tkcricket

VRA squeeze out a win to go top

Rod Lyall 09/06/24

Although we are only three rounds into the competition – and less when one remembers the four matches which have so far been postponed until July – there are already strong indications of who are most likely to be contenders for title, and who face a probable battle to avoid relegation.

Saturday’s games, for example, saw Hermes-DVS register an easy victory over ACC at the Loopuyt Oval, suggesting that the Amsterdam side, after defeats by HBS and Hermes, will need to lift themselves considerably if they are to come anywhere the top six by the end of July.

After being put in to bat by Sebastiaan Braat the Amsterdammers were rapidly reduced to 53 for six by Ralph Elenbaas, given a share of the new ball with his brother Olivier, his five for 29 in nine overs one of the most destructive spells of the season so far.

Murid Ekram and Braat himself then finished the job, as ACC were dismissed for 82 in just 26 overs, Guy Sheena and Mahesh Hans top-scoring with 16 apiece.

Although Joseph Reddy picked up two early wickets when Hermes replied, Izhaan Sayed adding another, opener Ashley Ostling’s unbeaten 48 from 50 deliveries saw the Schiedammers home inside 14 overs, ensuring that they received a healthy NRR boost in addition to collecting their first points.

There was a similarly comfortable victory for VOC Rotterdam at the Hazelaarweg, where Sparta 1888 could only manage 122, with Asief Hoseinbaks claiming four for 35 and Jelte Schoonheim two for 12.

Prithvi Balwantsingh and Gagandeep Singh had given them a decent start, Balwantsingh’s promotion to opener working well as he top-scored with 35, but once they had both gone three wickets fell for the addition of just one run, and although Cameron Fraser contributed a dogged 28 no-one else was able to get into double figures.

VOC lost both their openers by the time 14 runs were on the board, but then a stand of 91 between Taylor Bettelheim and Jock McKenzie doused Sparta’s hopes, and although Bettelheim fell finally to Manminder Singh for 56, Tim de Kok supported McKenzie as he knocked off the remaining runs and ended on 47 not out.

HCC, at last making it onto the park, were restricted to 185 for eight by Excelsior ’20 at Thurlede, but this proved to be more than enough as Teun Leijer’s brisk medium pace and Jed Wiggins’s off-spin dismissed the home side for just 125.

Excelsior’s attack worked their way steadily through the Lions’ batting, despite Boris Gorlee’s 31, and it took some spirited resistance from Daniel Crowley (36) and Patient Charumbira (27) to give their bowlers a reasonable total to defend.

Derek Mitchell and Tim Etman began the reply confidently enough, but once Crowley had removed Mitchell and Roel Verhagen, Leijer took over, claiming four quick wickets at a cost of 23 runs to run through the middle order and reduce the hosts to 82 for six.

Wiggins then finished the job with three for 16, a very disappointing outcome for the Schiedammers after they had put up a much more convincing fight against champions Voorburg the week before.

Voorburg themselves suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of HBS at Craeyenhout, but their still-depleted side made a very good fist of chasing their hosts’ imposing 287 for six, the highlight of which was a third-wicket stand of 125 between Tayo Walbrugh (97) and Matt de Villiers (82).

Mees van Vliet ensured that the damage was not even greater, depriving Walbrugh of yet another century and then collecting two more scalps to finish with four for 37.

Nehaan Gigani got Voorburg’s reply off to a rollicking start with a 79-ball 71 which included six fours and three sixes, and then last Saturday’s centurion Gavin Kaplan contributed a valuable 57 before he fell to Benno Boddendijk.

That left the bulk of the task to Noah Croes, and as long as he and Michael Molenaar were together at the crease it seemed that the champions were in with a chance.

48 were needed off the last five and 25 off the final three, but when Croes holed out to Ferdi Vink as he tried to hit De Villiers over the top, departing for a run-a-ball 76, the challenge receded, and Voorburg finished 11 runs short of their target.

De Villiers finished with three for 55 and Boddendijk three for 57.

The weather took a hand in the Amsterdamse Bos, where VRA took on Punjab-Ghausia: a wet outfield meant a late start and a match reduced to 47 overs a side, and thanks to Shirase Rasool’s 74 and a hard-hitting 36 from Clayton Floyd the Amsterdammers were able to set Sikander Zulfiqar’s side a target of 239.

