Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 08/06/2025
And so we gallop into the back straight, the Pentecost holiday providing us with another brace of rounds one clear day apart. Things have moved on, of course, since these sides met on the opening day, and in several cases the return games distinctly pit one of the leaders against one of the relegation-threatened. The weather promises to be a good deal more co-operative than it was on Saturday, and we must hope that this time there will be no delays or interruptions .
RL: Having kicked off their season with a rapid nine-wicket victory over VOC back in April, Kampong go into the rematch at the Hazelaaarweg without their two internationals, although it was local boy Pierre Jacod and overseas Lane Berry who were instrumental in that opening-day victory. Jacod has gone on to lead his side’s wicket-takers with 16 at 17.75, and with Lorenzo Ingram chipping in with 14 at 14.86, Kampong’s spin department has been a significant factor in their position at the top of the table. The Bloodhounds’ campaign, on the other hand, has devolved into a fairly desperate battle to avoid relegation, and their victory over VRA on Saturday notwithstanding, even a depleted Kampong will start as favourites against them. There have been occasional glimmers of hope for VOC, but with just two wins in the first half they will need significant, consistent improvement in all departments if they are to avoid slipping down to the Hoofdklasse.
BdJ: VOC’s two wins so far have both come defending low totals, where their opponents in both cases took an arguably over-cautious approach to the chase, eventually collapsing under partly self-applied pressure. It’s difficult to see the same scenario playing out against Kampong, certainly not with Ingram marshalling the middle order. Even Kampong’s depleted batting unit has continued to play positively, and it will take wickets to contain them. The brothers Jain, along with young Roman Harhangi, have been taking their share, but the Bloodhounds will need their own batting card to deliver something more substantial if they are to have a hope of upsetting the frontrunners.
RL: There’s another top vs. bottom meeting at Westvliet, where third-placed Voorburg will be at home to current wooden-spooners Sparta 1888. The Spartans put up a decent effort with the bat on the opening day, but were comfortably beaten in the end by overseas Gavin Kaplan and the returning Bas de Leede. This time, of course, the home side will be without their three internationals as well as De Leede (comparatively) senior, but they still have plenty of local talent to fill the gaps, not to mention Kaplan, Henry Melville and former Zimbabwean Carl Mumba. Joost-Martijn Snoep’s squad, undisturbed by international commitments, have proved themselves doughty fighters on occasion, and this is the sort of match they will have to win, albeit against the odds, if they are to remove the relegation Sword of Damocles which is hanging over their heads.
BdJ: Even at their best Sparta have generally looked outmatched by any side even remotely on their game this season – a banana peel that so far only VRA have slipped on. While Voorburg have looked vulnerable when Kaplan fails at the top – especially in the absence of their internationals – they bat deep enough that even without big runs from their overseas they should be reasonably confident of getting to a score beyond anything Sparta have managed this season. With just five fifties between them in the first half of the season, it’s the Spartan batting that’s chiefly to blame for their current predicament, and without a remarkable turnaround in the top order’s form it’s difficult to see them picking up many more points at all this summer, let alone on Monday.
RL: While some of the air has escaped from the Hermes-DVS balloon, they were back in command against Sparta and will go into their match against HCC at the Loopuyt Oval with plenty of confidence, having demolished their opponents for 99 first time out. They will be without Aryan Dutt this time, his 79 having anchored what proved to be a winning total at De Diepput, but that is compensated for by the presence of Saturday’s centurion Daniel Doyle-Calle and the return to the attack of Olivier Elenbaas. The Lions have had an up-and-down season so far, most of the ups having been provided by Boris Gorlee’s form with the bat and a varied attack led by a resurgent Hidde Overdijk. Overall, though, they’ve been a little less than the sum of their parts, while until a week or so ago, Hermes were distinctly more than the sum of theirs. To be serious title contenders, though, they will need to maintain their momentum, and their spin attack, with or without Dutt, is likely to be crucial in that. Hard to call, this one, but it would be quite something if the Sky Blues managed to roll HCC twice.
