Author: tkcricket

Excelsior stay top as the pack jostles

Rod Lyall 20/07/26

The teacher in charge of cross-country running when I was at school, many decades ago, used to say that his objective in handicapping was to have us all crossing the line simultaneously.

It never happened, of course, but there are early indications that something along these lines may occur with this year’s Topklasse T20 Cup.

With six of the eight teams playing twice this weekend, no-one managed to win both games, and the upshot at this early stage is that nine sides are bunched together with either one or two victories.

The exception is unbeaten Excelsior ‘20, who may have been a trifle fortunate in taking the points in a rain-affected match against Rotterdam at the Zomercomplex on Saturday.

Chasing their hosts’ 167 for eight, of which Muhammad Gondal had contributed 50, Sikander Zulfiqar 39 and his brother Saqib 30, Excelsior needed still needed 53 off the last five overs, with Roel Verhagen having been dismissed for a 29-ball 44.

But Riley Ayre and Charl Prinsloo were now together, and with rain approaching they took 24 off the next eleven deliveries as the weather closed in, each hitting a six to edge Excelsior ahead on DLS.

And when the game was brought to a premature close, the Schiedammers’ total of 139 for three was sufficient to give them a seven-run victory and put them clear at the top of the table, their unbeaten record intact.

Leading the chasing pack are HCC, who recovered from a one-run defeat at the hands of VRA on Saturday by overwhelming Kampong on Sunday, their 88-run margin enough to give them a clear advantage on net run rate.

VRA had posted 154 for eight in the Amsterdamse Bos, thanks to Shirase Rasool’s 39 and a 38-ball 55 from Sam Cassidy, while for HCC Josh Brown claimed six for 30, becoming the first bowler to take six wickets in an innings twice in the T20 Cup.

Teun Kloppenburg gave his side a good start with 41 from 24 deliveries, but although Zac Worden made 40 and Hidde Overdijk, back from injury, 30, 16 were still required off the final over.

Daniel Crowley managed to take seven off Vikram Singh’s first three deliveries and Worden hit a six off the next, leaving three needed, but Worden holed out off to long on, and although Mark Wolfe drove the final ball straight, a direct hit from Teja Nidamanuru secured the win as the batters came back for a second which would have levelled the score.

At De Diepput on Sunday Yash Patel’s 18-ball 47 not out propelled HCC past 200 for the second time in successive innings, in reply to which Kampong could only manage 116 all out, their last six wickets falling for 27 runs.

This was in stark contrast to the Utrecht side’s batting performance on Saturday, when they chased down VRA’s 166 for eight for the loss of only two wickets, Zach Lion-Cachet (55 not out from 38) and Scott Edwards (39 not out from 28) sharing an unbroken 87-run stand after Max O’Dowd had kicked things off with a 30-ball 54.

Earlier, Johan Smal, Sam Cassidy and Shariz Ahmad had all contributed thirties, while Alex Roy claimed four for 31 for Kampong.

Sparta 1888, having nearly upset Rotterdam the previous week, secured their first victory of the campaign at the Bermweg on Saturday, defending their total of 171 all out against the batting might of Voorburg.

Ruve Louw’s 55 had seen them to this fairly challenging total despite Aaditt Jain’s four for 35, but at 86 for three with Bas de Leede and Michael Rippon together, Voorburg seemed to be heading for victory; even after De Leede’s dismissal for 34, Rippon and Don Glover added another 67 for the fifth wicket.

But once Rippon went for a 33-ball 44 the innings fell apart, just eight more runs being added as Nasrat Ibrahimkhil took four for 29 and Khalid Ahmadi three for 25, and Sparta won by 10 runs.

They were then brought sharply back to earth in the day’s second match, Hermes-DVS dismissing them for just 103 and going on to win by nine wickets in 9.4 overs.

Hermes owed a good deal to a fine all-round effort from Ralph Elenbaas, who took three for 14 in Sparta’s innings and then top-scored with an unbeaten, 26-ball 44, while Hikmatullah Jabarkhail was even more successful with the ball, claiming four for 13 in his four overs.

