together. When they do, there will be fireworks.
Sparta will again be in Residence City on Sunday, taking on HCC at De Diepput, and here most of the big guns will be on the Lions’ side. On the other hand, we should say a word in favour of Sparta’s bowling, which has so far performed far more creditably than their batting. Seamers Khalid Ahmadi, Martin Snoep and Cameron Fraser have all been among the wickets, with spin back-up from Umar Baker and Manminder Singh, and Sparta’s chances of taking something back to Capelle with them may depend on their ability to contain HCC’s powerful but not yet consistent batting. The big question, though, is whether Sparta’s top six can produce enough runs, whether setting or chasing, to give them an edge.
Just my picks this week, m’colleague being otherwise engaged:
Saturday: Excelsior, Voorburg, VRA, HBS, Punjab.
Sunday: VRA, Excelsior, HCC.
TKcricket 