BdJ: It’s probably fair to say that Hermes caught HCC somewhat off-guard in their opening game, almost as though the arrival of the season had taken Gorlee’s side entirely by surprise. They’ll be better prepared for the trip to Harga, one imagines, and better rested that their opponents too having had a rain-enforced afternoon off yesterday. Gorlee’s own prolific form is indeed one of the principle reasons for their spot in the top five, though the question of whether the HCC skipper can carry that form from mats onto turf wickets is one he’ll doubtless be keen to answer. More pressing questions might be asked of the rest of the batting of course, though the same could be said of the Hermes line-up besides Doyle-Calle. The Hermes bowling attack has no obvious weak links though, Elenbaas looking sharp on return and Braat himself in excellent form with the ball, meaning the hermes skipper has plenty of options even beyond the slow-bowling section. Gorlee conversely has had to rely mostly on his seamers for wickets, though Ollie White generally delivers ten servicable overs of left arm spin, fellow slow southpaw Clayton Floyd has struggled for form since return from injury. All told Hermes look a team largely playing their best cricket, while HCC have been comparatively inconsistent. The flip side of that though, is that the latter have more room for improvement.
RL: Both Punjab-Ghausia and HBS Craeyenhout seem destined to finish mid-table, although it would be rash to write off a late dash towards the top by one or other of them, or even, for that matter, a plunge into the Nether Deeps. If the former’s going to happen, this would be a very good place to start, and both the home record of the defending champions and the Crows’ away from Craeyenhout suggest that it’s Punjab who are more likely to come out on top here, especially since HBS will be missing Wesley Barresi and Kyle Klein. One shouldn’t write off their remaining resources with either bat or ball, but there’s no doubt Punjab’s top order, led by Jonathan Vandiar and Shoaib Minhas, with Mohsin Riaz currently the man in form, boasts greater potential firepower than that of their visitors. It was Riaz’ century, supported by 71 not out from Sikander Zulfiqar, which was decisive on 27 April after a fluctuating battle, and it would probably take something similar from the Crows’ Tayo Walbrugh to see the rematch go the other way.
BdJ: While HBS will be hopeful that their fortunes will improve once Klein and Barresi return, they may well need to pick up some points without them if they’re to avoid sliding toward danger, with Excelsior – currently occupying the relegation play-off spot – just one win behind them. Punjab’s point from yesterday indeed looks increasingly valuable in that regard, and if the Rotterdammers look up rather than down the washout was almost as good as a win, given Kampong’s huge net run rate advantage over the field. Catching the front-runners looks a tall order at this point for any of the sides on ten points though, likely needing Kampong to lose at least three of their remaining matches to even leave an opening. Punjab have the squad to do it on paper, and it’s worth noting that they’re currently joint third on the table despite practically the entire squad, Riaz and Saqib Zulfiqar excepted, performing well below potential with bat or ball. If a reversion to mean does come a successful title defense is still possible, but they can ill afford to lose games like this if they’re to pull it off.
RL: If Excelsior ‘20 are to escape eighth place and a relegation-deciding play-off against the Hoofdklasse champions – or indeed worse – then their first task is to leapfrog VRA Amsterdam, now just a point ahead of them after the latter’s defeat by VOC and Excelsior’s victory over HBS. That makes the meeting of the two sides at Thurlede on Monday pretty much the Four-Pointer of the Day. The Amsterdammers are, of course, one of the principal losers from the national side’s Scottish foray, with four of their first-choice eleven on the other side of the North Sea, and their reserves have had mixed fortunes so far. The efforts of Sachin Peiris and Viraj Thakur against VOC will have given them some encouragement. ‘Full strength’ on paper, it is true, is not the same as on the park, and Roel Verhagen’s side are in the relegation zone because they have so far been unable to put together a string of all-round performances which measure up to that potential. But this is one they really have to win if they are to prevent their situation from deteriorating further.
BdJ:It’s frankly doubtful that VRA will have spent much time “taking the positives” from events at Hazelaarweg yesterday, though perhaps the second team may have enjoyed their own Peiris and Zaidi being the only two bats that didn’t entirely disgrace themselves. Given VRA’s precarious situation the schedule really hasn’t done them any favours this weekend, pitting them against two relegation rivals in a row while they’re missing fully five players owing to international duty – Patrick Gouge of course also away at the Channel Islands Inter-Insular series yesterday, though he’s expected back for tomorrow. While Excelsior have had to do without Raynard van Tonder, the return of Brett Hampton coupled with Antum Naqvi finding some form with the bat means they look a stronger side than at any point in the season. With VRA looking in a horrid slump – winless now since round five – there’s every chance that the international absentees will return to find their side deep in the relegation hole.
RL’s picks: Kampong, Voorburg, HCC, Punjab, Excelsior
BdJ’s picks: Kampong, Voorburg, HCC, Punjab, Excelsior
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