Rod Lyall 17/08/26
Wins at the lower end of the table and defeats among the leaders compressed the table as the second half of the T20 Cup got under way, with at least three teams now locked in a relegation battle and three points separating four sides at the top.
With overseas Jack Wood and Riley Ayre having departed and their replacement, Connor Blaxall-Hill, barely off the plane from Australia, Excelsior ’20 had a tough weekend, dismissed for 109 by HCC at De Diepput before the game was rained off, and then losing to Hermes-DVS in Sunday’s Schiedam derby.
Hidde Overdijk was the destroyer for HCC, taking four for 21, and only Roel Verhagen’s 35 enabled Excelsior to make it into three figures.
Karson Edward grabbed an early wicket when the Lions began their chase, but then a series of interruptions, which saw the target cut to 90 from 15 overs and later to 54 from eight, ended with the home side on 20 for one from 17 deliveries, the sides taking a point apiece.
It was Excelsior’s only point from the weekend, as Hermes-DVS ran up 170 for six against them at the Boudewijn Hoek Oval on Sunday after powering to 75 for two within the first six overs; Aryan Dutt then top-scored with a 35-ball 43, Edward claiming three for 36 for the visitors.
Verhagen again anchored the Excelsior innings with a 58-ball 66, but Hermes were able to keep the scoring rate below what was required, and they were already sure of the points before a flurry of wickets in the last two overs left Verhagen’s team on 138 for seven.
It was Hermes’ second victory of the weekend, since an unbeaten 75 (from 44 deliveries) by David Rushmere and 48 from Ash Ostling had seen them to a five-wicket win against HCC at De Diepput on Saturday.
Put in to bat, HCC had managed 143 for nine in somewhat unusual circumstances, Mark Wolfe having retired at the end of the fifteenth over of their innings, after making 6 from 16 deliveries.
Since he was able to keep wicket in the Hermes reply, taking two catches, this appeared to have been a tactical retirement, and if so, it was only partially successful since his replacement, Yash Patel, managed only a single six before departing.
Earlier, Boris Gorlee had given his side a good start with 45 from just 19 deliveries, hitting three fours and four sixes, but once he had gone the Lions’ innings faded, Olivier Elenbaas collecting four for 35.
Their single point from the weekend leaves HCC among the endangered, level on points with Hermes and Sparta, although with a greatly superior net run rate.
Sparta 1888, in fact, pulled off the most spectacular result of the weekend, Ruve Louw’s unbeaten, 70-ball 114, which included 14 fours and four sixes, dominating his side’s total of 177 for six against Kampong at the Bermweg, the next highest scores being 14 apiece from Umar Baker and Khalid Ahmadi.
Ahmadi then joined forces with Johne Jacob to reduce Kampong to 39 for six within the powerplay, Max O’Dowd, Pierre Jacod, Lorenzo ingram and Alex Roy all falling to Ahmadi, who claimed four for 9 in his first three overs.
With Jacob removing Damien van den Berg and Scott Edwards at the other end, Kampong’s theoretically strong top order was reduced to ruins, and although Vikram Chaturvedi (37) and Ajinkya More (27) were able to restore some respectability to proceedings, the side was all out for 128 with ten deliveries remaining.
It was a remarkable turnaround for Kampong, who on Saturday had caused an upset of their own, winning a rain-affected match against Rotterdam at the Zomercomplex, O’Dowd’s 41-ball 101, with six fours and nine sixes, as dominant in their innings as Louw’s would be the next day.
That 101 represented nearly 70% of Kampong’s total of 146 for five, only Edwards of the other batters, with 21, contributing at all significantly.
Ingram and Amit Das then cut through the Rotterdam top order as the weather threatened, Ingram claiming three for 20 and Das two for 25 as the batters’ attempt to get ahead of the DLS run rate badly misfired.
Rain stopped play at 45 for five after 3.4 overs, and although there was a brief resumption, the match was finally abandoned after the minimum five overs with the home side on 56 for six, giving Kampong a 25-run DLS victory.
But Rotterdam kept their title hopes alive in the afternoon game at the Zomercomplex, securing a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Sparta, who were dismissed for 102 in 19.3 overs.
Shoaib Minhas (55 not out from 25 deliveries) and Muhammad Gondal (36 not out from 31) then needed just 9.3 overs to knock off the runs after the early loss of Musa Ahmad, adding 102 in an unbroken second-wicket stand.
Michael Levitt’s return to form for Voorburg continued against VRA in the Amsterdamse Bos on Saturday, as he and Cedric de Lange shared an opening partnership of 87 in 11.5 overs before De Lange was bowled by Johan Smal for 38.
Levitt and Bas de Leede then added a further 68, and although Vikram Singh claimed three wickets in the 19th over, Levitt remained not out on 76, made from 57 deliveries, and the innings closed on 170 for five.
Singh gave his side a promising start with a 24-ball 34, but with Tom de Leede claiming three for 29 and Ryan Klein, operating off his long run, removing Singh, the required rate began to climb, and although Sam Cassidy made 40 before falling to Tom de Leede, the innings closed on 141 for seven.
Next weekend’s schedule features a top-of-the-table clash between Excelsior and Rotterdam at Thurlede, and a vital meeting betwen relegation-threatened Hermes and Sparta at the Boudewijn Hoek Oval, both on Saturday afternoon.
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TKcricket 