Rod Lyall 12/07/2023
The weather forecast for Saturday will doubtless be a source of anxiety for groundsmen and KNCB administrators alike, with rain currently predicted to disrupt what should be one of the most festive days in the Dutch cricket calendar.
Leaders HCC will go into the day with the knowledge that if a match is rained off the higher-ranked team after the round-robin phase will be deemed the winner, but it will be up to the umpires (and the ground staff) to do everything they can to ensure that matters are settled on the field on Saturday rather than by reference to the league table.
Spice will be added to the day by the return of the competing sides’ international representatives, who missed all but the opening round because of their ultimately successful campaign in Zimbabwe, and that could mean that Cup holders VOC Rotterdam will be strengthened by the presence of Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards for their semi-final clash with HCC, who could likewise have Clayton Floyd back in their side.
O’Dowd in particular has the potential to decide a match almost before it has begun, but VOC have made it to the finals day because others have stepped up when it mattered, not least the spin combination of Arnav Jain and Asief Hoseinbaks, while Jelte Schoonheim continues to chip in usefully with both bat and ball.
Overseas player Lane Berry has had a quiet tournament so far by comparison with his achievements in the 50-over competition, but the absence of O’Dowd and Edwards led to the emergence of Peter Recordon, who is averaging 41 with the bat at a strike rate of almost 120; it will be interesting to see whether the Rotterdammers find room for him in their side.
HCC have thoroughly deserved their place at the top of the table, not least because of the contribution of tall left-arm spinner Daniel Doram, whose ten wickets have come at an average of 11.7 and who, more remarkably, has an economy rate of 4.03, way ahead of any other bowler in the competition.
VOC’s batters will need to find a way of dealing with him as well as with Floyd, not to mention the pace (and middle-order batting) of T20 captain Hidde Overdijk and HCC’s other seamers, Daniel Crowley, Henrico Venter and Patient Charumbira.
It promises to be a very interesting encounter indeed, not least because these teams’ round-robin match was rained off.
The second semi-final will pit Punjab Rotterdam against somewhat surprising qualifiers Excelsior ‘20.
On paper Punjab are by far the stronger outfit, Shoaib Minhas one of the leading run-scorers in the competition at a rate of almost 160 and with Saqib Zulfiqar potentially rejoining his brothers in the line-up.
They also have the spin of Muhammad Shafiq, the leading wicket-taker with 14 at 14.93, and with skipper Sulaiman Tariq fifth on that list and Mubashar Hussain one of only 13 bowlers who have taken ten or more wickets, Punjab are serious contenders for the Cup.
But Excelsior continue to be a team that is more than the sum of its parts, particularly adept at defending modest totals, and while they might be hard-pressed to contain Punjab’s fire-power with the bat, the spin attack of Umar Baker and Lorenzo Ingram has performed consistently well, backed up by the gentle off-spin of captain Roel Verhagen.
Verhagen is also the team’s leading run-scorer, ahead of Ingram, and with overseas player Michael Hart making a more consistent contribution and Stan van Troost, having taken over wicketkeeping duties from Verhagen, also contributing with the bat, Excelsior do have the potential to spring another surprise.
My picks: VOC, Punjab, the weather.
TKcricket 