Rod Lyall 22/07/24
The first phase of the competition ended as it had begun, with rain, a cancellation, and abbreviated games.
But there was one unresolved issue: if Hermes-DVS beat Sparta 1888, there was a strong possibility that they would squeeze past fellow-Schiedammers Excelsior ’20, who had to take on top-of-the-table Punjab-Ghausia on net run rate and into the top six.
Hermes began as if they meant business, Ralph Elenbaas capturing three wickets inside the first six overs as Sparta slumped to 16 for three.
But Sandeep Sardha and Juandre Scheepers led a fightback, and after Sam van Giezen had removed Sardha and Maninder Singh in quick succession, Cameron Fraser joined Scheepers, who went on to make an invaluable 53.
Fraser remained to hold the lower order together, compiling a solid 78 before becoming the last of four wickets for Olivier Elenbaas, and Sparta closed on 226 for nine, Olivier finishing with four for 42 and his brother three for 19.
By the time Hermes began their reply it was clear that Excelsior faced a demanding chase at Het Zomercomplex, and opener Daniel Doyle seemed determined to put Hermes’ NRR well beyond their reach, hammering a characteristically aggressive 29-ball 48 before he was bowled by off-spinner Umar Baker.
The frantic tempo slowed somewhat as Nick Statham joined Ash Ostling, who once again slipped into the sheetanchor role, but they saw the total into three figures, still well ahead of the required rate, and once Statham had departed CP Klijnhans contributed 25 at better than a run a ball.
When Ostling eventually fell to Khalid Ahmadi for 66 Hermes needed another 47, and Olivier Elenbaas and skipper Sebastiaan Braat knocked off the remaining runs, at a pace just quick enough to ensure that whatever happened at ‘t Zomercomplex, short of an Excelsior victory, they would have a better NRR.
By that time, however, it was clear that Excelsior were not only certain to lose, but that they would do so heavily enough to put the issue beyond doubt.
Having won the toss, Roel Verhagen had invited Punjab to bat, but Excelsior were frustrated by a fine innings from Jonathan Vandiar, who made 116, his eleventh Topklasse century and his fourth for Punjab, holding his side together and enabling them to reach an imposing 244 all out by the end of an innings reduced to 45 overs by the overnight rain.
Lorenzo Ingram again bowled very well, taking three for 38, but Vandiar, coming at at 24 for one after Jason Ralston had bowled Shoaib Minhas, did not depart until 210 had been added to the score, and the end of the innings was enlivened by a rapid 27 not out from Ahmad Shafiq.
Shafiq then excelled with the ball: he had Derek Mitchell caught behind by Fawad Shinwari, and when Excelsior had reached a promising 170 for four, thanks in large measure to 66 from Ingram, he returned to pick up five more wickets, breaking a useful partnership between Niels Etman and Stan van Troost and finishing with his best-ever Topklasse figures of six for 17.
Excelsior’s innings ended on 191, giving Punjab a 52-run victory and putting them in pole position going into the competition’s second phase.
At the other end of the table ACC came close to recording their first win for the second time in as many days, again unable to finish off their opponents’ innings and losing by two wickets to VOC Rotterdam.
Only 40 overs were possible at Het Loopveld, and ACC battled their way to 143 for nine, Izhaan Sayed once more their top-scorer with 54.
Asief Hoseinbaks was again VOC’s main wicket-taker with three for 25, while Jock McKenzie claimed two for 34.
Sayed, Sahil Kothari and Mahesh Hans then put VOC’s batters under real pressure, and at 95 for seven it seemed as if the home side might this time be about to take the points.
But Jason van der Meulen made a crucial 46, and once he had fallen to Sayed, Aaditt Jain proved equal to the occasion, making an unbeaten 23 to see his side home.
Sayed finished with three for 18 and Hans three for 25, and ACC will go into the second phase conscious that their campaign has finally begun to look a little less doomed.
If runs were hard to come by at ‘t Loopveld there was no shortage on the other side of Amstelveen, where VRA put on 230 for five in 43 overs, only to suffer a six-wicket defeat at the hands of HBS Craeyenhout.
The home side’s innings was dominated by opener Vikram Singh, who made 96 out of his side’s first 167 before falling to spinner Julian de Mey.
There were lesser contributions from Shirase Rasool (24), Demari Prince (28) and Johan Smal (30), all of whom got a start but were unable to turn it into a really big innings, and the lack of a decisive partnership was underlined when Lehan Botha and Tayo Walbrugh put on 164 for HBS’s second wicket.
Botha was eventually caught by Singh off Sharad Hake for an 86-ball 90, but Wesley Barresi then helped Walbrugh bring their side to the brink of victory, although it was not until the third ball of the final over that the winning runs came, Walbrugh ending on 89 not out.
Before the drama had begun, the match between Voorburg and HCC at Westvliet had been abandoned without a ball being bowled, each side taking a point, but their positions in the top six, like those of HBS and VRA, had already been confirmed.
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