Author: tkcricket

Topklasse Team of the Year 2025

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 20/09/25

So, as the season nears its end, it’s time for us to come up with our seventh Topklasse Team of the Year.

RL: Once again, we cannot avoid the issue of overseas players, and how many we should include. Arguably, we could name a side like:
Janett (VOC), Doyle-Calle (Hermes-DVS), Kaplan (Voorburg), Walbrugh (HBS), Melville (Voorburg), Brown (HCC), Bangs (Kampong), Shahzad (Punjab-Ghausia), Ruffell (VRA), Ralston (Excelsior) and Rossouw (HBS)
which wouldn’t be too much of a travesty, but while it might make a point, it wouldn’t be a totally fair reflection of the season so far. So perhaps the sensible course is once again to give preference to local, or at least Dutch-qualified, players wherever possible, while including a small number of the most influential imports.

So here goes:

Starting with the openers, the first name on my sheet is that of Cedric de Lange (Voorburg), still eligible to play in the KNCB’s Under-17 competition but already a Topklasse regular, with 634 runs this season at 42.27. No other locally-produced opener has shown anything like the same degree of consistency, with some, like VRA’s Vikram Singh and HCC’s Tonny Staal, having distinctly disappointing returns. Musa Ahmad (Punjab) spent most of the season at three, but his promotion to opener brought him plenty of runs, and his 621 at 42.40 earns him a place in one or other of these positions. If we were to go for an overseas to partner De Lange, then Daniel Doyle-Calle’s 711 at 64.64 (at a strike rate of 105) for Hermes, although he fell away somewhat towards the end of the season, makes him the outstanding candidate.

Cedric de Lange

BdJ: De Lange is probably the easiest pick this season for what one suspects will be the first of many TK team of the year appearances. The 17 year-old doubtless has a bright future ahead of him both in the Topklasse and indeed in Orange, his maiden international call-up coming earlier than even he might have hoped one imagines. The second opener is a tougher pick, however. Musa Ahmad indeed did well opening, but with only four appearances at the top of the order probably doesn’t qualify. It’s perhaps recency bias that summons VOC’s Scott Jannet to mind – his unbeaten 83 in the relegation play-off arguably the single most consequential innings of the season. Conversely, we perhaps shouldn’t discount Doyle-Calle’s weight of runs merely because the lion’s share came at the start of the season. DDC’s early season form was a big part of Hermes’ dominance over the first few weeks of the competition, and ensured they had a cushion of safety even as their title challenge rather sputtered out.

There’s a rather more crowded field for numbers three through five, though again overseas players feature heavily. Voorburg’s Gavin Kaplan is an obvious contender again, while strong cases might be made for Kampong’s Lane Berrry – whose 684 runs for the champions came at an average over 50 and a blistering strike rate of 124, while VOC’s Danish number 4 Monty Singh also had an excellent debut season, and had his long commute from Denmark not limited him to ten appearances the Bloodhounds’ season might have looked rather different. Among the locals Kampong’s Pierre Jacod deserves at the very least an honourable mention among the batters with 403 runs at 57.57, though he’s generally been at his best further down the order. For my money though, we should probably stretch our definition of local players to include those set on qualifying for the Netherlands again. That would make room for Tayo Walbrugh and Johan Smal who, though both still a few months from eligibility (much to the frustration of the aforementioned selectors as the injuries and unavailabilities mount up ahead of the impending Bangladesh tour) have already been training with the national side and one imagines will be donning the Orange sooner rather than later. Walbrugh once again finished top of the run tables with 831 at an average of almost 60, while Smal was just two spots behind, his 715 runs at 55 crucial to keeping VRA in the top half of the table while other senior bats at the Bos seemed to struggle all season.

RL: There’s obviously a serious danger that our final eleven might start to look very like the satirically-intended one I named at the outset! The lack of outstanding local candidates is due to a mix of factors: the tendency of the clubs to pack their sides with overseas players, thus limiting the opportunities for their own products, combines with the presence of relatively few young Dutch players of genuine quality and the fact that the top Dutch batters either played relatively few games or had disappointing seasons. Only eight Dutch-qualified players figure in the top twenty of the batting averages, and of those Scott Edwards played only nine times for Kampong (and had five innings) and Noah Croes (Voorburg) one more. If we agree that Jacod ought to bat at six or seven, and if I’m allowed to insist that we only include one overseas in the top/middle order (Walbrugh again, for my money), then I’d want to make a case for two of Wes Barresi (465 runs at 42.27), Boris Gorlee (628 at 39.25) and Noah Croes (372 at 41.33). Or perhaps . . .