Musa Ahmad was the most successful of Punjab’s bowlers with four for 37, including the wicket of his brother and fellow-Dutch international Shariz.

Although Musa and Mohsin Riaz were both out by the time Punjab had 50, Shoaib Minhas and Jonathan Vandiar took the score to 133 for two in 29 overs before a heavy shower drove the players from the field, 17 ahead of the DLS par score at that stage.

A prolonged delay dictated that when they returned the game had been further cut to 36 overs and the target reduced to 176, leaving Punjab to make 43 runs in seven overs.

VRA skipper Johan Smal relied on his spinners, Floyd and Shariz, to restrict the Rotterdammers’ scoring, and so well did they respond that five wickets fell for 36 runs, Shariz removing Vandiar for 50 and Floyd dismissing Minhas for 63 as the batters tried in vain to hit over the top.

So Punjab, like Voorburg, had suffered their first loss of the season, and it was VRA who, having escaped looming defeat, moved to the top of the table on net run rate.

Excelsior ’20 vs HCC at Thurlede | Topklasse Round 3 | 08.06.24

Round 3 Preview

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 06/06/2024

After a rain-ravaged start to the season the weekend finally promises some proper cricket weather, and (touch wood) we may just be in for a full round’s worth of Topklasse Cricket. While we do have the distraction of the national team’s World Cup date with South Africa to contend with, the elements at least look unlikely to interfere with Saturday’s action.

BdJ: Current front-runners Punjab-Ghausia are on the road again as they head up to the Amsterdamse Bos to take on VRA Amsterdam for their first turf assignment of the season. A nervy, rain-abridged win over HBS followed by a more convincing win at home to Hermes has seen Punjab to the top of the table early, though VRA are also unbeaten having breezed past Sparta in the only match the weather has permitted them. That game saw a welcome return to form for keeper-bat Demari Prince, who had struggled for runs in the deeply Dutch conditions this season. Prince’s promotion up the order looks a sound move in the absence of Vikram Singh, though with skipper Teja Nidamanuru also absent and deputy Johan Smal in dubious form after a long lay-off the VRA batting still looks vulnerable. Not so Punjab, who displayed their depth on that front in their opener and saw off Hermes comfortably despite a lack of returns for danger-man Jonathan Vandiar. Their concerns are chiefly on the bowling front, struggling to contain Hermes’ top order even if they ran through the middle and tail easily enough. Unlike Hermes, VRA have the hitters down the order to capitalise on a platform if Punjab let them set one, and bowling attack better equipped to trouble Punjab bats, even if there are an awful lot of them.

RL: There’s a world of difference between Punjab’s relatively contained ground at the Zomercomplex and the expanse of Amstelveen, not to mention the adjustment from astroturf to grass, but Sikander Zulfiqar’s side undoubtedly have the quality in both batting and bowling to go toe to toe with a VRA outfit which wasn’t really tested at the Bermweg last week. Mohsin Riaz batted very well indeed against Hermes, and the Amsterdammers will need to remove both him and Shoaib Minhas early if they are to get on top of the leaders. Suleiman Tariq is still taking wickets, Sajjad Kamal and Burhan Niaz is more than useful additions to the attack, and Ahmed Sharif, wicketless last Saturday, will be keen to make amends in the Bos. VRA’s own spin unit, with Shariz Ahmad, Clayton Floyd and Udit Nashier, will be a major threat on their own turf, while the pace of Elijah Eales and Ben Fletcher, backed up by Ashir Abid, while Punjab will indeed present more of a challenge than Sparta were able to do, are likely to make effective use of the new ball. Even at this early stage both these sides look like serious contenders for the top six and beyond that the championship, and this has a good claim to be this week’s Match of the Day.

BdJ: Level with Punjab on points at the top are defending champions Voorburg, who have found a way to win both their first two matches, albeit in less than convincing fashion. They’ll have their first mat-match at Craeyenhout coming up against HBS, who bounced back from their opening defeat to Punjab with an eventually comfortable win over ACC last week. Neither side have looked exactly convincing, though VCC’s understudies have stepped up admirably in the absence of Kingma, Klein and Engelbrecht the batting especially looks dependent on new overseas (and ex-crow) Gavin Kaplan, and of course skipper Noah Croes, who was fortunately (from a VCC perspective) spared selection for the World Cup. HBS are in a similar position however, with stand-in skipper Tayo Walbrugh’s sudden return to form the main reason they bested ACC, with a hand from fellow overseas de Villiers and Botha. Who comes away with the points might be decided by which team’s youngsters step up, but equally likely it will come down to whose big guns fire loudest.

