Preview Round 17

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 18/07/25

With Kampong claiming the title last week with two rounds to spare, the business at the top of the tabled is largely settled and their three nearest rivals – Punjab, VRA and HCC – are left chasing runners-up spots on the podium. With as many as three teams relegated this season though, the rest of the field are far from out of the woods. Sparta have of course been living in the woods for some time now with no hope of escape, but their valedictory matches in the top flight could still play a substantial role in determining who ends up in the Hoofdklasse with them next year.

BdJ: The real four pointer of the round this Sunday is thus set for Hazelaarweg, where VOC Rotterdam take on HBS Craeyenhout, aiming to vault over the Crows and out of the relegation zone. A win for HBS (currently in 7th place) could see them very close to safe, their NRR advantage over both VOC and Excelsior sufficient to insulate them against all but the most implausible calamity in the final round should they get to 15 points. For VOC a win will practically assure them of at least a shot at Topklasse survival via the playoffs, but their essentially irreparable net run rate means they can’t secure safety this week. Concerningly for the Bloodhounds, they’re set to lose the services of Aaditt Jain and Roman Harhangi for the final round, the increasingly impressive young pace pair heading off to the U19 Qualifiers in Dundee next week, along with HBS’s Elmar Boendermaker. VOC’s loss of their joint lead wicket-takers is unarguably more significant, but HBS can’t really spare many bats either given increasing reliance on Lehan Botha and Tayo Walbrugh for runs. Walbrugh currently tops the batting tables for good reason however, and while the progress of VOC’s young attack has been one of the few positives of their season, they face a tough pre-departure assignment on Sunday.

RL: VOC’s recovery, winning four of their last seven games after winning only two out of nine in the front half of the season, has been remarkable, but it has certainly helped that they have on the whole been able to field a stable eleven. The only raid by selectors until now has been by the Danes calling up Monty Singh, and his presence has been a key factor in most of VOC’s successes. The Bloodhounds’ other imports, Scott Janett and Christiaan Oberholzer, have been important as well, and their contribution will be even more significant in the absence of Aaditt Jain and Harhangi. Concentrating on this week’s task, however, both sides should be at full strength, although the Crows were without Wes Barresi last week and Kyle Klein had followed big brother Ryan in confining himself to spin. Removing the dangerous Lehan Botha quickly when HBS bat will be a crucial task for VOC’s new-ball-deploying Jains, but if they can manage that then they will greatly improve their side’s chances to scrambling to relative safety.

BdJ: Languishing in 9th place, 2019 champions Excelsior ‘20 are not quite dead-and-buried, but will need a win when they take on HCC at Thurlede if they’re to claw their way out of the relegation zone. Sparta’s parthian shot last Sunday sent their net run rate deeper into the red, and while they’re unlikely to dip below VOC on NRR, the prospect of catching up to HBS or Hermes on that metric has receded into the realm of the fanciful. If they can bank two points on Sunday their fate will be mostly in their own hands come their showdown with HBS in the final round, effectively assured of finishing above either HBS or VOC should they also win that final game. For now though they face an HCC side that, while now playing essentially for pride, are coming off the back of a comfortable win over a motivated VOC last week, and comprehensively outclassed the Schiedammers in their Round 8 fixture. Raynard van Tonder was notably sidelined for that encounter, but while he’s found a degree of form of late he’s had limited support from the rest of the order (nor much cooperation when chancing risky singles). While on the bowling side Jason Ralston and Sam Rahaley both looked in good rhythm last weekend, HCC’s middle order resilience was also on show, and early wickets may not be enough for the hosts at Thurlede on Sunday.

RL: Having found themselves on 49/6, 72/7 and 37/4 in their last three games, HCC will be hoping for a more solid start this time, and although Oliver White delivered on being switched to an opening role against Kampong it availed little as the rest of the top order again went cheaply. Jason Ralston’s season has distinctly picked up after a relatively quiet start, and he will likely provide a stiff test for Tonny Staal and Co. On the other side of the balance sheet, Excelsior have had top-order problems of their own, the return of Tim Etman not having yielded quite the results they might have hoped, and they have nothing like the strength in depth with the bat that their visitors can boast. The Lions’ bowling unit, too, has been better balanced than their hosts’, although the success with the ball of leg-spinner Joost Kroesen and, more recently, the occasional contributions of skipper Roel Verhagen, have been useful when all else has failed. A depleted Excelsior, however, will need to be at their very best if they are to overcome HCC and give themselves a chance of staying up.

