Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 01/05/25
Less than a week since the opening round it already feels like the season’s in full swing, the UAE and Scotland in town for the upcoming ODI tri-series and a double round of Topklasse games over the holiday weekend. The former will impact the latter in part of course, with the Dutch national side going into sequestration on Sunday and thus unavailable for round three, though Saturday’s games will be unaffected. The table’s about as starkly divided as it could be after just one round, with the opening round’s games ranging from the rather one-sided to total blow-outs. We’ll be hoping for some more even contests in the coming days, though only two of last week’s winners meet each other in round 2.
BdJ: Defending champion’s Punjab-Ghausia welcome 2024 runners-up VRA Amsterdam to the Zomercomplex for that match, the title-holders coming off the back of a five-wicket win over HBS. Punjab didn’t have it all their way last week, at one point finding themselves 60-4 chasing 239, but Mohsin Riaz’ accelerating 111 off 85 proved more than enough for the points in the end. They’ll be without Saqib Zulfiqar for the weekend however, and possibly longer depending on the severity of his hamstring injury. Sikander Zulfiqar is also understood to have picked up a niggle during his unbeaten 80 last week, while of course VRA will be at full strength for Saturday’s game. Their home win over Excelsior last weekend was altogether more convincing, only debutant Raynard van Tonder breaking double figures for the visitors as VRA sealed a clinical 168-run win. They’ll take particular heart from the form of deputy skipper Johan Smal, who looked the best bat on the park in round one and who, still a few months away from Dutch eligibility, will be key to VRA’s fortunes when the Dutch selectors come calling.
RL: This replay of last year’s grand final will tell us a lot about the state of both sides going into the new season. Injuries to the Zulfiqars and the departure of their brother Asad apart, Punjab are largely unchanged from the team which took the title, although the significance of the loss of Saqib and perhaps Sikander should not be underestimated. VRA, on the other hand, have changed nearly half their side, although it was the familiar figures of Singh, Smal and Nidamanuru who were the foundation of their round-topping total against Excelsior and Shariz who finished the Schiedammers off. It’s a reasonable expectation that both Punjab and VRA will be in the title-chasing mix again come the pointy end of the competition, and while it’s too early to talk about four-pointers, a win here could be enormously valuable later on, not least in psychological terms.
BdJ: Currently top of the table though (if only by way of net run rate), are recently re-promoted Kampong, who will be looking to make the most of Scott Edwards and Max O’Dowd’s abilities while they’re available. They travel to Thurlede to take on Excelsior come Saturday, and based on both sides’ early showings the visitors will be strong favourites. Excelsior seemed to still be in winter hibernation in the field against VRA last weekend, dropped catches and misfields punctuating the first innings with appalling regularity, and were little better with the bat. Van Tonder looks a solid signing, and with equally exciting acquisition Antum Naqvi expected to arrive this week they should be at full strength at least, but absent a substantially improved showing from the local contingent Excelsior look genuine relegation candidates this season.
RL: It was Kampong’s balanced attack which really took the eye last Sunday, and while VOC’s poor showing with the bat isn’t a great basis for judgement, Alex Roy’s side will be hoping to repeat the dose against an Excelsior line-up which suffered a similar collapse first time out. But by the same token, Lane Berry’s whirlwind innings to finish things off and generate that enviable NRR was an indication that Kampong’s top order is also not to be trifled with, with Max O’Dowd happy to play a secondary role and Scott Edwards and Lorenzo Ingram able to sit that one out. The Dutch management may be hoping that O’Dowd and Edwards get more time in the middle this Saturday, but doubtless Kampong would be happy with the points however they come. Excelsior need to bounce back fast, and the arrival of Naqvi should give Van Tonder some comfort and the batting a greater level of confidence. In the end, though, two swallows don’t make a summer, and as m’learned friend observes, the Schiedammers’ comparatively experienced locals, who only managed 15 runs between them against VRA, will need to give their overseas a lot more support if the side is to scramble its way to mid-table and safety.
BdJ: Having seen VOC Rotterdam collapse in a heap at Maarschalkerweerd last week Voorburg may well be looking forward to welcoming the Bloodhounds to Westvliet. Tim de Kok’s captain’s knock of 14 off 28 is the top score for his side thus far this season, and they will have to muster something more substantial if they’re to trouble their hosts for round two. The VOC bowlers hardly had a chance to give an account of themselves of course, and Arnav Jain at least has had a chance to get some overs under his belt with the Dutch A side this week, but he will also have witnessed the form of Voorburg quicks Viv Kingma and Mees van Vliet, the latter especially impressing against the Emiratis on Tuesday, while Michael Levitt looked in belligerent form with the bat. Add to that the presence of Bas de Leede in the country and on the Voorburg list, to say nothing of Gavin Kaplan and the astutely-poached Udit Nashier, and fair to say VOC have their work cut out for them come Saturday.