RL: Let’s not forget that Voorburg are also without newfound Dutch star Michael Levitt, and with Musa Ahmad now opening at Punjab, the top of their order has a slightly makeshift look. It asks a lot of young Cedric de Lange as well as of the more experienced Nehaan Gigani, and they will no doubt need time to settle into their role. Facing Lehaan Botha’s pace and Matt de Villiers’ spin will be a good test, but with Kaplan and Croes to follow they know that they have players behind them who were in superb form last week. I would actually have more questions about a Voorburg attack without Kingma, Klein and Van Beek, not to mention the now-departed Nieuwoudt, which struggled to make an early impression on the Excelsior top order last week, although they did hit back somewhat later in the innings. HBS certainly need at least two of Botha, De Villiers and Walbrugh to fire with the bat, and a real concern for them is the comparative lack of experience below their top five. Man for man, even without five first-choice players Voorburg probably have greater depth, and while the Crows are dangerous opponents, especially at Craeyenhout, for my money it’s the visitors who start as marginal favourites.

BdJ: Working our way down the ladder we come to HCC, who sit in 5^th place by virtue of not having played at all yet, courtesy De Diepput living down to its name thus far. They head to Thurlede to take on Excelsior ‘20 who sit in 6^th after a fighting defeat to VCC last week. There were plenty of positives for the Schiedammers from that game, not least runs for Tim Etman and new opening partner Darren Mitchell, though the middle order looks a tad soft, especially should Lorenzo Ingram’s lean patch prove the start of a decline rather than a rough patch of form. Jason Ralston looks to be taking to Dutch conditions however, and Victor Lubbers’ arrival from the East strengthens the lower order and bowling both. Whether HCC’s lack of game time will affect them unduly remains to be seen, they’ll certainly be fresh, one would expect.

RL: Still something of an unknown quality in this format, the Lions nevertheless seem very likely to be serious challengers for the top six once they actually get on the park. Their three overseas players have plenty of one-day experience, while we know that skipper Boris Gorlee, Tonny Staal and Hidde Overdijk can be match-winners on their day. They will, of course, miss Clayton Floyd, Henrico Venter and Doram/Pringle from their attack, although Daniel Crowley and Patient Charumbira bowled well in the T20 Cup, adding to the incisiveness of Overdijk and Adam Leonard. But a very businesslike Excelsior away is a tough way to start, and while Roel Verhagen’s side will lament their inability to cut short the Kaplan-Croes stand and defend 254, they will have learned a good deal from the experience. Mitchell, Ralston and Ingram – the last now with 5496 Topklasse runs and 201 wickets to his credit – are as powerful a trio as HCC’s McInerney, Wiggins and Leonard, and much may depend at Thurlede too on which set of imports has the better day. Even if that’s a perception I’d love to see proved wrong!

BdJ: Meanwhile VOC Rotterdam welcome Sparta 1888 to Hazelaarweg, the former having not gotten on the park last week and the latter probably wishing they hadn’t. Both sides have looked (do we sense a theme emerging?) heavily dependent on their overseas for runs this season, Riley Mudford in Sparta’s case the chief threat with the bat, though the lower order showed commendable fight against VRA. Belgian international Khalid Ahmadi has been the stand-out with the ball too, especially given Ahsan Malik’s sporadic absences. VOC’s main advantage simply looks to be that they have more high-calibre overseas to call on, though the brothers Jain remain a key component in the Bloodhounds’ attack, while Asief Hoseinbaks has quietly made himself indispensible. All told one would think VOC have a clear advantage on home turf, though Sparta have the matchwinners to spring a surprise if they can back them up.

RL: Apart from Mudford, Cameron Fraser impressed last week, more with the ball than the bat, but overall Sparta, admittedly on the evidence of just one 50-over outing, seem to be more likely to be battling relegation than pushing for a place in the top six. That’s not to say they do not have both plenty of experience and undoubted potential in their squad, but against sides with seven or eight top-level performers they are going to find the going tough. VOC are something of an enigma: again, they’ve only played one 50-over match, losing only in the final over and in controversial circumstances, but their performance in the T20 Cup was less than stellar, and with the exception of Jock McKenzie it’s been the old routiniers like Jelte Schoonheim and Hoseinbaks who have been most effective. One senses that they may be just one good performance away from clicking as a side, and should that happen soon they could still have a significant impact on the top-six battle.

