Qualifying Finals Preview

Bertus de Jong and Rod Lyall  07/09/2024

Just two games to go in this year’s Topklasse, three teams still in the running to claim the title. Punjab Rotterdam, having looked increasingly dominant all season, were tested to the limit by VRA last week but clung on for a one-wicket win to claim their place in next week’s Grand Final, along with hosting rights at the Zomercomplex. VRA will have to bounce back quickly from that disappointment if they’re to see off defending champions Voorburg at the Amsterdamse Bos on Sunday in this week’s eliminator semi-final and book a place in the final at the second attempt.

Meanwhile at the business end of the Hoofklasse champions-presumptive Kampong suffered a shock defeat to Quick Haag in the first semi-final, and will now have to face off against a resurgent Salland in the second to book a place in the final at Nieuw Hanenburg.

BdJ: League phase runners-up VRA owe their double shot at a place in the final in large part to the strength of their bench, with sometime second-teamers such as Luke Scully, Leon Turmaine, and Thomas Iles stepping up more than ably when injury or national duty deprived the Amsterdammers of first choice players. Similarly Johan Smal has again proved an able stand-in captain with Teja Nidamanuru sidelined for most of the season. Their most significant challenge on Saturday may simply be coming back from such an agonising loss at the Zomercomplex, having come so close to earning a week off and a home final. VRA have not lost a game at home since mid July, though it should be noted that owing to the vagaries of the schedule they’ve only played two matches at the Bos in that time.  Nonetheless they’ve battled their way to the final three in impressive fashion, newcomer Ben Fletcher has proved as effective a spearhead as his new-ball predecessors at the Bos, such as Fred Klaassen and Quirijn Gunning, and one wouldn’t bet against the left arm seamer following them in donning the orange. The slow-bowling section of course already boasts a couple of current internationals, Shariz Ahmad and Clayton Floyd, along with the stalwart Turmaine and promising Udit Nashier comprising arguably the strongest spin attack in the competition. The somewhat hit-and-miss top order (Smal excepted) is perhaps also a concern as while VRA can bat as deep as 9 or 10, they often line up with just three or four players for whom batting is their primary discipline, and Smal is the only one with an average north of fifty this season.

Voorburg by contrast boast three, though top-scorer Gavin Kaplan has now of course returned to South Africa. Compounding the loss of Kaplan, pace spearhead Viv Kingma remains in doubt owing to a heel injury, while leggie Flip Boissevain – the stand-out in VCC win over HCC in the eliminator last week – has headed back to New Zealand. VCC don’t have the depth of experience on the bench that VRA can call upon, but youngsters such as Cedric de Lange and Alejo Nota have at times played crucial roles when needed, not least in that win against HCC. Of course one might argue that Voorburg will be under extra pressure come Saturday after taking the call to prioritise the Topklasse title defense last week and call up the pair to the firsts again, leaving their weakened seconds to fend for themselves in a relegation showdown away at Dosti, which would cost them their place in the Hoofklasse. Despite the return of Michael Levitt and Ryan Klein from international commitments it’s likely VCC will be fielding a smattering of youngsters again come Saturday, though they will be more seasoned now than at the beginning of the summer. Should VCC win through to the final again this season, it will be thanks in no small part to the efforts of those youngsters. That said VRA won comfortably when last the two met, even if conditions at the Bos are unlikely to provide quite the same assistance to VRA’s spinners as that Westvliet deck, though given Boissevain’s absence and VRA’s wealth of slow-bowling options they may be tempted to prepare something similar, weather permitting.

RL: These sides last met in the 50-over finals in 2021, and such is the whirligig of time that only half-a-dozen players from that game (at most) are likely to play on either side in this one. On that occasion Voorburg won before going on to lose to Punjab in the grand final, so both sides will be hoping that there is a different outcome this year. Among the VRA top order Vikram Singh’s appearances have of course been limited by international commitments, and his 304 runs so far at 38.00, with a couple of half-centuries, represent a reasonable rather than outstanding return. He batted at three last week – now, seemingly, his normal position in the national side – to allow room for Demari Prince and Shirase Rasool to open, although it must be acknowledged that neither has had a stellar season in that role. The shaky top order is compensated, though, by the value of Shariz Ahmad, and at times Clayton Floyd, further down. For the visitors, the emergence of Ryan Klein as a middle-order batter has been one of the season’s more significant features, and what may have been at first a response to his absence from the attach has turned into a real asset, potentially for the Dutch side as well as for Voorburg. The other returnees, Levitt and Croes, could of course prove to be trump cards, and Levitt actually contributed more with the ball against HCC than he did with the bat. Both are capable of batting VRA out of the game, and the Amsterdammers will need to get them early if they are to advance to a rematch against Punjab-Ghausia.

BdJ: Down in the Hoofdklasse Kampong’s apparent procession to promotion was dramatically arrested at Maarschalkerweerd last week by the veterans of Quick Haag, the dogged efforts of national skipper Scott Edwards in vain as the rest of the Kampong batting line-up  (Damien van den Berg’s entertaining early hitting excepted) wilted under pressure. To secure a rematch with Quick they’ll first have to get past Salland, who despite only managing a fourth-place finish in the league phase could be a tricky proposition should Kampong produce another such a batting performance. Yet while Salland’s bowling attack has been their principal strength this season – German left-arm spinner Akhil Gopinath currently leading the Hoofdklassse wicket-taking tally by some distance – they took a fair drubbing the last time they had to bowl at a full strength Kampong line-up. Meanwhile Salland themselves have passed 200 only once this season, and indeed have barely made 200 for 20 wickets across their two matches against Kampong. In short, both on paper and precedent Salland will be massive underdogs when they head to Maarschalkerweerd, with little but momentum in their favour. That said, pressure can do funny things, and there will only be one side under any kind of pressure on Saturday.

RL: All of the above. Further, Salland’s capacity for dramatic batting collapses extends back into their recent Topklasse experience as well: they only managed to top 200 three times in sixteen attempts in 2023, and that was with the now-departed Victor Lubbers in the side. As far as Kampong’s sub-par effort against Quick is concerned, the tone was set by the dismissal of Max O’Dowd off the third ball of the game, followed by that of Ratha Alphonse two overs later, and Salland will do extremely well to replicate that sort of start. The fact that the match is to be played at Thurlede (the football season having made Maarschalkerweerd unavailable) will doubtless encourage the bowlers on both sides, a not-insignificant factor for Kampong, who will have been disturbed by the inability of their attack to make much impression on Quick’s top order. The switch of venue means extra travelling for the side from Overijssel (and points east), but they will no doubt think that worth it if they are able to pull off another surprise and give themselves a shot at an early return to the top flight.

BdJ’s picks: VRA, Kampong

RL’s picks: Voorburg, Kampong.