. . . all three, if Croes keeps wicket. Equally, Edwards’ 260 at 65.00 from his extremely limited opportunities is a pretty strong case too. If we’re going to confine ourselves to keepers with a more frequent presence, on the other hand, then the top candidates are probably Mark Wolfe (HCC) and Asad Zulfiqar (Hermes), with 20 victims apiece. VRA’s Jack Cassidy had 28, but then we’re back with the overseas vs. locals debate again. Zulfiqar bats higher up the order than Wolfe but had a fairly disappointing campaign with the bat, while young Wolfe, batting lower down, played some useful innings when the HCC top and middle order had struggled. So on balance I’d probably be inclined to give him the nod.

BdJ: Well it seeems every year we’re destined to have the same tussle, as to whether to adhere in our Topklasse Team of the Year selection to a rule that hasn’t applied in the actual competition for the better part of a decade now, and was more honoured in the breach when it did. If we are to make current Dutch-eligibility rather than Topklasse performance the principal qualification for this exercise we may as well just name the national team and have done with it. In a similar vein, while Scott Edwards doubless does a fine job with the gloves in Orange I frankly draw the line at picking a wicketkeeper here that basically never keeps wicket in the Topklasse. Edwards and Croes have a total of 7 appearances behind the stumps between them this season, and to my mind picking either as Topklasse keeper of the year would send us deep into the realm of farce. Monty Singh scored more runs and effected more dismissals than both combined despite missing half the season, away playing for Denmark rather than the Dutch. If we must look to Dutch-eligible glovemen then I’d argue Kampong’s actual keeper Damien van den Berg has a stronger case, doing a fine job behind the stumps and setting the tone at the top of the order with some 400 runs at a run-a-ball. The Crows’ Lucas del Bianco had a comparable season with the bat, but a glaring 30 byes probably disqualifies him there.

Turning to seamers we are inevitably confronted with a familiar quandry, as the two leading quicks in the comp are likewise non-Dutch-eligible. HCC’s Joshua Brown took 34 wickets at 15.32 while VRA’s Peter Ruffel claimed 33 scalps at 16.55, and both were crucial to keeping their sides in the top half of the table. There is however a tad more local competition in the fast bowling stakes, with Hermes skipper Sebastiaan Braat’s 30 wickets at 16.67 earning him a spot in the top five, closely followed by Kampong captain Alex Roy, who picked up 29 wickets at 14.52 while leading his side to the title. TK TOTY regular Hidde Overdijk also deserves an honourable mention at the very least, his 26 wickets coming at just 13.69 apiece.

Alexander Roy

RL: Maybe we should pick two sides, one limiting ourselves to, say, two or three overseas players, and the other a No-Holds-Barred team, a bit like the one I ironically suggested at the outset? I for one hope that the KNCB finally gets a grip on the nuclear arms race of overseas player recruitment over the winter!

Turning to the spinners, we’ve already mentioned Musa Ahmad, Wes Barresi and Pierre Jacod in our discussion of the batting, and if all three make it into the final eleven we have a pretty reasonable array of slow bowling. Even I, though, would find it difficult to go past the Crows’ Jayden Rossouw, the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 38 at 19.37. With four off-spinners this attack would, admittedly, have a certain sameness about it, but we have to play with the cards we’re dealt, and left-armers and leg-spinners have not been conspicuous among the wicket-takers this year.

BdJ: I’d argue that four slow bowlers of any ilk would be a bit much in a season largely dominated by the quicks, but picking four right arm finger spinners of whom only two made the top ten wicket-takers seems entirely excessive. Nonetheless I’m going to have to give at least an honourable shout-out to one more right-arm tweaker here, namely VOC’s Arnav Jain, who may only have bagged 19 scalps this season but went at just 3.44 an over. If offspin is generally seen as a defensive art there’s a strong case to be made that that’s a better showing than the relatively leaky Barresi or the objectively expensive Ahmad. Among the purveyors of more esoteric or aggressive spin there’s only one genuine stand-out, namely Hermes’ leggie Hikmatullah Jabarkhail. His 32 wickets at 16.5 played a big part in the Schiedammers’ early dominance, and would make him a sure pick were it not for his hailing from Belgium. Similarly Excelsior stalwart Lorenzo Ingram to my mind has a better case than either Ahmad or Barresi, with more wickets at a better average than either and at an economy of just 3.29 – the best of any front line bowler in the competition – and a better batting average to boot. But Ingram of course, despite a Topklasse career spanning well over a decade, is not yet eligible to play for the Netherlands.