BdJ: Finally the Topklasse’s newest turf wicket will finally see some fifty-over action when Hermes DVS welcome ACC to the Loopuyt Oval at Harga. Hermes continue to look like a top-heavy team on the batting side, but then the weight at the top in the form of Daniel Doyle Calle and CP Klijnhans will have that effect. Olivier Elenbaas’ promotion to three last week can be accounted a success, however, and if he and Sabba Braat can continue to find runs Hermes have a decent enough top five at least. Conversely the ACC batting card has looked deeper than it does dangerous, with a lower-order rally saving them some respectability against HBS but not threatening a serious score. That the ever-elegant but rarely reliable Rahil Ahmed has been their best bat this season says a fair bit about an ACC side that looks a little flimsy in the absence of Heino Kuhn.

RL: Still adjusting to the demands of Topklasse cricket, Hermes performed creditably against a stronger Punjab last Saturday, although their subsidence from 125 for one to 196 all out raises some serious questions about the durability of their batting. But as m’colleague observes, it has more quality in the top five than do this week’s opponents, greatly as Rahil Ahmed’s return to something like the form which once took him into the national team is to be welcomed. Few players have had as dramatic an entry into the Dutch competition as Izhaan Sayed, removing Lehaan Botha with his very first delivery, but Het Loopveld last week was an even less hospitable for batting than usual, and Ben van der Merwe and Guy Sheena may relish the chance to bat on the hybrid turf at the Loopuyt Oval. They’ll be facing the bowling of Elenbaas and Braat, of course, and of Abdul Jabar Jabarkhail, who suggested against Punjab that he’ll be an effective foil for Elenbaas.

BdJ’s picks: VRA, HBS, Excelsior, VOC, Hermes.

RL’s picks: VRA, Voorburg, Excelsior, VOC, Hermes.

ACC vs HBS at ‘t Loopveld | Topklasse Round 2 | 01.06.24

Punjab, Voorburg make it two out of two

Rod Lyall 02/06/24

On a dank, cold May Saturday on which one match – that between HCC and VOC Rotterdam — fell victim to the heavy rain which had fallen during the week, the eight remaining teams managed to complete their games.

Defending champions Voorburg, having won off the final ball of their match against VOC last week, squeezed out another victory, this time with two balls to spare, against Excelsior ‘20 at Westvliet.

Put in to bat by Noah Croes in a match reduced to 48 overs before the toss, Excelsior got off to a great start with an opening stand of 132 between Derek Mitchell (70) and Tim Etman (80), but thereafter the innings faltered somewhat, until a late push by the middle order of Stan van Troost, Joost Kroesen and Victor Lubbers got them up to a daunting 254 for six.

Voorburg were soon in a spot of bother, both openers gone with only 29 on the board, but Gavin Kaplan and Croes now proceeded to add 202, a club top-flight record for the third wicket, putting their side into a winning position.

Both men batted with great restraint, happy to pick up ones and twos with some outstanding running between the wickets, and in the damp conditions they only struck ten boundaries between them in the course of their 38-over stand.

Kaplan eventually fell for 104, caught by Tim Etman off his brother Niels’s bowling as he tried to hit him over midwicket, and when Croes was bowled by Jason Ralston at the start of the penultimate over with ten still needed, it seemed for a moment that Excelsior might pull off the win.

But Philippe Boissevain and Michael Molenaar had been left with relatively little to do, and they did it calmly to make sure of the points.

Voorburg are level on points with Punjab-Ghausia Rotterdam, but behind them on NRR at this early stage after the combined side, also last-ball winners on the opening day, had a rather more comfortable victory over promoted side Hermes-DVS Schiedam.

Hermes also made a good start, and were 125 for one in the 24^th over with Ashley Ostling having made 26 and Daniel Doyle a 59-ball 81 which included five fours and five sixes, Olivier Elenbaas going on to post 45.