RL: Voorburg’s four national team members – including the now-exotic Bas de Leede – will be able to use this game as preparation for the League 2 fixtures to come, but for that to be a useful exercise VOC will need to put up a considerably greater fight than they did against a rampant Kampong last week. With Noah Croes and Levitt in ominous form and Gavin Kaplan likewise, the Bloodhounds’ attack will need a succession of early wickets to give their side a change, whether the Villagers are setting or chasing. On the other hand, Tom de Leede didn’t look out of place sharing the new ball with Kingma against Sparta, while Nashier and Levitt did a fine job in the middle overs against a batting side which fought every inch of the way. Like Kampong, Voorburg will want to extract maximum benefit from their cohort of internationals when they’re available, and VOC, like Excelsior, will need a much bigger contribution from their locally-produced batters, not to mention sizeable ones from their new overseas, Scott Janett and Christiaan Oberholzer. But an away win here would constitute the upset of the round, if not the season.
BdJ: Meanwhile Hermes DVS will be looking to keep the momentum going after an impressive opening win over HCC when they take on HBS Craeyenhout at the Loopuyt Oval. HBS made Punjab work for their win in round one, and while early talk of Heino Kuhn and Roelof van der Merwe both committing to the Crows for the season proved ill-founded, a cameo from the latter at least can’t be entirely ruled out on Saturday. He would be a welcome addition to an HBS attack that has looked somewhat innocuous, Kyle Klein excepted, while the batting also looks a tad top-heavy, needing a personal-best effort from young Elmar Boendermaker last week to get them past 200. Hermes conversely looked more than the sum of their parts last week, even without the injured Oli Elenbaas and star bat Daniel Doyle-Calle. The latter should be back in the country having missed the opener due to commitments with Spain, though Elenbaas’ fitness remains in doubt. Doyle-Calle may find he has to fight for his place at the top of the order after Aryan Dutt’s showing in the opener’s slot last week, though that does seem like one of those good problems to have for Hermes. The bowling attack did a number on HCC last week, and Sahil Kothari’s return brings some much-needed balance to the side. While the sky-blues currently lack a strike bowler of genuine international pedigree, they’re unlikely to send down many bad overs on Saturday.
RL: With half-centuries from Klein and Boendermaker I’d be inclined to say the Crows’ batting effort last week was, if anything, a little bottom-heavy, but there’s no question that it was something of a curate’s egg. The bowling, though, looked sharp until Riaz and Sikander took the game away from them, and the encounter between the new-ball attack of Botha and Kyle Klein and the Hermes top three of Dutt, Ash Ostling and Doyle-Calle (in whatever order they appear) should be one to relish. Beyond that, Hermes will be looking for more from the rest of their batting, which quietly subsided after a great start. Conversely, the contest between the Sky-blues’ attack and an HBS top order which has more class than it was able to display against Punjab – especially when the spinners took over – promises to be absorbing, and in Hikmatullah Jabarkhail Hermes may have picked up a serious match-winner. This has all the makings of the game of the round, with both sides knowing that this is the sort of match which could be crucial in the battle for a place in the top seven.
BdJ: Finally Sparta 1888 welcome HCC to Bermweg with both sides still looking for their first points, though one imagines the hosts will be happier with their efforts in their season opener than their guests. While the Spartans ultimately had no answer to Gavin Kaplan and Bas de Leede’s match-winning partnership last week, they did battle their way to the second-highest first innings total of the round in the face of VCC’s enviable bowling attack, with runs all down the order. They may fancy their chances against a demoralised and misfiring HCC side that looked like they had overdone the King’s Day celebrations last weekend, but it’s unlikely that the Haagse rock up quite as ragged for round two.
RL: This, too, could be the most competitive of the day, but for reasons neither side will welcome. Barring a tie, somebody’s going to remain on nul points, and even at this early stage that’s not somewhere you want to be. HCC will be especially keen to get their campaign back on track, and they can take some comfort from the fact that their bowlers fought back well after a shaky start against Hermes. Hidde Overdijk was more influential with the ball than he was for much of last season, and Oliver White and Josh Brown did enough to suggest they will be a force, with Henrico Venter slotting back in as well. But the batting was, frankly, terrible, and that will need to be fixed fast, initially against a Sparta outfit which features the cutting-edges of Ahsan Malik and Khalid Ahmadi alongside the equally experienced spin of Umar Baker and Manminder Singh. Tough one to call, but HCC can’t disappoint so greatly two weeks in a row. Can they?
BdJ’s picks: Punjab, Kampong, Voorburg, Hermes, Sparta.
RL’s picks: VRA, Kampong, Voorburg, Hermes, HCC.
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