BdJ: Both winless now since Round 11, either Hermes DVS or Voorburg will (weather permitting) end a five-match losing streak and thereby secure safety on Sunday, while the other will head into the final round at real risk of relegation despite their strong starts to the season. Voorburg’s late season has inevitably suffered from the absence of their internationals for long stretches, compounded by an injury to pace spearhead Viv Kingma, with the remaining seamers hemorrhaging runs at close to six an over in his absence. The looming loss of Alejo Nota, Tom de Leede and especially Cedric de Lange to the U19’s for the final round, when they will face champions Kampong, means defeat this Sunday could carry dire consequences. The pressure will be on senior internationals Noah Croes and Michael Levitt to make up for missed matches, and on the seam section to deliver some measure of control. Any win will be enough for VCC to reach the safety of 16 points, but their positive net run rate is unlikely to be of use to them should they be stuck on 14. For Hermes any win likewise means safety, but in case of defeat every run and ball will count. The hosts’ reliance on Daniel Doyle-Calle for the former has been an increasingly telling vulnerability, especially given Ashley Ostling’s current lean patch. One could easily imagine the Spanish skipper making hay against a profligate VCC attack, but should he fail again Hermes may quickly find themselves in damage-limitation mode.

RL: On paper, Voorburg had the strongest 18-man squad in the competition, but national team call-ups have been exacerbated by injuries to Kingma and Carl Mumba and the premature departure of Peter Hatzoglou, and they have not been able to field a stable A team when the internationals were away. Lacking big names but relatively free of national team demands – Aryan Dutt aside on both counts – Hermes have now lost five on the trot, balancing their run of five wins back at the start of the season, one factor being the decline in the wicket-taking capacity of Hikmatullah Jabarkhail, which was crucial during that initial winning streak. The reduction in the size of next season’s competition means that this game is rather more than the mid-table jostle it would otherwise have been, and with another raid on their playing resources impending for the final round the points here are much more vital for Voorburg than for their opponents, whose last game is against woodeen-spooners Sparta.

BdJ: On to the day’s dead rubbers then, with Hoofdklasse-bound Sparta 1888 headed to the Zomercomplex to take on silver medal hopefuls Punjab-Ghausia. The Spartans have looked keen to do some damage on their farewell tour, and having made a mess of Excelsior’s net run rate last week would doubtless be delighted to knock Punjab off the podium on Sunday. Such pressure as there is on Sunday will probably be on the hosts, but despite the danger posed by a side with nothing left to lose, it’s worth noting Sparta have yet to win a game away from home this season. Even if their hopes of retaining the title are gone, the 2024 champions look to be finishing strong, sending first Voorburg and then Hermes down toward the danger zone last weekend. the Punjab top order has been consistently producing runs, and even if the bowling has lacked for penetration at times it’s likely to be more than enough to see off Sparta’s brittle batting line-up.

RL: Little to add to that, really: Punjab have settled back into a solid match-winning formula, built on the most dependable top order in the competition and a very effective spin attack, while the thinness of Sparta’s resources has beeen increasingly apparent as the campaign has continued. Kyle Klesse’s batting has been one of their few successes, although if any new-ball can cause problems for Punjab’s top five it’s former international Ahsan Malik, coming off a short run these days but still capable of claiming early wickets. Had Punjab not lost three of their first four games the climax to the competition would have been a lot more interesting, but they will want to finish the season in style, and a win for Sparta here would be one of the shocks of the campaign,

BdJ: Finally our newly-crowned champions Kampong start their lap of honour by welcoming VRA to Maarschalkerweerd. The hosts may be forgiven for treating the game as something of a celebratory occasion in the circumstances, and there’s every chance some of the senior players make way for some lesser lights. That said, the likes of Lane Berry and Lachlan Bangs have lately been clearing the ropes with consistency regardless of the circumstances, and one imagines they’ll be aiming to put on a show for the home crowd again. Conversely, while VRA may be happy enough with safety at this stage too, their underperforming internationals are likely to take any chance to improve their season statistics fairly seriously. Neither sometime skipper Vikram Singh not current incumbent Teja Nidamanuru will relish the prospect of finishing the season with an average in the teens, and Sunday represents their penultimate chance to address the issue.

RL: I’ve never understood the concept of a ‘dead rubber’: quite apart from team pride, surely no cricketer ever wants to get out cheaply or throw away runs by a ton, and equally surely both sides here have plenty to play for. A Kampong celebration would be somewhat deflated by a home defeat, while VRA, having clambered out of the relegation zone in recent weeks, will want to prove that their more elevated position is a fairer reflection of their quality. This could, therefore, be one of the showpiece fixtures of the season, with a panoply of talent on display, if both sides approach it in the right spirit.

BdJ’’s picks: HBS, HCC, Voorburg, Punjab, Kampong

RL’s picks: HBS, HCC, Voorburg, Punjab, Kampong.