But once Doyle had gone Belgian international Burhan Niaz ran through the middle order, taking four for 33, and with Suleiman Tariq picking up three for 31 and Sikander Zulfiqar, for once the only member of his family on the field, two for 16, the Schiedammers were all out for 196.

Shoaib Minhas made a brisk 24 and Musa Ahmad a patient 32 when Punjab replied, but it was Mohsin Riaz’s unbeaten 106 which ensured that Punjab eased to a five-wicket win, Riaz hitting back-to-back sixes, the first to reach his century and the second to finish the game.

Niels Woermeijer and Olivier Elenbaas both worked hard throughout, finishing with figures of two for 34 and two for 42, while Abdul Jabarkhail bowled economically, taking one for 24 from his ten overs.

At the Bermweg, VRA Amsterdam opened their Topklasse campaign with an even more comfortable win over Sparta 1888, who were on the back foot from the moment VRA’s opening attack of Elijah Eales and Ben Fletcher had removed both openers before there was a run on the board.

Riley Mudford’s 49 and a rearguard 30 from Faizan Bashir enabled them to reach 151, Eales, Fletcher, Clayton Floyd, Shariz Ahmad and Thomas Iles all picking up a brace of wicket apiece, and when Cameron Fraser, bowling fast and straight, had reduced the Amsterdammers to 37 for three, with Shirase Rasool and Johan Smal clean bowled and Adam Constant trapped in front, it seemed that Sparta might be in with a chance.

Demari Prince, however, promoted to open the innings, stood firm, and with support from Shariz Ahmad, took the total to within 11 runs of the target before he holed out to Shaquille Martina at long off off the bowling of Tom Hoornweg for 79.

That left Floyd to knock off the remaining runs with Shariz, who ended on 36 not out, while Fraser had three for 47 for Sparta as VRA won by six wickets with almost 20 overs to spare.

Izhaan Sayed had a dream start to his Topklasse career for ACC, taking a return catch off the first ball of the game to remove HBS Craeyenhout allrounder Lehaan Botha, and the Crows’ batters had to work hard against a disciplined ACC attack, only Matt de Villiers looking really comfortable with a splendid 82-ball 92.

He dominated a stand of 64 for the third wicket with Reece Mason, but once they had gone Sahil Kothari ran through the middle order, claiming three for 29, and it took an enterprising last-wicket stand between Benno Boddendijk and debutant Amrit Singh to get HBS up to 191.

It seemed clear when Singh and Botha removed first Kothari and then Shreyas Potdar with just seven on the board that ACC would face an uphill battle, and although Rahil Ahmed (32) and Ben van der Merwe (26) added 43 for the third wicket, HBS remained in control.

Guy Sheena contributed 28 and Ammar Zaidi a rearguard 32, but Boddendijk cleaned up at the end, taking three for 29, and the home side were eventually dismissed for 138.

Round 2 Preview

Rod Lyall and Bertus de Jong 31/05/2024

Thanks to last weekend’s appalling weather only four teams were able to get a nibble of the candy bar that is the 2024 Topklasse competition, so there are almost as many questions about how that competition is likely to develop as there were a week ago. Especially since the two games that were played went down to the final ball, and could essentially have gone either way. So much remains enigmatic as we cross out fingers that this Saturday at least will see a full round completed.

RJL: Having squeezed out a victory over HBS last week, Punjab-Ghausia will take on promoted side Hermes-DVS at the Zomercomplex. Almost the whole of the Rotterdammers’ top and middle order got a start against HBS, none of them going on to make a really decisive contribution, but it was the bowlers, and especially seamers Sajjad Kamal and Sikander Zulfiqar and spinner Shoaib Minhas, who made the crucial difference. But there will be days when Punjab’s batting line-up lives up to its potential, and on their own patch against a somewhat untested Hermes attack could just prove to be one of those days. On the other hand, their bowlers will need early wickets against their visitors’ powerful top order, for whom openers Chris Klijnhans and Daniel Doyle have been in outstanding form. Captain Sebastiaan Braat, too, is likely to play a significant with with bat and/or ball, and Hermes will be keen to establish that they are worth their place back in the top flight. A hard-fought contest is in prospect here.

BdJ: The Hermes top order have already shown what they can do on a mat with short boundaries, so the Zomercomplex is unlikely to phase them, but equally we’ve already seen Hermes crumble if they lose early wickets. In the fifty over format the Hermes top three will have to be more circumspect, even on a diminuitive ground. One or other of Hermes openers will likely have to play a hand like Wlabrugh did last week, and even then it may not be enough against Punjab’s enviably deep batting card.