But Hermes, too, experienced a reversal of fortune, dismissed for 117 by Voorburg at Westvliet on Sunday and losing by 50 runs.

Michael Levitt’s 52 and thirties from Cedric de Lange and Don Glover saw Voorburg to 167 for six, and after Aaditt Jain had removed both openers and Olivier Elenbaas had fallen to a stunning run-out by Levitt before he had faced a ball, it took a fighting 51 from Sebastiaan Braat to keep Hermes in the hunt.

At 77 for three the Schiedammers appeared to have a chance, but the last seven wickets fell for 40 runs as they were dismissed for 117.

The competition will be paused next week as the World League 2 series against Namibia and Nepal coincides with the traditional cricket-free weekend at the end of July, hostilities being resumed with a seven-match programme on 1 and 2 August.

Excelsior double up, but so do Rotterdam

Rod Lyall 13/07/26

It’s not so long ago that a Schiedam derby between Excelsior ’20 and Hermes-DVS attracted a partisan crowd of hundreds, fully justifying the town’s claim to be the Cricket Capital of the Netherlands.

Those days may be gone, but those who turned up to Thurlede for the first Schiedam derby of the season as the T20 Cup got under way on Saturday – Excelsior having been playing in the 50-over Hoofdklasse until now – were rewarded with a low-scoring thriller which went into the final over.

Thanks to Ash Ostling’s unbeaten 54, Hermes had managed to reach 138 for eight, and at 115 for two with Roel Verhagen and Riley Ayre well set and five overs left, Excelsior seemed to be cruising to their second victory of the day.

But when Verhagen, on 38, was run out by Olivier Elenbaas, it triggered a collapse, and the home side went into the final over still needing eight for victory and only three wickets in hand.

Karson Edward hit a six to level the scores, but when Sebastiaaan Braat bowled him with his next delivery a tie remained on the cards (the KNCB having wisely refrained from introducing a Super Over in a league competition).

Gijs Kroesen was equal to the occasion, however, pushing the single which gave Excelsior the points with one ball to spare.

Earlier, Excelsior had celebrated their first Topklasse match of the season with a seven-wicket victory over HCC, Jack Wood’s 63-ball 111 not out guiding them past the Lions’ 171 for eight; Wood was again in form in the second game, his 20-ball 43 having started the chase in a hurry.

The double victory put Verhagen’s team on top of the table on Saturday night, but after Sunday’s matches they had been displaced on net run rate by Rotterdam, who followed up Saturday’s 36-run victory over Kampong with a last-ball defeat of Sparta 1888 by a single run.

Against Kampong, the 50-over champions had been rescued from a perilous 41 for five by an unbroken stand of 149 between Saqib Zulfiqar and Abdul Rehman Niazi, seeing them to 190 for five; Saqib’s 92 not out came from 57 deliveries with seven fours and six sixes, while Niazi contributed a 30-ball 53, including five sixes.

Kampong were never really in the hunt, skipper Alex Roy top-scoring with 33 as they battled their way to 154 for six against Rotterdam’s four-man spin attack.

Rotterdam won their 50-over title with dominant batting performances, and it therefore came as a shock when Sparta, who like Excelsior have been playing in the Hoofdklasse so far this season, dismissed them for just 120 on Sunday, slow left-armer Jochem Steenbergen claiming four for 41 and Shoaib Minhas top-scoring with 50.

Sparta looked promisingly placed at 52 for one, but then Rotterdam’s spinners against deployed their wiles, and by the time Sulaiman Tariq began the final over seven wickets were down and 11 were still required.

Three dots virtually sealed the issue, and although Nasrat Ibrahimkhil kept Sparta’s hopes alive to the final delivery, with four needed the batters were only able to manage a two and Rotterdam had survived.

It was, however, a much more encouraging effort from Sparta, who had started their campaign the day before with a 77-run defeat at the hands of Kampong at Maarschalkerweerd.