I will once again plead that we ought be picking a Topklasse XI rather than a Dutch development squad here, and point out that even if we were picking the latter at least those on track for eligibility should be accorded equal treatment, but will defer to experience when it comes to the final word…

RL:One might take the position that given the apparent indifference of the clubs to the fututre of Dutch cricket, our own annual selection might at least serve by contrast as rebuke or aspiration, but on the other hand there’s a strong case for reporting things as they aare. Considering the our differing positions on the overseas question, it’s remakable how little divergence there eventually turned out to be in our preferred selections. While I remain sceptical of treating palyers on the path to qualification as though they were already there, I’ll concede Smal has a marginally stronger claim than Musa to a place, at least a batting slot. While Ingram has not even comitted to that path, he is unquestionably a long-standing servant of the Dutch domestic game, and indeed would add variety to an otherwise offspin-heavy spin attack, so once again am happy to defer to my colleague there. On the keeping question, Cassidy certainly had a fine season, helped no doubt by the quality of the quick bowlers he’s kept to. Van den Berg’s fewer dismissals are balanced by fewer byes conceded, and there’s little to choose between them in terms or runs scored except the rate at which they scored them, so on balance van den Berg edges it irrespective of the overseas question. Finally it seems to me that given his side’s success and his on contibution to it, Alex Roy is the outstanding candidate to captain our team of the year.

Touch wood by the time we come to do this exercise next year the KNCB may have found a way of encouraging or forcing clubs to rectrict their use of overseas players, if not we’ll doubless again be wrestling with this dilemma, and hopefully diverting you all by arguin it out in public. For now though, here is TKcricket’s 2025 Team of the Year:

Daniel Doyle-Calle (Hermes), Cedric de Lange (Voorburg), Johan Smal (VRA), Tayo Walbrugh (HBS), Lorenzo Ingram (Kampong), Damien van den Berg (Kampong), Pierre Jacod (Kampong), Sebastiaan Braat (Hermes), Alex Roy (c) (Kampong), Joshua Brown (HCC), Jayden Rossouw (HBS).

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VRA conquer HCC and the weather to take T20 Cup

Rod Lyall 14/09/25

Dutch autumn weather did its best to spoil the party on Saturday, but at Schiedam’s Loopuyt Oval at least cricket had the last word, the finals of both the Women’s T20 and men’s Topklasse T20 Cups achieving a result.

Both matches were curtailed by the rain, the side which won the toss electing to field and thereby gaining the considerable advantage of chasing a severely reduced target.

In the women’s match Quick Haag got in their full 20 overs against HCC, reaching 143 for five thanks to a splendid 68-ball 86 from opener Annemijn Thomson, who was supported in a second-wicket stand of 80 by Luisa Ekelmans (25 at a run a ball).

Iris Zwilling was the pick of the HCC bowlers, her four overs conceding just 7 runs for the wicket of Thomson’s opening partner Alarda Mol.

Then the weather intervened, and HCC were set a reduced target of 36 from five overs, a task which they were untroubled in achieving for the loss of one wicket with three deliveries to spare, Frédérique Overdijk seeing them home with an unbeaten 21 from 16 balls.

HCC’s men found the show on the other foot soon afterwards, when VRA captain Teja Nidamanuru won the toss and elected to field.

Who the Lions would be facing had been in doubt for much of the week, after Voorburg, who had lost to VRA in a semi-final, challenged that result on the grounds that their opponents had played an ineligible player in Shirase Rasool.

Rasool, they claimed, had played an insufficient number of matches in the round robin phase, but in a last-minute decision the Appeals Committee ruled that he had indeed been qualified to play under the KNCB’s complex Playing Conditions.

Having been cleared to contest the final the Amsterdammers immediately seized the initiative, Nidamanuru himself taking a low return catch to remove Clayton Floyd with the first ball of the second over, and Ben Fletcher having Oliver White caught by Johan Smal off the first ball of the next.

