Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 18/07/2024
And so we enter the finishing straight of the first 50-over race, with the finishing positions all but decided. There’s still a lot to play for, however: there’s an outside possibility that a couple of runners might squeeze past their rivals, while this is, after all, just the preliminary event, and with points earned now carried forward into Phase Two, itself a handicap race, every advantage gained this weekend could turn out to be worth its weight in gold come the end of August. Let’s look further at the runners and riders.
Saturday
RL: Of the two sides still hoping against hope to squeeze into the top six, VOC Rotterdam have the slightly less arduous escape route. But Saturday’s assignment is nevertheless tough: a visit to De Diepput to take on HCC. Here we have a match-up between two of the more powerful batteries of overseas players, with the Lions’ Conor McInerney, Jed Wiggins and Adam Leonard facing the Bloodhounds’ Ryan Schierhout, Taylor Bettelheim, Jock McKenzie and Jason van der Meulen. That the latter are currently outside the top six and their hosts’ position within it not entirely secure is evidence both that the big guns have not quite made the overwhelming impression the clubs might have hoped, but also that their local players haven’t been able to contribute enough. On both counts this game, therefore, is something of a last-chance saloon, especially for a VOC outfit which will know that defeat here would definitively mean a place in the relegation pool for the rest of the season.
BdJ: Of the catch-up matches scheduled for Saturday this does indeed look the most likely to be decisive given that state of the table and Sunday’s fixture list. HCC lead VOC by two points as it stands but there’s little to separate them on net run rate, and while VOC will be fairly confident of picking up two points against ACC in their final match, HCC hacve a date with defending champions Voorburg on Sunday. A win for VOC would thus make them firm favourites to leapfrog HCC into the top six. The Boodhounds have relied almost entirely on McKenzie, Schierhout and Bettelheim for runs this season, with the rest of the batting card averaging in the low teens at best. Three bats is often enough to win a typical Topklasse game of course, and HCC have looked like a thoroughly typical mid-table team this season.
RL: For Hermes-DVS, it may be enough in this first season back in the top flight that they’re four points clear of the bottom of the table, but they too have the faintest of outside chances of making it into the top six. But their first assignment is to face Voorburg at Westvliet, and they will need to be at their absolute best to claim the points and keep that hope alive for another 24 hours. They will be assisted by the return of Olivier Elenbaas from suspension, but even that may not be enough against the defending champions, whose chances of reaching the top four at the end of August may depend in large part on their ability to pile on the points this weekend. Hermes did pretty well with both bat and ball against HBS last Sunday, and their seam attack is sharp enough to unsettle a Voorburg top order which has been highly dependent on the phenomenal form of Gavin Kaplan, with the assistance of Michael Levitt and Noah Croes. On the other hand, Ryan Klein and Michael Molenaar have been very useful in the middle order, and the defending champions’ attack remains a powerful force.
BdJ: With newly-promoted Hermes aiming for survival this season and Voorburg prioritising renewal over a repeat title win, it’s probably fair to say both have had a pretty successful summer so far. The impending departure of Kaplan coupled with the resumption of international cricket will further test VCC’s depth at the back end of the season, and picking up two points here would substantially improve their odds of making the playoffs. For Hermes two points would mean a substantial safety-buffer if not total security ahead of phase two, even if a top four finish looks fanciful from here. The return of Olivier Elenbaas won’t hurt, though the Schiedammers will be hoping he finds the sort of rhythm his less-celebrated brother has found this season, with Ralph Elebaas currently the only Hermes bowler taking regular wickets at a reasonable price. The batting likewise has looked top-heavy, though Voorburg may struggle to get through the top order with Mees van Vliet consistently expensive and Viv Kingma’s fitness still in doubt. Yet while Kingma conspicuously did not bowl during this week’s Pro-Series matches in Deventer, the astute may have noted that Lgan van Beek is in the country. Whether he rocks up for his old club come Saturday may yet swing the odds for this one.
RL: VRA Amsterdam, though, can slam the door in the faces of VOC and Hermes if they are able to secure a win against so-far-winless ACC at Het Loopveld. A victim of the weather on 15 June, the Amsterdam Derby can sometimes spring a surprise, but a victory for the home side here would probably be sufficient to trigger a stewards’ enquiry, even if VRA’s form has been on the patchy side. Izhaan Sayed has emerged as ACC’s one bright spark, with the bat as well as with the ball, but the side has still not passed 150 in six attempts, and you’d think that, barring a really astonishing effort with the ball, they’d need a good deal more than that against a line-up which includes Vikram Singh, Shirase Rasool, Johan Smal and Co. VRA’s combination of seam and spin, moreover, has more than enough fire-power to run through their hosts’ fragile batting, leaving Singh’s side odds-on favourites to head back across Amstelveen with the points and a settled place in the championship pool.
