Two rounds to go, and in the Championship Pool all six terams still have at least a theoretical chance of making it into the semi-finals on 1 September. For Hermes-DVS that means winning both their remaining games and two of three teams above them losing both theirs, so the theory in question approximates that involving phrenology or a flat earth, but still, you never know. In the Relegation Pool, with three rounds to play and ACC already certain to go down, the only thing at stake is pride, which can sometimes be in short supply at this fag end of the season. You’d hope that individuals at least might have a point to prove – and those whose enthusiasm is waning could do worse than have a look at the latest Freddie Flintoff series currently airing on BBC. Words like ‘inspirational’ can be over-used, but there has never been a better illustration of sport’s, and specifically cricket’s, ability to transform lives. Anyways . . .
RL: The obvious candidates for the double-loss scenario are Voorburg, with almost half their side either engaged in national team commitments or already back in South Africa, and their options further restricted by their second team’s battle to stay up in the Hoofdklasse, where they need two more wins to be safe. Their opponents at Westvliet this Sunday are VRA Amsterdam, and they will have been encouraged neither by their visitors’ effortless demolition of HBS last week nor by their own performance against HCC. That is not to say that the defeat of their half-strength side by the rampant Lions was altogether without redeeming features, and they will be hoping that their top order can conjure up some of the stickability shown by the bowlers under pressure, and wit the bat by stand-in captain Floris de Lange. Mees van Vliet and Michael Molenaar remain key, but even without Vikram Singh and Teja Nidamanuru VRA’s batting line-up is menacing, and the pace attack, led by Ben Fletcher and Elijah Eales is capable of exploiting any sign of weakness in Voorburg’s top six.
BdJ: The national selectors’ wait-and-see call on Fletcher has left VRA’s seam attack largely intact, and while they’ve lost their new spin acquisitions for the duration of the international series, having the likes of Turmaine, Nashier and Iles to fall back on means the Amsterdammers are hardly short of slow bowling either. Voorburg are more appreciably weakened by national call-ups, and though word is they’re looking into exercising their right to reinforcement under the 3+ call-ups rule, with a southpaw spin all rounder reportedly on a plane from New Zealand as we speak, there’s no question the young side will start as underdogs on Sunday.
RL: Having both lost last Sunday, Punjab-Ghausia and HBS Craeyenhout will both be exceptionally keen to claim the points at the Zomercomplex, but the stakes are subtly different: a win here would likely guarantee Punjab a top-two finish and the double crack at a grand final spot which comes with it, while for their visitors there is still a slight chance that they could miss out on the semi-finals altogether. Given Hermes’ recent efforts, it would not be an attractive prospect to be going to Schiedam next week on a must-win mission, so Tayo Walbrugh’s side will really want to ease the pressure by taking advantage of Punjab’s occasional fragility. The absence of Lehan Botha as well as internationals Wesley Barresi and Kyle Klein gave the Crows a somewhat makeshift look against VRA, but by the same token Punjab’s collapse against Hermes suggested a greater malaise than can be explained by the loss of Musa Ahmad, or even of Ahmad Shafiq, for whom Khurram Shahzad has proved a more than adequate replacement. Like Walbrugh for HBS, Jonathan Vandiar has a talismanic quality for the Rotterdammers, but his struggles with fitness in the course of a long innings are increasingly evident, and others will need to chip in if they are to avoid a repeat of last week’s subsidence.
BdJ: HBS too are understood to be calling up reinforcements this week in the form of various Vinks and perhaps Visées, and after a near-flawless season to date Punjab do suddenly look vulnerable to a blast from the past. Nonetheless the loss of their skipper along with their most consistent performers leaves a big gap in the Crows line-up, and despite a surprise loss to Hermes one still feels it will take something special to unsettle an enviavbly settled Punjab side.
RL: Hermes-DVS showed considerable resilience in overcoming Punjab last Sunday, but they will need to summon up even greater reserves of determination when they travel to De Diepput this week to take on HCC. The Lions have begun to roar with a vengeance, and they know that wins here and against VRA next week would ensure them a top-two position for the semi-finals. They have lost only one of their last six games, and although Conor McInerney has departed from the top of their order they have a settled side which consistently produces the goods with both bat and ball. That said, Sebastiaan Braat’s outfit know that they have to keep winning, and despite the loss of Aryan Dutt and Olivier Elenbaas to the Dutch national side and Daniel Coyle to Spain’s, they have twice pulled off unlikely victories against more fancied opponents, and you can’t rule out the possibility that they will do it again.