When Boris Gorlee edged the first ball of the sixth,bowled by Peter Ruffell, through to keeper Jack Cassidy it was 17 for three, and although Shirsak Banerjee got off the mark with a boundary, HCC were struggling with 25 on the board when the players were forced from the field two balls into the seventh.

A long delay followed, and when Mark Wolfe and Banerjee resumed the innings had been reduced to just 11 overs a side.

Almost immediately Shariz Ahmad removed Banerjee and Hidde Overdijk with successive deliveries, but Wolfe (20) and Daniel Crowley (18 from 10 deliveriesI doubled the score before Nidamanuru accounted for both in the final over, and HCC closed on 65 for seven.

That was adjusted to 66 by DLS, and Rasool gave VRA’s reply a flying start, top-edging Crowley to third man for four before twice smacking him over long on for six.

Trying to make it three in a row he was caught by Hidde Overdijk on the boundary for a four-ball 16, and then Nidamanuru took up the challenge, carving White through backward point for four before twice lofting him over long on for two more.

He got under the next and was caught in the deep by Teun Leijer, but VRA had almost reached the halfway mark inside two overs.

By the time Clayton Floyd had Vikram Singh caught at cow only 24 more were required, and Sma’s 11-ball 19 took VRA to within two runs of their target, Shariz and Cassidy finishing it off two balls into the seventh over.

The weather had ensured that it was far from being a classic, but it gave VRA their fifth T20 Cup final victory.

There was a less satisfactory outcome at the Zomercomplex, where ACC had reached 17 for two in 4.1 overs against Kampong Utrecht before the players left the field, never to return.

There is no provision for a replay in the Hoofdklasse Cup final, so Kampong are champions by virtue of having topped the table after the round robin phase, and will now meet VOC Rotterdam, again at the Zomercomplex, on Sunday to decide which of the two plays in the Topklasse T20 Cup next season.

Player-eligibility technicality puts VRA’s T20 finals berth in doubt

Bertus de Jong 10/09/2025

Defeated semi-finalists Voorburg CC, who lost to VRA by 22 runs in the second semi-final of the Topklasse T20 competition on Sunday, are seeking to have the result of that match overturned on grounds that VRA fielded an ineligible player. VCC are understood to have challenged the eligibility of VRA opening bat Shirase Rasool – who scored a brisk 41 before retiring hurt in the match in question – on the basis that he had not played sufficient matches in the preceding league phase.

Shirase Rasool

Rasool, a former regular at the top of the order for VRA, has played only intermittently this season owing to personal commitments. In total Rasool has made three appearances for VRA’s second team and five for the senior side this season, but crucially played only four matches in the T20 competition.

Under Article 18 of the Competitieregelement only players that have played a minimum of 50% of the first (league) stage matches of the T20 competition are eligible to participate in the final rounds. Under the current competition format the minimum is thus five matches in across divisions prior to the finals phase; Rasool therefore falling one match short.

However, a number of exemptions to these requirements are detailed in the same document, not least 18.II.7.b which exempts long-standing members of a club from the above participation requirements, under which Voorburg match-secretary and first team occasional Floris de Lange was able to play. VRA maintains that Rasool is similarly exempt under Articles 18.II.6 and 18.II.7.b, which provides for players who have regularly played for a club in preceding seasons, though the language of the document is arguably inconsistent as to whether this refers to all competition or exclusively divisions below the top flight.

“VRA is confident that we are fully within the regulations regarding the eligibility of Shirase Rasool. Articles 18.II.6 and 18.II.7 clearly state that he qualifies to play without needing to meet the five-match threshold or apply for dispensation. It is extremely disappointing how this situation has unfolded, as it distracts from the spirit of the competition and takes the focus away from the cricket itself.” VRA first team captain and General Manager Teja Nidamanuru told TKcricket.

Voorburg Chair Richard de Lange was equally confident however, stating; “VCC remains confident in the strength of our position and our rightful place in the T20 final based on the merits of our case and adherence to competition regulations. We respect the ongoing appeals process and trust that the proper procedures will ultimately ensure the integrity of the competition is upheld. We look forward to a swift and fair resolution that serves the best interests of cricket in the Netherlands.”

VRA immediately appealed the KNCB’s initial decision, which Tkcricket understands awarded the match and a place in the final to VCC and imposed a 100 euro fine on VRA. That appeal appears to have been at least initially successful in reversing the decision, but said reversal has duly been appealled in turn by VCC. At press time it remains unclear who, if anyone, HCC will face in Saturday’s final at the Loopuyt Oval.