RJL: Defending champions Voorburg will also be at home, entertaining Excelsior ‘20 at Westvliet. They owed their narrow, and not altogether uncontroversial, victory over VOC last Saturday in large measure to their South African overseas Gavin Kaplan, whose 65-ball 84 gave them a total they could defend, even with a mostly second-string pace attack. The absence of their internationals puts great onus on him and on skipper Noah Croes, and they will be facing an Excelsior side with both Lorenzo Ingram and Derek Mitchell in the middle order, and with openers Tim Etman and Roel Verhagen in great form. The Schiedammers’ bowling unit, too, is varied, with both overseas Jason Ralston and home-grown Niels Etman taking plenty of wickets in the T20 Cup. Ingram’s spin is also a potent force, and the acquisition of allrounder Victor Lubbers has given the side an additional dimension. Without any demands from international commitments, Excelsior will go into this game as marginal favourites, but it’s an opportunity for Voorburg’s back-up players to establish their credentials in the side.

BdJ: Fair to say that Croes’ non-selection for the World Cup, while doubtless a disappointment to him presonally, has been a tremendous boon to VCC’s chances of defending their title. It whould be said that the Voorburg cadre of understudies have generally given a fine account of themselves so far this season, perhaps most notably legspinning match secretary Floris de Lange, but there’s no denyng they’re undertrength and Excelsior are among the best-placed clubs to take advantage.

RJL: Having had the worse of their opening game by the narrowest of margins, VOC Rotterdam will want to get back on a winning track when they take on HCC at De Diepput. Jock McKenzie’s 74 not out took them to the brink of victory against Voorburg, and his allround contribution, along with the batting of his fellow-overseas Ryan Schierhout, Taylor Bettelheim and Jason van der Meulen will doubtless be vital if the Bloodhounds are going to prevail in what promises to be an epic struggle for a place in the top six. Here they will be matched up with HCC’s Conor McInerney, Jed Wiggins and Adam Leonard, but in batters Tonny Staal and Boris Gorlee and allrounder Hidde Overdijk the Lions have three former internationals who may also have a significant part to play. On the visitors’ side, brothers Arnav and Aaditt Jain, skipper Tim de Kok, veteran allrounder (and also a former international) Jelte Schoonheim, and spinner Asief Hoseinbaks will be augmenting the quartet of overseas players.

BdJ: Should be noted that the newly-minted Flamingo van der Meulen is an overseas no longer, understood to be both Dutch-eligible and under consideration for the upcoming Emerging Pro-Series fixtures next week. Absent from that list we hear is Boris Gorlee, who we hear is rather under the weather at the minute and thus unlikely to feature on Saturday either. Whether that’s enough to swing the balance in VOC’s favour is still open to question, hoe advantage perhaps the key consideration at this point in the season.

RJL: Despite having missed out on the points last Saturday, HBS Craeyenhout will have taken enormous comfort from the return to form of Tayo Walbrugh, whose unbeaten 126 saw him playing with as much assurance as ever. They will also have been cheered by Lehan Botha’s bowling on Saturday and batting on Sunday, confirming between them that he may well emerge as one of the season’s most influential players. The Crows’ visit to Het Loopveld this week will be a severe test for ACC, still to get their first taste of top-flight cricket for the year. Shreyas Potdar’s side have been cutting their teeth so far in the Hoofdklasse T20, and although Rahil Ahmed and new overseas Guy Sheena were pretty successful there, Sheena and his fellow-newcomers Ben van der Merwe and Izhaan Sayed will find the demands of the Topklasse a definite step up. Last year, though, ACC twice sprang a surprise on HBS, reducing them to 148 for six before their opening game of the season was abandoned and then beating them by 36 runs when the match was replayed. It would, however, be no less of a surprise were history to repeat itself.

BdJ: I’ll confess to not having seen much of ACC during the short-format season, though judging by scorecards they do look somewhat dependent on a mercurial top three for runs. Sahil Kothari seems to have left his batting behind in Schiedam on return to his old club, while Mahesh Hans’ transformation to all-rounder seems to have stalled. Compounding those concerns come Saturday will be the form of Julian de Mey with the ball, the HBS left arm spinner looking more threatening than ever. Even without skipper Barresi and key all-rounder Kyle Klein, HBS look a solid top-flight outfit, while ACC look to have a ways to go it they’re to be able to say the same.