BdJ: The newly-promoted Hermes have already achieved more than they set out to at the start of the season, and it seems as though the total absence of pressure that their unexpected situation as top-six underdogs affords them has turned them into a dangerous wildcard fixture at the back end rather than the easy beat some might have expected. The loss of Doyle-Calle to Euro-qualifier duty certainly removes some of that threat, but HCC looked rather unconvincing against a depleted Voorburg last week, and indeed were it not for Daniel Crowley’s solo showing would likely have lost to a second string VCC side. The pressure will be all on the Lions to cement a top-two finish before the rest of the field recovers their strength, while the men in sky blue will have nothing to lose.
RL: This week’s Relegation Pool match-ups are the reverse fixtures from last Saturday’s, so ACC, now certain to be playing in the Hoofdklasse in both formats next season, will be at home to VOC Rotterdam this week. The luck of the draw means that it will be a somewhat drawn-out farewell, since they will play all three of their final Topklasse matches (for now, at least) at Het Loopveld. It would be good for team morale were they to stage at least one ambush, but that seems unlikely to be against the Bloodhounds, who were clearly a class too strong for their opponents at the Hazelaarweg. VOC have little to show for their heavy investment in overseas talent this season, but no doubt the players themselves will be keen to make hay while the sun shines, assuming, of course, that it does.
BdJ: What’s the opposite of match of the day? It’s been an abject season for an ACC squad that, while weakened, still boasts enough young talent that you can fairly say they’ve under-performed drastically this summer. A 15-year run in the top flight comes to a regrettable but hardly undeserved end. VOC owe their own survival in large part due to their overseas, who have all have earned their keep this season, though for the rest of the squad it’s been a bit “get what you pay for.” The brothers Jain along with the unassumingly effective Asief Hoseinbaks are perhaps exceptions there, and a big part of the reason you’d back the Bloodhounds as favourites on Sunday with or without the overseas cohort.
RL: The rematch between Sparta 1888 and Excelsior ’20 is, if last week’s game at Thurlede is any guide, likely to be a good deal closer, and while these sides are unlikely to produce a classic, it promises to be another tight battle between teams which are pretty similar both in their strengths and their weaknesses. It’s not that long ago that Excelsior won the title three times in four seasons, but while they have had their moments this year, they have mostly been a pale shadow of their former selves. And with their second side languishing in the Tweede Klasse their medium-term prospects don’t seem a great deal brighter. Sparta don’t have the same sort of pedigree, although they have punched above their weight a few times in recent seasons; there is no doubt, however, that they have greatly missed Mudassar Bukhari and Ashan Malik this year, and they, too, will need to do some serious thinking about the way forward. In the meantime, we can look forward to another head-to-head between the two leading wicket-takers in the competition, Sydney-sider Jason Ralston and Capetonian Cameron Fraser.
BdJ: Another season where the Capelle club look set to survive thanks to some judicious acquisitions and captain-chair Martijn Snoep’s sheer force of will, still it’s hard to begrudge the Spartans another summer in the top flight even if they’ve never quite looked like they belong. Conversely it’s hard not to feel that the shock of relegation might have done Excelsior some good, even if it never looked remotely likely to happen. Ralston’s golden summer along with the efforts of the indefatigable Lorenzo Ingram have kept the Schiedammers well clear of danger even as the local core of the side has only regressed. Indeed one might almost think the multi-championship-winning side of the late 2010s was full of aging veterans rather than a promising squad full of prospects in their early 20s, who ought to be better players now than they were then. Even a coasting Excelsior side are at least paper favourites for this fixture however, certainly with Sparta having already secured their survival last week.
RL’s picks: VRA, Punjab, HCC, VOC, Sparta.
BdJ’s picks: VRA, Punjab, HCC, VOC, Excelsior.
TKcricket 