HCC, VRA ease into T20 Cup Final

Rod Lyall 08/09/25

Winning the toss and batting proved to be the winning strategy in the T20 Cup semi-finals on Sunday, as HCC and VRA set their opponents targets of eight an over or just short of it and marched into next week’s final.

HCC suffered an early setback against Hermes-DVS at De Diepput when Oliver White clattered his own stumps while attempting to hit Aryan Dutt into the Van Hogenhoucklaan, but then Clayton Floyd and skipper Boris Gorlee added 80 for the second wicket in ten overs before Gorlee was stumped off Hikmatullah Jabarkhail for a 35-ball 67 which included eight fours and three sixes.

Floyd had been much more subdued, but he opened out after his captain’s departure, going after Jabarkhail and reaching 26 before he was dismissed by Olivier Elenbaas.

Hidde Overdijk and Thijs Vrolijk added 27 in the final three overs to take their side to 156 for six, Elenbaas claiming two for 27 and Braat conceding just 23 runs in his four overs.

Daniel Doyle-Calle and Ash Ostling put on 18 from the first three overs, but a moment’s hesitation by Doyle when he was called through by his partner for a single to midwicket cost him his wicket, Hidde Overdijk’s direct hit finding him just short.

Teun Leijer removed Ostling in the next over, and when Jan-Wieger Overdijk dismissed Ralph Elenbaas Hermes were in trouble at 34 for three.

Olivier Elenbaas (22 from 19 deliveries) and Dutt (17 from 16) added 29, but then Floyd removed Dutt and Justin Trijzelaar claimed Elebaas and Asad Zulfiqar in the next over, and at 66 for six with eight overs left the issue was effectively settled.

Braat and Mussayab Jamil did their best to turn the game around, putting on 43 from 23 deliveries, but another double-wicket over from Trijzelaar, this time including Braat for 19, followed by Hidde Overdijk’s dismissal ofJamil for a 13-ball 21, ended the revival, and Hermes were all out for 121 with one over remaining.

Trijzelaar finished with four for 28, Hidde Overdijk claiming two for 18.

At Westvliet, VRA were given a decent start against Voorburg by Vikram Singh and Shirase Rasool, although the former was well below his hard-hitting best in making a 20-ball 16 and the Amsterdammers suffered a further setback when Rasool, who had looked in very good touch as he made 41 from 25 deliveries, was forced to retire ill with the total on 67 for one after nine overs.

Cedric de Lange showed his versatility by removing Teja Nidamanuru and Shariz Ahmad in successive overs, finishing with two for 10 from his two overs, but Jack Cassidy (36 from 22) and Ibaad Zaidi (25 not out from 18) added 60 for the fifth wicket, and VRA closed on 159 for seven.

Nidamanuru removed the dangerous De Lange in the second over of Voorburg’s reply, and then Ben Fletcher had the equally dangerous Noah Croes caught behind by Cassidy to reduce the chasers to 10 for two.

Waseem Mohsen, however, was still at the other end, and his 42-ball 58 kept his side in the game; but when he was well caught by Singh at long on off Fletcher the score was 99 for five, and 61 were still required from 33 deliveries.

That was a big ask, and despite a 25-ball 30 from Ryan Klein Voorburg could only manage 137 for eight, 23 runs short of their target.

Fletcher finished with four for 25 and Peter Ruffell two for 27.

So the final, to be played at Sportpark Harga in Schiedam next Saturday, will be between HCC, trying to take the Cup for the second time, and VRA, who have won it four times, most recentlyin 2020.

Hermes squeeze Punjab out of T20 semi-finals

Rod Lyall 07/09/25

The battle for semi-final places in the Topklasse T20 Cup produced a thrilling climax on Saturday, as Punjab-Ghausia fell just three runs short of Hermes-DVS’s 160 for five, and saw themselves edged out of the top four by the narrowest of net run rate margins.

Starting the final round on top of the table but with a distinct NRR disadvantage compared with their closest rivals, Punjab needed a victory to make absolutely sure of a spot in Sunday’s semi-finals.

