Author: tkcricket

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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Rod Lyall 10/08/26

Thanks to the genius of the KNCB fixtures programme, the four leaders in the Topklasse T20 Cup found themselves duking it out on Sunday to settle the rankings as the teams rounded the turn (apologies for the mixed metaphor) and headed into the home straight, with seven furlongs matches still to go.

Excelsior ‘20 surrendered their unbeaten record, losing decisively to VRA at Thurlede and allowing the Amsterdammers to move to within two points of them.

Vikram Singh (28) and Shreyas Potdar (27) gave the visitors a great start, enabling them to reach 57 for one inside the powerplay, but it was Johan Smal’s 43-ball 71, assisted by 32 from Teja Nidamanuru, which saw his side to a challenging 194 for five.

Jack Wood smacked 39 when Excelsior replied and Riley Ayre made a slightly more sedate 22, but once they had gone the innings fell away, Shariz Ahmad claiming three for 18 and Smal and Nidamanuru picking up two apiece, and only Rens van Troost’s 32 not out got them to 130 for nine.

It was a disappointing end to the weekend for the leaders, who had beaten Sparta 1888 by 25 runs at the Bermweg on Saturday, Karson Edward taking four for 22 and Jens Blankestijn three for 15 as the Spartans were dismissed for 121 in pursuit of Excelsior’s 146 for three.

Only Ruve Louw, with a 44-ball 54, was able to cope with Excelsior’s pacemen, while the core of the Schiedammers’ innings was a second-wicket stand of 77 between Roel Verhagen (55 from 57) and Ayre (37 from 38).

On Saturday afternoon, Sparta were again bowled out, this time by VRA, in a game which could prove influential at both ends of the table: VRA’s 11-run victory extended their winning run to four matches and set up their challenge to Excelsior, while Sparta are now back in relegation territory, just two points ahead of Hermes-DVS and with an inferior net run rate.

But it took an aggressive knock of 43 from Viraj Thakur, batting at eight, to enable VRA to recover from a perilous 51 for five and reach 159 for nine, while Sparta’s reply was enlivened by a remarkable innings from Khalid Ahmadi, who smashed six sixes in a 13-ball knock of 38, five of them in one Shayan Moodley over.

In Sunday’s other crucial top-of-the-table clash, Rotterdam recovered from a scare early in their reply to Voorburg’s 166 for seven and won by five wickets, thanks to a fourth-wicket stand of 114 between Abdul Rehman Niazi (38 from 33) and Saqib Zulfiqar (77 from 38).

Don Glover and Aaditt Jain had reduced the 50-over champions to 48 for three by the end of the powerplay, but Niazi and Saqib then turned the innings around, and Rotterdam won with 19 deliveries to spare.

Voorburg’s innings was the complete opposite of their opponents’: Michael Levitt’s 22-ball 51 had steered his side to 77 without loss by the end of their powerplay, and although his opening partner Cedric de Lange contributed 57 from 35 deliveries, the rest of the batting was unable to capitalise against Sulaiman Tariq (three for 23) and Rotterdam’s four-man spin attack.

The win took Rotterdam into third place on the table, since on Saturday they had shared the points in a low-scoring tie with HCC at De Diepput.

Batting first, HCC had battled their way to 122 for eight, Boris Gorlee top-scoring with 38 and Yash Patel contributing 29 as the Rotterdam spinners kept the batters under tight control.

But the Lions’ pace attack responded in kind, and although Muhammad Gondal made 46 before he was eighth out, the rest of the batting struggled in their turn.

At Gondal’s departure eight were still required with nine deliveries remaining, and when Teun Leijer began the final over the equation was seven from six.

Tehzeeb Haider clobbered a single from the first; another for Ahmed Shafiq brought Haider back on strike, and he struck the third ball to the wide long on boundary to level the scores.

As the batters attempted the winning run off the next, Leijer gathered the ball and threw down the stumps with Shafiq millimetres short of his crease.

Tariq was then caught at point by Gorlee, and the match ended with the scores still level.

HCC did rather better with the bat against Voorburg in their second game on Saturday, but it was Patel’s 23-ball 40 not out which enabled them to recover from 95 for six to reach 160 for eight.

But then Michael Levitt, returning to his most destructive form, set up Voorburg’s seven-wicket victory with an outstanding knock of 84 from just 35 deliveries, with five fours and nine sixes, and Bas de Leede completed the win with an unbeaten 35 and more than four overs to spare.

Voorburg’s mixed weekend leaves them in fourth place, four points behind the leaders, while HCC, in sixth, seem likely to have to settle for a mid-table position when the campaign ends at the beginning of September.

