Author: tkcricket

VOC, Sparta win as relegation battle heats up

Rod Lyall 22/06/25

The battle to avoid relegation heated up several more degrees on Saturday, as the bottom four slugged it out in two crucial matches.

Perhaps the bigger surprise came at Sportpark Bermweg, where Sparta 1888 completed just their second victory of the season, beating HBS Craeyenhout by 4 wickets.

It wasn’t just the fact of the win which should send a shiver down the spines of Sparta’s rivals but its manner: their bowlers recovered well after conceding 89 runs in the first eight overs, Lehan Botha launching an extraordinary onslaught which gave him a 32-ball 76, and the batters then raced to their target in 28.2 overs.

Botha’s half-century came in just 17 deliveries, and his innings included nine fours and five sixes, all but ten of his runs coming in boundaries.

He eventually fell to Juandre Scheepers, who added the scalps of Tayo Walbrugh and Wes Barresi in the space of four more deliveries, and although Elmar Boendermaker contributed a patient 47 and Reese Mason made 40 as he batted with the tail, HBS were dismissed for 203.

Scheepers finished with four for 38, and there were two wickets apiece for Khalid Ahmadi and Umar Baker.

Sam Ferguson gave the reply a flying start with a 24-ball 39, but the key partnership was that for the fourth wicket between Lukas Boorer (87 from 73 deliveries) and Ahmadi (39 from 20), who added 95 in nine overs.

Botha struck back to remove both in the space of four deliveries, but by that point only 16 more were needed and Sparta made sure of the victory.

At Thurlede, meanwhile, Excelsior ‘20 sank further into the relegation mire, as VOC took a significant step away from it with a four-wicket victory.

Batting first, Excelsior recovered somewhat from a perilous 50 for three thanks to Antum Naqvi’s 75, and seemed to on course for a big total at 204 for five with Brett Hampton hitting three sixes in a 38-ball 46 before he was run out in a disastrous misunderstanding with Joost Kroesen.

That galvanised Kroesen, who until that point had mostly been content to give Hampton the strike, and he proceeded from 18 from 25 deliveries to 52 from 47, taking over the aggressive role and enabling his side to reach 264 all out.

Scott Janett and Christiaan Oberholzer then shared a second-wicket stand of 119 before Gijs Kroesen bowled Oberholzer for 45, and then Janett and Monty Singh added a further 60 to drive home VOC’s advantage.

Naqvi eventually had Janett caught by Hampton for 91, but Singh continued as wickets fell at the other end, finishing unbeaten on 64 as his side won with an over to spare.

Leaders Kampong were fairly untroubled in seeing off the challenge of Punjab-Ghausia at the Zomercomplex, half-centuries by Daniel van den Berg (51), Lane Berry (78) and Pierre Jacod (56 not out) seeing them to 237 for nine all out after opener Karel Vieler was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the back of the helmet by Tehzeeb Haider.

Shoaib Minhas was again the most successful of Punjab’s bowlers with three for 22, but he was then part of a dramatic batting collapse as the first four wickets fell for just 34 runs.

The rot was partially stopped by a seventh-wicket partnership of 79 between Mohsin Riaz (52) and Burhan Niaz (35).

Once they were dismissed, however, the end came fairly quickly, and Punjab were all out for 159 in 37 overs, giving Kampong a 78-run victory.

Back at the start of May HCC pulled off a remarkable chase at De Diepput to overtake Voorburg’s 327 and win by five wickets, and the sides again produced a high-scoring game in the return at Westvliet.

An opening stand of 116 between Clayton Floyd (51) and Tonny Staal (42) was the foundation of the Lions’ total of 286 for eight, and after the Voorburg attack began to assert itself, reducing the visitors to 161 for five, the lower order demonstrated the depth of the side’s batting, adding 80 in the last eight overs.

This always seemed likely to be too many for a Voorburg line-up deprived of the services of the in-form Michael Levitt, and although Gavin Kaplan made a run-a-ball 41 and there were smaller contributions from Cedric de Lange, Noah Croes and Ryan Klein, Floyd’s four for 41 and Josh Brown’s three for 42 ensured that the reply closed on 201, giving HCC a comfortable 85-run victory.

That win took the Lions past Hermes-DVS and into second place on the table, a deficit the Schiedammers were unable to reverse on Sunday, when they lost to VRA by 7 runs in the Amsterdamse Bos.

Electing to bat first, VRA reached 250 for nine, Jack Cassidy leading the way with 82, and Johan Smal (31), Shariz Ahmad (46) and Viraj Thakur (32) all chipping in usefully.

