Bertus de Jong | 17-04-2026
Newly-promoted Kampong Utrecht made history last season by becoming the first clubs since Prinses Wilhelmina Enchede in 1939 to win the top division immediately upon their return, clinching the Topklasse title with two games to spare. The defending champions don’t look to be changing a winning formula, and the 2026 squad looks broadly similar to last season.
Kampong’s success in recent years has been in part based on shrewd past acquisitions, tempting Dutch international duo Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards over from VOC and the veteran Lorenzo Ingram from Excelsior, and the trio are expected to play a substantial role in Kampong’s title defence again. Edwards in particular was imperious when available last year, and though O’Dowd had a comparatively quiet season, Kampong will hope a comparatively light international schedule will mean the pair will be around a bit more.
The absence of last season’s top-scorer Lane Berry, who remains in Australia means the title-holders will be likely need a few more runs from their Dutch international pair, While the returning Lachlan Bangs along with Damien van den Berg ensure Kampong will not be short of hitting power, the Kampong top order may be left looking like something of a glass cannon if and when O’Dowd and Edwards are called away on national duty. That said, Pierre Jacod comes into the season in fine form, having followed up an excellent 2025 Topklasse season with an impressive winter in Australia, and combined with the evergreen Ingram provides not only an enviable left-right spin combination but also a degree of depth to the batting card.
The bowling attack likewise looks much the same as last season, though Kirtan Nana is understood to be taking a summer off, with young Gert Swanepoel expected to get a few more chances in the senior side, joining skipper and spearhead Alex Roy in an otherwise comparatively callow pace attack. The spin trio of Ingram, Jacod and Akhil Gopinath will likely bowl the bulk of the overs again this season, while Dutch prospect Zach Lion-Cachet is also on the Kampong list, the young offie will likely be available only when in the country with the national squad.
Roy is somewhat phlegmatic about the prospect of Kampong defending their title,
“winning was great but of course this year we’ll have a bit of a target on our backs important thing is consistency, it would be great to go back to back but really we just want to show we can keep competing at the top level. We’ll be aiming first to keep pace in the top four, but of course if we can push on for the title again then great.”
While the competition may be somewhat fiercer this season as talent concentrates into the newly streamlined top division, the defending champions established a working blueprint for success in their first season back last year, and taking the title off them will doubtless take some doing.
T20 champions and runners up in the fifty-over competition last year, VRA Amsterdam will be looking to add to their silverware collection again this time around, albeit with a somewhat reshuffled squad. The local core of the side remains largely unchanged under captain-manager Teja Nidamanuru, but the overseas section looks markedly different for the coming season.
Among the more significant personnel changes is the departure of pace pair Ben Fletcher and Peter Ruffel, who accounted for some fifty wickets between them last season, with Jersey international Patrick Gouge another notable absence from the 2026 roster. New arrivals include Kiwi bats Sam Cassidy (cousin of current keeper Jack) and Lovepreet Padda, along with seam all-rounder Devin Wilke and legspinner Ivan Zmak.
While most if not all of the newcomers will be in contention for first team spots, VRA’s fortunes will likely hinge on their trio of sometime Dutch internationals, Vikram Singh, Shariz Ahmad and skipper Nidamanuru, who collectively had a somewhat modest season last year. Singh and Nidamanuru’s limited returns with the bat left VRA rather dependent on vice captain Johan Smal, who’ ha’s looked in fine form in pre-season after an excellent 2025, and may himself may push for Dutch selection when he becomes eligible in a few weeks’ time, potentially leaving VRA vulnerable to something of an exodus when the selectors come calling.
The top order looks solid on paper though, and the Amsterdammers are confident in their local bowling depth. While Shariz Ahmad has not hit the heights of past seasons, the return of left armer Udit Nashier, backed up by the veteran Leon Turmaine (VRA’s stand-out slow bowler last season) together with Nidamanuru’s own improving offspin ensures they won’t be short of spin options. The loss of Fletcher and Ruffel means responsibility for leading the seam attack will fall to left arm quick Ashir Abid, backed up by Singh’s medium pace and potentially opening up more space for youth and second-team prospects to push for more regular opportunities in the top flight.
Nidamanuru struck an upbeat tone ahead of the season on that front, telling TKcricket “We’ve some local talent coming through for sure. We’re very happy with the new guys coming in from overseas of course, but partially we’ll be looking to a couple of them to bring some stability in the seconds rather than coming straight into the first team … we’re relying on our local bowling especially this season, and I do think we’ve got the depth to go one better this year.”
The fact that VRA finished runners-up last time round despite several senior players having sub-par personal seasons does suggest there’s potential for the squad to break the silver-medal ceiling that they’ve bumped against on occassion since their last fifty-over title in 2011, if they can get a few more cylinders firing on full.
TKcricket 