Putting the loss to Rotterdam behind them, openers Pierre Jacod (74 from 47 deliveries) and Max O’Dowd (71 from 51) had plundered 138 from Sparta’s attack in 15 overs before O’Dowd was dismissed, and the innings closed on 187 for three.

This was always likely to be too much for Sparta, and although keeper Deran Benta made a 28-ball 34 they were restricted to 110 for nine, Salman Yousufzai taking three for 24 from his four overs; a mark of Kampong’s control was that their opponents were unable to hit a single six.

At Westvliet on Saturday, Voorburg put their failure to take the 50-over title behind them with an authoritative eight-wicket victory over VRA.

They dismissed the Amsterdammers for 131, Aaditt Jain claiming three for 23, and then Bas de Leede (22 from 19), Michael Levitt (57 not out from 55) and Cedric de Lange (34 from 29) executed a well-paced chase to see their side home with 19 deliveries to spare.

And on Sunday HCC returned to Schiedam to post 202 for six against Hermes-DVS, Tonny Staal setting up that imposing total with a 35-ball 66.

David Rushmore’s 76 from 46 deliveries ensured that Hermes were up with the pace at the halfway mark, but then HCC’s bowlers asserted themselves, and as wickets began to fall the scoring lagged, so that an improbable 38 were required off the last.

They could only manage 14, and HCC won by 23 runs.

The luck of the draw means that Rotterdam and Excelsior will face off at the Zomercomplex next Saturday, but in the meantime the latter have ensured that they will be playing in the 50-over competition next season, having comprehensively beaten Salland by 124 runs in the Hoofdklasse play-off on Sunday.

Preview Hoofdklasse Final

Bertus de Jong | 10-07-2026

The main business of the 2026 Topklasse may be settled, but there’s still an issue regarding the 2027 edition to be answered; namely who will be replacing the relegated VOC Rotterdam in the top flight. That last question will be decided on the field on Sunday, when the two table toppers from the twin 2026 Hoofdklasse groups, Excelsior ‘20 and Salland CC will meet in the Hoofdklasse final at Thurlede.

The final was originally slated to be played at de Diepput, but the two grass wicket clubs agreed between them that they’d prefer to settle the matter on a natural turf surface, so Schiedam will play host and Excelsior enjoy the privilege of playing at home. They’ll also have the notional advantage in that, by virtue of accumulating more points in the league phase, they will claim the title and promotion in the event of a washout. The forecast suggests that eventuality is vanishingly unlikely however, with clear skies and temperatures touching 30 expected at the weekend.

Having lost only twice over the course of the season, Excelsior finished fully 8 points clear of Group B runners-up Rood & Wit Haarlem and sealed a spot in the final with weeks to spare. A positive net run rate of 2.66 over the season illustrates a comparatively dominant run through the league phase, and the Schiedammers will carry a fair bit of momentum into the final as they look to bounce directly back from last year’s relegation.

The lion’s share of those runs have been provided by overseas all-rounders Jack Wood and Riley Ayre, as well as returning Excelsior legend Alex Ross early in the season and newcomer Charl Prinsloo at the back end. That said skipper Roel Verhagen has also had a fine season with the bat, as has Matthijs Schewe across his admittedly limited appearances.

Ayre’s left arm spin has also been instrumental to Excelsior’s success, delivering 38 wickets at a single-figure average, more than filling the sizeable boots of the departed Lorenzo Ingram. Young seamers Jens Blankestijn and Karson Edward have also reliably delivered top-order wickets, Gijs Kroesen has looked increasingly solid at first change, while Verhagen (having relinquished the gloves a few seasons back to Stan van Troost) has done solid work as second spinner along with Joost Kroesen. All told Excelsior have put together a well-balanced squad, and have looked a cut above in their first season back down in the second tier – especially on home turf. Of the two games they have lost only one was at home, and that was played on the artificial.