RJL: VRA Amsterdam’s spinners excelled in the miserable conditions at Westvliet last Sunday, and will no doubt be hoping to have a similar impact this week, when they visit the Bermweg to take on Sparta 1888. Having acquired Clayton Floyd and Shariz Ahmad over the winter and brought in Australian pace bowler Elijah Eales, the Amsterdammers have some claim to having the most effective attack in the competition, while even without Vikram Singh and Teja Nidamanuru their batting also looks strong. Sparta’s wicketkeeper-batter Riley Mudford, though, was one of the successes of the T20 Cup, and if the rest of the side – the perennial Ahsan Malik apart – haven’t quite fired yet, skipper Martijn Snoep will be looking to them to step up in the longer format. They undoubtedly have plenty of potential on paper, but they will need to bet at their best if they are to make a serious challenge for a spot in the top six.

BdJ: Floyd and Ahmed both looked in fine form this week against (an admittedly amateurish) MCC side at the Bos, and Ben Fetcher also looked to be enjoying the chance to finally get a bowl on VRA’s notional home ground again. The Bermweg wicket may be a different proposition however, while the VRA batting looked brittle even before the departure of Nidamanuru and Singh. Though Floyd and Eales may be able to hit them out of hole, VRA’s top order looks ripe for a collapse on Saturday.

RJL’s picks: Punjab, Excelsior, HCC, HBS, VRA.

BdJ’s picks: Punjab, Excelsior, VOC, HBS, Sparta.

HCC vs HBS at Westvliet | T20 Semi Final 2 | 25.05.24

VCC vs VRA at Westvliet | T20 Semi final 1 | 26.05.24

Bad weather reigns, but Voorburg take the Cup

Rod Lyall 27/05/24

There were two winners at Westvliet on Sunday: Voorburg took the Topklasse T20 Cup, but mostly it was the dreadful weather which emerged victorious on a thoroughly disappointing day.

Voorburg had, in the final analysis, earned their title by finishing top of the table after the round-robin phase, but with only 46.4 overs of the scheduled 120 able to be bowled in the course of the day what should have been a showcase of Dutch cricket became a rain-soaked anticlimax.

Matters were not helped by a tired pitch, already used for two of the international T20 tri-series matches, and in the first semi-final VRA Amsterdam’s quartet of spinners took full advantage of the conditions, bowling 14 overs between them and restricting Voorburg to 127 for seven.

It might, indeed, have been even less had there not been a late flurry from Noah Croes, whose 55 came from 49 deliveries and included just two fours, and Philippe Boissevain, who hit the only six of the innings.

The whole affair bore little resemblance to T20 cricket as we have come to know it, but before we could decide whether Voorburg had achieved a relatively commanding total in the circumstances, more rain ended proceedings just one over into the VRA reply, and the hosts went into the final.

That rain meant that the second semi-final was cut to 13 overs a side, and HCC also struggled with the bat, Conor McInerney’s 26-ball 35 and Jed Wiggins’s unbeaten 21 from 12 deliveries nevertheless enabling them to reach 95 for five.

Any thought that that might have been enough was quickly dispelled by HBS allrounder Lehaan Botha, who seemed to be inhabiting a different universe as he smashed 62 not out from 26 balls, including three fours and six sixes, to take the Crows to a seven-wicket victory in just 8.4 overs.

The game was also notable for the return of HBS icon Tobias Visée, who faced only seven deliveries but contributed 16 runs, his six over long-on perhaps the cleanest and longest blow by any batter at Westvliet over the ten days, Ireland and Scotland’s big hitters not excepted.

But the most torrential rain of the day was now imminent, and only four overs the final, in which Voorburg reached 17 for the loss of Nehaan Gigani’s wicket, were possible before the covers went on for the last time and Voorburg got their hands on the trophy.

A result was possible at Maarschalkerweerd, where Rood en Wit won a rain-affected Hoofdlasse T20 final and made sure of a spot in next year’s Topklasse T20 Cup, while at Het Loopveld in Amstelveen Groen en Wit Amsterdam made 120 for nine but nevertheless saw their rivals, VRA’s second team, promoted to the Hoofdklasse T20 because they had finished higher on the table after the round-robin phase.