The Hermes attack was handicapped by a pulled hamstring for skipper Sebastiaan Braat, who was only able to bowl two deliveries before pulling up and taking himself out of the attack, but it was again Hikmatullah Jabarkhail who did most of the damage with three for 45.

Ash Ostling (56) and Daniel Doyle-Calle (43) gave Hermes their accustomed good start with an opening stand of 87, and at 173 for four with Asad Zulfiqar on 40 they seemed well placed for a successful chase.

There were, however, now only 13 overs left, and although Olivier Elenbaas contributed 32, keeping his side in the hunt, but when he was run out 34 were still needed off the last five overs.

By the time Ben Fletcher started the final over there were ten required with two wickets standing, but the tail could only manage two.

Shariz claimed three for 31 from his ten overs as VRA gave themselves some breathing space in mid-table and Hermes slipped a little further behind the leaders.

Preview Round 12

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 20/06/25

Whereas last weekend’s matches pitted the top five against the sides in the lower half of the table, this round sees more immediate rivals confronting one another, with the bottom four going head to head in games which will be vital in the battle to avoid relegation, while the pursuing pack who have not yet given up hope of snatching the title have crucial opportunities to gain some ground. With another warm, dry weekend forecast, we can look forward to some great contests.

RL: If the biggest question just now is: Who can stop the march of Kampong to the title?, then one possible answer is Punjab-Ghausia at home. The champions saw off VRA last Sunday without ever quite getting into top gear, and with the marginal advantage of playing on their own patch they will also know that a win here would move them to within a point of the leaders. Kampong, however, will be back to full strength with the return of Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards, and although Punjab will regain the services of Saqib Zulfiqar, the reinforcement of Kampong’s mercurial top order is probably a more significant factor. On paper, at least, the sides are pretty evenly balanced, the difference being that up to now Alex Roy’s outfit has played to – and sometimes seemingly beyond – their potential, while Punjab have struggled to reproduce last season’s consistency.

BdJ: If Kampong are to be caught they’ll likely have to lose at least two from here, and if Punjab are to do the catching one of them will almost certainly have to be this one. Both sides have a battery of big guns at the top, usually needing only one or two to fire, though consistency has indeed been the main difference between the two in terms of totals, along with Lorenzo Ingram’s ability to lead lower order recoveries. The return of O’Dowd and/or Edwards would be welcome, though after a long tour where both have missed games Kampong may not be counting on them being ready for action. The real edge Kampong have had over the defending champions this season has been a comparatively effective bowling unit, with fully five bowlers in the top 20 wicket-takers this season, where Musa Ahmad is Punjab’s only representative. The Zomercomplex’s short boundaries may level the playing field somewhat on that front though. Punjab have not lost at home since Round 2, and it wouldn’t be the first time this season they upset the frontrunners there.

RL: The match between Voorburg and HCC at Westvliet is a real Four Pointer, with the sides currently level and three points off the pace. It is, moreover, an encounter with history: not only have the clubs contested two Grand finals in the recent past, but they have also operated something of a revolving door in their player lists, with Patient Charumbira’s move to Westvliet just the latest example. Whether he gets a game here following the return of Voorburg’s international contingent may be moot, depending in part on the often doubtful fitness of Viv Kingma, who only bowled three balls in the Netherlands’ victory over Scotland on Wednesday. The reunion of the home side’s enviable top six with the addition of Michael Levitt and Noah Croes certainly gives them a edge, especially since their opponents’ batting has been a lot less consistent. But Tonny Staal’s first big score of the season against Sparta last week, along with the wicket-taking of Josh Brown, are signs that HCC may be about to coalesce into serious challengers for the title.

BdJ: While both sides are a lot more than a single loss away from being mathematically eliminated from title contention, defeat on Saturday will leave one of the sides needing results elsewhere to consistently go their way if they’re to stay in the hunt.
The return of at least some of Voorburg’s internationals, especially the in-form Levitt if he’s good to go, would mean VCC will be fielding an even stronger batting line-up than the one that posted 327-7 when these two teams met at de Diepput, but a bowling attack likely weaker than the one that failed to defend it. That said Boris Gorlee’s 122 in that match underpinned that chase, and the HCC skipper hasn’t been able to carry his otherwise exemplary form onto natural grass wickets so far this season. Ollie White is the only other HCC bat to have crossed fifty more than once this season, and if HCC are to mount a serious title challenge they’ll either need more consistent contributions from the rest of the top order or for Gorlee to find his form off the mat. A sunny Westvliet this weekend does of course seem a fine occassion for either or both, but the hosts will be hoping for neither.