Salland, for their part, have a similarly unblemished record on turf. Their perfect record at home has been crucial to their topping the Group A table depsite arguably the tougher draw, having had to face down recent relegatees Sparta, Quick and ACC. They dropped points to all three of the former Topklasse sides, notably losing their season opener against Sparta, skittled by sometime Excelsior spinner Umar Baker. At home they’ve looked a class apart however, and the lure of playing on grass might go some way toward explaining their willingness to generously (some might say courageously) gift Excelsior hosting rights for the final.

Their success has been built on a combination of judicious acquisitions, substantial contributions from stalwarts, and a solid season from the now traditional German delegation. Of the latter, the advent of of 19 year-old spinner Ahmad Ullah has made the biggest impact, the leggie’s 36 wickets at 9 taking him to second in the season’s tallies behind Ayre. Another recent German debutant in Shahir Malikzai, a more established presence at Deventer, also had a fine season with the ball, and with skipper Reinder Lubbers in decent form the Salland seam section looks solid.

Kiwi Tim Seeto has proved an excellent addition, the former Canterbury under-19s keeper-bat topping the Hoofdklasse run aggregates with 592 at 45.5. Established German pair Talha Khan and Sahir Naqash have also looked in decent nick, while their countryman Jamshed Mutahihi has at times provided explosive acceleration down the order, as has former skipper Victor Lubbers on occasion. Lubbers limited availability arguably made Salland’s season tougher than it had to be, but doubtless they’ll be at full strength come Sunday.

It’s been some three years since the two sides last met in 50-over competition, at the same ground in 2023 in Salland’s most recent match in the top flight. Excelsior won that game fairly comfortably, and Salland’s record in the Hoofdklasse since has decent but not dominant. This will be there first opportunity since relegation three years ago to win their way back into the now-downsized Topklasse, and having won their way through the stronger side of the draw only to face Excelsior on their home turf, fair to say if they make it they will have certainly earned it.

T20 Cup season preview

Rod Lyall 10/07/26

Like the 50-over competition, this year’s T20 Cup will comprise a double round-robin, and for the first time there will be no finals day: the side topping the table after 14 games will be the champion. As with the longer format, this will likely remove the chance of any mid-table scramble for third and fourth, possibly reducing the interest in the closing rounds, about which there will doubtless be differing opinions.

Having been relegated last year, there will be no VOC or HBS in this competition, with Sparta 1888 and Excelsior ’20 participating instead.

Defending champions VRA have had an up-and-down season so far, and they have clearly been missing last year’s new-ball pairing of Ben Fletcher and Paul Ruffell, and more recently surprise spearhead Vikram Singh, although Sharad Hake has been effective in their stead. Singh’s explosive batting can also be a key factor in T20, and although openers Sam Cassidy and Lovepreet Padda can score quickly, the Amsterdammers’ batting has sometimes let them down in tight situations in the longer format. They do have a varied spin attack, but it would be a surprise if the holders were to go back-to-back this time.

HCC headed the table after the league phase last year, losing to VRA in a rain-reduced final. They have been competitive again this season, only dropping out of the championship race over the last, for them disastrous weekend, and they have a well-balanced side with a very effective attack. They suffered for much of the 50-over campaign from the loss of allrounder Hidde Overdijk, but he is likely to be fit again soon, and will add even more experience to a pace attack which includes Josh Brown, Daniel Crowley and the new boy on the block Justin Trijzelaar. With the spin of Tim Pringle as well as Clayton Floyd and Teun Kloppenburg, they will make life difficult for opposing batters, while Kloppenburg’s hard hitting, along with that of Tonny Staal, makes them serious contenders for the title.

On paper a Team of All the Talents, Voorburg have proved something of an enigma, losses at crucial moments costing them the 50-over championship. At their best, as when they posted 235 for two against Rotterdam in a 25-over match, they have seemed invincible, and they will be hoping to achieve that level more consistently in the shorter format. The leading wicket-taker over 50 overs despite having played only 11 games, Jaynul Islam has proved a valuable acquisition, as has Aaditt Jain now that he is in the side. Part of Voorburg’s problem is picking the right eleven, juggling their various overseas to stay within the limits of the new player-points system. On the other hand, the youngsters they have pulled in have proved useful, and in Bas de Leede, Noah Croes, Ryan Klein, Michael Rippon and the rest they have plenty of potential match-winners.