BdJ: It’s been a while since the Amsterdam Derby was as competitive as those in the Hague or Schiedam, but still it’s hard to recall at time where one side were as overwhelming favourites as VRA will be on Saturday. The Bos-dwellers are no mere paper-favourites either, with several of the side looking in excellent form in the Pro-Series this week, not least Singh, who notched another century for the Seafarers. Flethcher, Floyd and Shariz Ahmad all had decent mid-week returns with the ball too, while ACC were conspicuously unrepresented. As with basically every game from here this will be do or die for ACC however, and it’s been a while since VRA have had to play on a mat, but it would indeed be the upset of the weekend if the hosts were to pick up any points on Saturday.
Sunday
RL: Whatever the outcome of Saturday’s matches, ACC will still be at the foot of the table when they entertain VOC on Sunday. How significant the game is for the Bloodhounds, on the other hand, will depend greatly on the previous days’ results: if they beat HCC and VRA should lose, then they will have every incentive to win convincingly at ‘t Loopveld. Sheer professionalism should in any case be a sufficient motivation for the Rotterdammers to end the first phase on a high, and what we said about the match-up with VRA applies equally here: nothing about ACC’s form to date suggest that they will have effective answers to their guests’ strengths in both batting and bowling. In the latter department, it will be interesting to see how the brothers Jain and Roman Harhangi respond to bowler-friendly conditions at ‘t Loopveld.
BdJ: One might imagine ACC ambushing a potentially deflated VOC on a likely rainy Sunday should HCC put the Rotterdammers out of top-six contention the day before, and the Bloodhounds still looks a side that could fold if they lose early wickets. That said, ACC have looked deflated since day one this season, and even if they succeed in rolling VOC for a sub-150 score it’s hard to see where those runs would be coming from for the hosts.
RL: In what is almost certain to be a preliminary match in the relegation pool, Hermes-DVS will end Phase One by entertaining Sparta 1888 at Loopuyt Oval. Barring a sensational recovery by ACC, both sides will be safe from the drop to the Hoofdklasse, but both would welcome the additional security of a couple more points heading into the back end of the season. They seem on paper to be well-matched: the Schiedammers’ batting is perhaps a tad more solid than that of their hosts, especially given the indifferent recent form of Riley Mudford, but Cameron Fraser and Martijn Snoep have proved an effective seam pairing, and Khalid Ahmadi lurks in the wings as a potential destroyer. But Hermes have the Elenbaas brothers, Sebastiaan Braat and Niels Woermeijer, not to mention international Aryan Dutt, and a top six which is more than capable of generating big totals. These sides will have seen a lot of each of other by the end of the campaign, and this could be an extremely absorbing first round.
BdJ: Even in the absence of Bukhari and Malik, the Sparta seam section has looked like that of a team that belongs in the top flight this season. The rest of the side simply has not, however, with both the batting and slow-bowling section looking sub-par at best. Conversely Hermes’ problems seem to stem more from form than structural deficiencies in the squad, notably Aryan Dutt’s curious under-performance for his new side in the fifty-over format, Olivier Elenbaas’ lack of wickets, and the evaporation of CP Klijnhans’ form since the T20 competition. On paper Hermes really ought to be a bowling side, only Ashley Ostling and Daniel Doyle Calle’s solid seasons and Sebastiaan Braat’s apparent transformation into a batting all-rounder turning that on its head so far. Regardless of other results a certain security in survival will be at stake on Sunday, and one of the two sides will at least be able to play with the pressure off for the second phase.
