Edwards and Chaturvedi steer Kampong into the Topklasse

Rod Lyall 15/09/24

Kampong Utrecht will be playing Topklasse cricket next season, having won the Hoofdklasse grand final against Quick Haag on Saturday in one of the most extraordinary matches of this or any other season.

Put in to bat by Quick captain Jeroen Brand, Kampong owed their massive total of 374 for six very largely to a third-wicket stand of 215 between Scott Edwards and Vikram Chaturvedi, who came together when opener Ratha Alphonse was forced to retire after ducking into a bouncer from Nathan Crudeli.

It was a remarkable climax to the season for Chaturvedi, who had played just two Hoofdklasse matches at the start of the competition and had thereafter been consigned to the seconds until he was recalled for last week’s preliminary final against Salland.

There he batted at eight and was out first ball, but now promoted to five he produced the innings of his life, outscoring Edwards and reaching his century off just 92 balls; when he was out soon afterwards, caught by Caspar Dekeling off Brand’s bowling, his 103 had included 13 fours and three sixes.

Edwards was at this point unbeaten on 99, and there were just over eight overs left.

Having posted his century Edwards cut loose, smashing another four sixes and six fours from 19 more deliveries to race to a 119-ball 159, and Kampong were able to add 75 from their final six overs.

That should, by any reasonable calculation, have put the outcome beyond doubt, but Crudeli had other ideas.

He started the reply with a four and a six, and by the end of the initial powerplay Quick had reached an improbable 94 without loss, 60 of them from the bat of Crudeli.

He went on to reach a 77-ball century, including nine fours and seven sixes, and although his opening partner Daan Vierling had gone for 32, the momentum was still with the home side.

The turning point came in the 28^th over when Shashank Kumar, who had earlier come in for some fearful punishment from Crudeli, angled one across the Australian, who edged through to the keeper and departed for a 102-ball 133, including 12 fours and nine sixes.

That made it 206 for two, and although Lesley Stokkers hit a brisk 34-ball 57 before he was controversially run out, 79 were still required from the final ten overs.

That was too big an ask, and it was left to Chaturvedi to finish things off with two for 4 as Quick were all out for 322 with five overs remaining.