Rod Lyall 03/08/26

The Topklasse T20 Cup campaign resumed at the weekend, Excelsior ‘20 maintaining their unbeaten record and extending their lead to four points with victories over Voorburg on Saturday and Kampong on Sunday.

Their win against Voorburg at Westvliet was another thriller, the seven-wicket margin belying the tension of the final over, which began with the Schiedammers needing still needing ten to overhaul their hosts’ 189 for four.

Karson Edward had rocked Voorburg by removing openers Michael Levitt and Waseem Mohsen inside the first four overs, but a third-wicket stand of 86 between Don Glover (who made 48 from 41 deliveries) and Ryan Klein put the innings back on track.

When Glover departed Klein took over, hammering a 49-ball 98, including nine fours and four sixes, before Edward was able to deny him a century.

Roel Verhagen responded with a 15-ball 35 when Excelsior replied, and then Jack Wood and Riley Ayre put on 121 together, accelerating as the overs began to run out.

So ten were required from Patient Charumbira’s final over, and when he bowled Wood for 80, made from 58 deliveries with five fours and as many sixes, and Charl Prinsloo was run out next ball by a direct hit by Michael Rippon, the game was still in the balance,

They took a leg-bye off the penultimate ball, bringing Joost Kroesen on strike, and his straight drive enabled the pair to take the two required before the ball crossed the boundary; Ayre remained on 62 not out.

Sunday’s victory over Kampong was less gripping, as the Utrecht side battled their way to 113 for nine, internationals Max O’Dowd, Zac Lion-Cachet and Scott Edwards contributing just 14 runs between them, and twenties from Pierre Jacod and Lorenzo Ingram the most significant contributions.

It took Excelsior into the nineteenth over to complete their five-wicket win against a largely second-string Kampong attack, Ayre top-scoring with 43.

It was Kampong’s second defeat of the weekend, the first having come at the hands of Voorburg, who bounced back from their defeat by Excelsior by posting 191 for six in the afternoon, Mohsen top-scoring with 57 and Klein and Tom de Leede contributing thirties.

Kampong could only manage 161 for six in reply, the highlight Jacod’s 47-ball 66.

The win meant that Voorburg would still be in second place on the table at the weekend’s close, but
Rotterdam, meanwhile, hung on to third with a relatively victory over Hermes-DVS on Saturday.

Hermes’ total of 135 for five was largely due to David Rushmere’s unbeaten 67, his only significant support coming from Daniel Doyle-Calle (26), and although Sahil Kothari claimed three for 20 and Sam van Giezen two for 20, Musa Ahmad (30) and Shoaib Minhas (25) gave the 50-over champions a good enough start to see them over the line in 17.1 overs with four wickets in hand.

Rotterdam, however, lost ground to Excelsior on Sunday, when they suffered a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of VRA, who were the only other team to win both their matches.

Rotterdam were given another great start with a 28-ball 53, inclding four fours and three sixes, but although Andul Rehman Niazi made an unbeaten 39 the rest of the batting struggled, and the innings closed on 149 for nine.

Tehzeeb Haider removed Vikram Singh in the third over when VRA replied, but then Shirase Rasool and Johan Smal shared a fine unbroken stand of 136, Rasool finishing on 61 and Smal on 78 as the Amsterdammers reached their target with 16 deliveries remaining.

It was a great couple of days for Rasool, whose 34-ball 52 on Saturday had played a large part in VRA’s 7-run win against Hermes-DVS.

With Shariz Ahmad contributing 34 and Udit Nashier an unbeaten 23, VRA reached 163 for seven.

Rushmere (32), Ralph Elenbaas (20) and Doyle (43) gave Hermes’s rejoinder a promising start, but thereafter the innings fell away and with two overs left 19 were still required with only three wickets in hand.

Two more fell in those final overs, and the innings closed on 156 for nine.

At De Diepput on Saturday, Sparta 1888 continued their run of good form with the ball, dismissing HCC for just 92.

Only Damian Crowley, Clayton Floyd and Hidde Overdijk reached double figures after Juandre Scheepers had removed both openers and further wickets by Nasrat Ibrahimkhil and Johne Jacob ad reduced the hosts to 25 for four.

Hidde Overdijk led the fightback when Sparta replied, claiming three wickets inside the first five overs and completing his spell with figures of three for 7, but Khalid Ahmadi hit four sixes in his 20-ball 30, and although Teun Leijer and Floyd picked up two wickets each, Scheepers held firm, seeing his side home by just two wickets with 15 balls to spare.

The competition will reach the halfway point next weekend, with VRA’s visit to Thurlede on Sunday to take on Excelsior among the most significant fixtures; also likely to have a big effect on the standings is the three-way clash between Rotterdam, Voorburg and HCC, all of whom face each other across the two days.