Punjab and Voorburg take opening-day thrillers

Rod Lyall 27/05/24

For a while on Saturday morning it looked as if the 2024 50-over Topklasse season would begin with a washout, as the cancellation of Excelsior ‘20’s match against ACC at Thurlede was quickly followed by returning Hermes-DVS’s game against VRA Amsterdam at the Loopuyt Oval and the encounter between HCC and Sparta 1888 at the De Diepput.

In the end, however, enthusiasts for the longer format were rewarded with two remarkable finishes, both the games which survived the weather producing the tightest of final-ball results.

At Craeyenhout, where the delayed start was caused as much by the tail-end of the football season as by the rain, Punjab-Ghausia skipper Sikander Zulfiqar won the toss and elected to bat, and by the time the players were forced from the field by a passing band of rain HBS had claimed four wickets for 104 runs.

After Lehaan Botha took a return catch to remove Musa Ahmad, young Elmar Boendermaker chimed in with the scalps of Punjab’s danger-men Shoiab Minhas and Jonathan Vandiar, and then, as the weather closed in, Matthew de Villiers snaffled another return catch to dismiss Mohsin Riaz.

The interruption caused the deduction of seven overs, and after the resumption Asad and Sikander Zulfiqar set about rebuilding the innings.

Sikander made 34, as did Fawad Shinwari, but with Botha taking three more wickets to finish with four for 39, Punjab had to battle their way to 224 for eight, assisted by two sixes from Samir Butt off the final over.

That was reduced to 221 on the DLS adjustment, and HBS were soon in trouble in reply, Sajjad Kamal turning in a fine spell which effected the departure of both Botha and Reece Mason inside three overs.

De Villiers contributed a brisk 34 before falling to Suleiman Tariq, but at the other end Tayo Walbrugh was steadily batting his way back into form, supported first by Lucas del Bianco and then by Martijn Scholte.

The Crows were well in the hunt as Walbrugh eased past fifty, and despite a sustained spell by Sikander only 61 were required from the final ten overs, with six wickets still in hand.

But two further wickets opened up the tail, and it soon became clear that everything depended on Walbrugh as Kamal and Zulfiqar turned the screw.

18 were needed off Sikander’s final over, and although Walbrugh managed to take twelve off the first four deliveries a single from the fifth left HBS short, and despite Walbrugh’s unbeaten 126 from 124 deliveries, Punjab won by four runs.

Meanwhile at the Hazelaarweg a very similar conclusion was taking shape.

The game had been cut to 33 overs a side before the start, and Voorburg, put in to bat by VOC, were able to reach 218 for eight, thanks in large measure to a third-wicket stand of 105 between Gavin Kaplan and skipper Noah Croes.

Croes eventually fell to Jelte Schoonheim for 43, but Kaplan went on to make 84, from 65 deliveries with ten fours and a six, and to see the total past 200 before he was dismissed by Asief Hoseinbaks.

Chasing over six and a half an over, Ryan Schierhout and Francois Fourie gave their side a solid start with an opening stand of 66, but Voorburg’s depleted attack chipped away at their opponents’ top order, and with eleven overs left 102 were still needed.

Jock McKenzie was still there, however, and he and Jason van der Meulen kept their side in the game with a sixth-wicket stand of 81 in just under ten overs, leaving 22 to get off the last two.

Then Michael Molenaar bowled Van der Meulen, but another six from McKenzie left 12 required from the last with Mees van Vliet bowling to McKenzie.

Two came from the first ball, and off the second Tim de Kok was run out, bringing Schoonheim to the crease.

A bye gave McKenzie the strike, but he could only manage a single, and now eight were needed from the final two deliveries.

Schoonheim hit another two, and at this point sensation broke out: Van Vliet bowled a wide, the batters attempted a run which would have reduced the deficit to four, but umpire Ashraf Din ruled that Schoonheim had deviated from his line when running and gave him out Obstructing the field.

So not only did the run not count, but Aaditt Jain was left to face the final delivery.

He contrived to take two, but when attempting another off an overthrow he was run out, and Voorburg had sensationally won by two runs.

Despite the confusion and controversy it had been a sensational finish, and the defending champions, without their national team players, must have been very relieved to take the points home to Westvliet.