RL: In another game where the height of the stakes will depend a good deal on Saturday’s events, VRA will welcome second-placed HBS Craeyenhout to the Amsterdamse Bos. But the battle for a top-four spot and a place in the semi-finals has already started, and whether or not VRA have made sure of their place in the championship pool, the two points from this match will be very important to both sides. The Crows were fully tested by Hermes last week, and playing on the turf in Amstelveen is a very different proposition from the all-astro environment at Craeyenhout. Skipper Wesley Barresi is, of course, no stranger to conditions in the Bos, having had several very successful seasons with VRA, and no doubt the likes of Lehan Botha, Matt de Villiers and Tayo Walbrugh will relish the chance to play there. That top order will have to weather the storm represented by Ben Fletcher, Elijah Eales and perhaps Ashir Abid, with the spin of Shariz Ahmad and Clayton Floyd to follow. This looks like one of the most attractive fixtures of the season, and it’s one that could go either way.
BdJ: Another side likely to be substantially weakened by the looming exit of South African pros and Dutch internationals, points on the board will be at a premium for HBS. Even before the late season exodus the Crows have been chopping and changing their side in exactly the manner they had planned not to, though it should be said the results have been solid enough. They have nonetheless looked reliant on precisely the players they’ll be losing, and should they lose to VRA on Sunday a semi-finals place looks a tough ask indeed. VRA meanwhile have been pegged back by the weather as much as the opposition this season, but are nonetheless in a precarious position going into the last weekend of phase one. They do at least have form in their favour, even if the side assembled by the now-sidelined Teja Nidamanuru has not looked quite the sum of its parts thus far.
RL: This may be a replay of the last two grand finals, but the situation will be a bit different when Voorburg take on HCC at Westvliet on Sunday. Neither side has been quite the force it was this season, and both can look forward to a real battle to convert a top-six position into a spot in the top four. The hosts, in particular, will be conscious of the demands that are likely to be made on their reserve strength during the second phase, with the consequence that points in the bank now are of double significance. Cedric de Lange’s first Topklasse fifty last week was an encouraging sign that he is finding his feet in the top flight, something that HCC’s Teun Kloppenburg has already done with a vengeance. The Lions will be hoping that Tonny Staal and Boris Gorlee really come into their own as the competition reaches its sharp end, while a more consistent presence of Hidde Overdijk would also do their chances no harm. There’s plenty of home-grown talent on view on both sides in this one, and if Voorburg may start as slight favourites, an HCC firing on all cylinders could just be too strong for the champions.
BdJ: After a strong showing from both in recent seasons, both HCC and Voorburg again look like sides in a building phase, arguably a year or two away from a new peak. Spectators will perhaps be treated to a vision of things to come on Saturday, with probably the densest concentration of as-yet uncapped future internationals anywhere in the league. It’s notable that both sides’ fortunes have mirrored the individual form of their least experienced players so far this season, though HCC especially will be hoping that their more seasoned forever-fringe-international trio can make more of an impact this weekend.
RL: Finally, leaders Punjab-Ghausia will be at home to an Excelsior ’20 outfit which all but made certain of a top six spot with their victory over VRA last Sunday. Despite a couple of slip-ups the new combination have thoroughly deserved their seat at the head of the table, and they will be reluctant to surrender it going into the second phase. In Shoaib Minhas and Musa Ahmad they have perhaps the most accomplished opening pair in the competition, and their attack is varied and always threatening. But Excelsior have a potential trump card with the pace of Jason Ralston, and in the absence of Jens Blankestijn in the past couple of games Gijs Kroesen has slotted back in very effectively. Whether that, together with the contributions of Derek Mitchell and Lorenzo ingram, will be enough to overcome Punjab is perhaps moot, but on a final day of the first phase on which there promise to be riches everywhere this, too, could be a great encounter to watch.
BdJ: Generally speaking in the Topklasse if you’ve got six players averaging between 25 and 125 with the bat and as many averaging under 25 with the ball, you’re probably going pretty well. In that light, it’s actually surprising Punjab are just the one point clear at the top of the table. Excelsior, with just the one bat averaging over 25, can probably count themselves lucky to have a place in the top four for now. Those figures are of course in part a reflection of their bowler-friendly home ground at Thurlede, but while runs come easier at the Zomercomplex Punjab have not been in the habit of giving them away for free. Above all Punjab’s success has been built on depth in the batting and a lack of hittable for the opposition to target. Likely needing their best score of the season against a side reliably sending down fifty good overs, fair to say Excelsior will start as underdogs when they cross the Maas on Sunday.
RL’s picks: Saturday: VOC, Voorburg, VRA ; Sunday: VOC, Hermes, VRA, HCC, Punjab.
BdJ’s picks: Saturday: VOC, Voorburg, VRA ; Sunday: VOC, Hermes, VRA, Voorburg, Punjab.
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