Surprise semi-finalists last year, Hermes-DVS had a difficult campaign in the longer format, partly because Daniel Doyle-Calle, their leading run-scorer in both formats in 2025, has had a relatively quiet season so far. Against that, the arrival of David Rushmere has strengthened the top order, and he has shown that if he gets a start he is a fine and potentially fast-scoring bat. The real key to the side’s success in last season’s Cup, however, was the bowling of Sebastiaan Braat and Olivier Elenbaas, who claimed 35 wickets between them and averaged 11.89 and 15.31 respectively, and if they can repeat that form the Sky Blues should stay well clear of the relegation threat in the shorter format.

Having carried almost all before them in the 50-over competition, Rotterdam may well start as favourites here as well. Ominously for their rivals, brothers Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar had strike rates of 135.29 and 129.11 in the 50-over competition, while opener Shoaib Minhas, Mohsin Riaz and Burhan Niaz all went at over 100, and leading run-scorer Musa Ahmad can be expected to up his rate from just under 80 when he only has 20 overs to contend with. Saqib, along with Ahmad Shafiq, is also the side’s leading wicket-taker, and with Muhammad Gondal, Musa and Minhas all offering differing varieties of spin, the Rotterdam attack is equally not to be taken lightly. It’s the batting, though, that the the key to the team’s success, and we might see some T20 records broken if they get going in the next few weeks as they have over the past months.

Sparta 1888 did much better in T20 last year than they did in their 50-over campaign, as as a consequence of which they have been playing in the Hoofdklasse until now. There they finished second behind Salland in their group, but they will no doubt find the step back up to the Topklasse a considerable additional challenge. Newcomers this season are the former Queensland under-19 captain Judd Markham, whose 91-ball 150 against Quick Haag suggests that he has what it takes for T20, and South African Ruve Louw, a seasoned campaigner in franchise leagues who, like allrounder Juandre Scheepers, hit five half-centuries in the 50-over competition. The bowling has a more familiar look, with Umar Baker their leading wicket-taker, followed by Joost Martijn Snoep and allrounder Khalid Ahmadi, whose 232 runs came at a strike rate of 132.63. Sparta, then, have sufficient resources to make things uncomfortable for some of their Topklasse opponents.

The same applies to Excelsior ‘20, who won the other Hoofdklasse group by a distance and will also face Salland this weekend in a play-off for the title and a return to next season’s 50-over top flight. Their overseas include three Australians: pace-bowling allrounder Riley Ayre and opener Jack Wood, and South African Charl Prinsloo, but as well as Ayre’s 38 wickets at 8.79 the side’s success has owed a good deal to the further progress made by Jens Blankestijn and Karson Edward, while Roel Verhagen, Stan van Troost and Tim Etman have all contributed with the bat. That said, Excelsior finished seventh in the ten-team T20 competition last year, and it may be the overseas contingent who need to make the difference this time round.

Finally there is Kampong Utrecht, who gained promotion last season having just missed out the year before. After a slightly disappointing defence of their 50-over title they will have every motivation to repeat in this other format the trick they pulled last year, winning the 50-over championship immediately after being promoted. There’s no doubt they have the potential: the explosive opening of Danien van den Berg and Max O’Dowd, the experience of Scott Edwards and Lorenzo Ingram, and the allround skills of Pierre Jacod and Alex Roy form a solid core, although it must be said that the attack looks less effective in the absence of Shashank Kumar, who last played on 13 June.

Topklasse Fantasy returns for the T20 season

Bowing to whelming popular demand, CricketXI and TKcricket are delighted to announce the return of Topklasse Fantasy Cricket for the 2026 Topklasse T20 season.

Pit your managerial wits against your friends and team-mates, test your Topklasse knowledge against the self-styled experts.

Submissions for teams and leagues are now open over at CricketXI.