But after winning the toss and putting Hermes in, Sikander Zulfiqar saw the Schiedammers accumulate a challenging total, thanks to opener Daniel Doyle-Calle’s 30-ball 40 and a stand of 76 for the fourth wicket between Olivier Elenbaas, who made 37 from 29 deliveries, and Aryan Dutt, whose 26-ball 50 ensured that Punjab would have a significant chase on their hands.

Tehzeeb Haider (two for 16) and Muhammad Gondal (two for 22) went for under five an over, but the rest of Punjab’s bowling was a good deal more expensive.

Musa Ahmad and Shoaib Minhas gave their side’s reply a flowing start, and at 127 for three Punjab were favourably placed, needing 34 off the last five overs with seven wickets in hand.

But then Sebastiaan Braat trapped Burhan Niaz in front, and as wickets fell the asking rate began to climb; Braat added Gandal and Tasir Usman to his tally with successive deliveries, finishing with four for 46, and when Dutt started the final over 11 were still required.

Despite the assistance of four byes Fawad Shinwari and Gondal could only manage three singles, and Hermes were home by three runs.

To make matters worse for Punjab VRA had dismissed Sparta 1888 for 62 in the Amsterdamse Bos, their six-wicket victory in 13.4 overs further improving the Amsterdammers’ NRR, and with HCC and Voorburg recording comfortable victories to leapfrog their rivals, Punjab were squeezed into fifth place.

The NRR margin between third and fifth was just 0.147 in the end, but it was enough to see Punjab eliminated.

Relegated from the 50-over Topklasse, Sparta had started their T20 campaign promisingly enough, but their recent results had been disappointing, and now they collapsed to 22 for five inside the powerplay.

Then young seamer Shayan Moodley claimed three wickets in his opening over, a triple-wicket maiden, and the innings ended on 62.

Juandre Scheepers and Ahsan Malik picked up two wickets apiece for Sparta when VRA replied, but the outcome was foregone, and Jack Cassidy and Imaan Zaidi knocked off the remaining runs quickly enough to see their side into third place on the table, just ahead of Hermes.

HCC finished the round robin phase in style, posting 166 for seven against Excelsior ‘20 at De Diepput and then bowling their opponents out for 75.

Both sides were without key overseas players, Josh Brown (HCC) and Raynard van Tonder (Excelsior) having departed, but with Mark Wolfe, promoted to four, making a 31-ball 36 and Tonny Staal hitting a punishing 39 from 25 deliveries with three fours and two sixes, Sam Rahaley’s four for 31 wasn’t enough to keep the home side’s scoring rate down.

Rahaley then did his best to keep Excelsior in the game with 37 from 33 deliveries, but Daniel Crowley took four for 16 and Clayton Floyd three for 17, and with Nihal Reddy the only other batter to register double figures the Schiedammers ended their season on a disappointing note.

Voorburg were similarly dominant against HBS Craeyenhout at Westvliet, making 168 for five, although the Crows put up a somewhat better display with the bat, reaching 131 before they were all out.

Cedric de Lange and Waseem Mohsen gave the home side a solid start with an opening stand of 75, De Lange going on to 59 from 40 deliveries, and then Noah Croes managed the closing overs with a 24-ball 35 not out.

Mees van Vliet picked up three quick wickets when HBS replied, and at 28 for five it seemed that the Crows might be another side to be bowled out very cheaply.

They were partially rescued by their lower order, however, with Wes Barresi, coming in at nine, top-scoring with 35 from 19 deliveries and Kyle Klein and Joris van Oosterom contributing twenties; Van Vliet finished with three for 21.

At Sportpark Eindenhout, Rood en Wit finished their tough campaign in the Topklasse T20 on a comparative high, not only beating VOC by 45 runs but leapfrogging HBS to avoid the wooden spoon.

Alexander de Graaff’s 32 and 31 from Jordan Woolf enabled to Haarlemmers to reach a respectable 128 for seven, Roman Harhangi claiming three for 18 for VOC, and then Saber Zakhil (three for 7 from three overs), Manzoor Tarake, Ismatullah Nasery and Ben Thornton ran through the Bloodhounds’ batting, bowling them out for 81.

VOC, again finishing eighth on the table, will now face a promotion/relegation play-off against the Hoofdklasse winners, where Kampong go into the semi-finals with an unbeaten record.

Sunday’s semi-finals in the Topklasse will pit HCC against Hermes-DVS at De Diepput, while Voorburg will take on VRA at Westvliet.