RL: At the other end of the table, Excelsior ‘20 will welcome VOC to Thurlede knowing that for both teams there’s even more on the line. Currently locked together on seven points, one of them is very likely to fill one of the automatic relegation spots, while the other may at worst face a play-off to ensure survival. That is, of course, barring a dramatic change in form, and in Excelsior’s case luck: injuries have certainly not helped their cause, but none of their overseas players has been able to impose himself so far, and it’s notable that each of their three wins has come when one or other has made a significant contribution. The same applies even more forcefully to their opponents, and although we keep banging on about the fragility of VOC’s batting it is without question the main reason that they find themselves in the basement, a point painfully illustrated by Voorburg last week.

BdJ: Almost certainly the most consequential match of the round, and perhaps the whole back half of the season. With three of the biggest overseas names in the league on the books Excelsior may well be wondering how they ended up here, especially with several of their home-grown players having better seasons than usual. Stan van Troost and Joost Kroesen have both looked genuine assets this year, yet the Schiedammers continue to look less than the sum of their parts. VOC, conversely, are about where most might have expected them to be. The comparartively callow Jannet and Oberholzer have contributed some solid scores on occasion, but VOC’s youthful new overseas have not been able to cover for the loss of Edwards and O’Dowd in the way their predecessors managed, in a team that all too often looks an unfortunate blend of age and inexperience. The efforts of the young bowling attack has been probably the only silver lining to the season so far, and on the rare occassions the batting unit backs them up the Bloodhounds have looked capable of pushing opponents hard, but as a rule this season they’ve rarely had much to bowl at.

RL: While Sparta 1888 may not yet have entered the Last Chance Saloon, there’s little doubt that they’re on the verandah outside, and the shoot-out with HBS at Craeyenhout on Saturday is absolutely crucial for their slim chance of escaping the drop. Sparta’s batters did well to reach their highest total of the season against HCC last week, but it proved to be insufficient for the attack to defend, and they may have similar problems against a Crows line-up which includes Tayo Walbrugh and Wes Barresi – picking them up early could well be the key to the Spartans taking home some desperately needed points. The fact that Ahsan Malik has gone wicketless in his last three games is an ominous sign, although it’s balanced to some degree by his emergence as a useful number three when his side bats. Their hosts on Saturday are not yet out of the woods, knowing that should either Excelsior or VOC put in a late surge they could find themselves in the bottom three, and they’ll be relieved to welcome Kyle Klein back to their ranks.

BdJ: Indeed the Spartans may not have made their entry to said metphorical watering hole just yet, but the camera’s fixed firmly on the swinging doors and the mournful sound of an ocarina is piping in ominously from somewhere. Even earning a play-off againt the Hoofdklasse champions to perhaps survive another season looks an implausibly tall order for the Cappelle side now, and a loss to 7th-placed HBS on Saturday would put the safety of the seventh spot definitively out of reach. Realistically the game is more likely to be of consequence to HBS, who risk being overtaken by the winner of Excelsior-VOC and sliding into relegation contention themselves. The return of Barresi and Klein would take some of the pressure off of Walbrugh, but given that they’ll likely be missing one or both of them again in a couple of weekss time there will be a degree of pressure on both to perform if and when they’re available. If they can’t take two points off the incumbent wooden-spooners, the Crows will be on a glide-path to a late season relegation showdown with Excelsior, VOC or both – those two would-be relegation rivals coincedentally HBS’ final two fixtures of the season.

RL: Once again, VRA have negotiated a shift of their match to Sunday, this time entertaining Hermes-DVS in the Bos. The Sky-blues remain title contenders, while for VRA, who will be delighted to welcome back their international contingent, the four-point gap which has opened up between them and the top five means that their season is now really about consolidating their mid-table spot and avoiding slipping into relegation trouble. The return of Teja Nidamanuru, Vikram Singh and Ben Fletcher can only improve their chances, but both the aggression of the Hermes opening pair of Ash Ostling and Daniel Doyle and the depredations of an attack led by Olivier Elenbaas and featuring the spin of Hikmatullah Jabarkhail, back as leading wicket-taker thanks to his Michelle against HBS are problems which Nidaamanuru’s side will need to solve if they are to claim the points here. If the resumption of the Peter Ruffell-Ben Fletcher new-ball partnership enables the hosts to make early inroads into the Hermes batting then VRA will be in with a chance, but otherwise they could find themselves struggling.

BdJ: Just three points clear of the relegation zone and seven adrift of Kampong at the top the most VRA can do on Sunday is do themselves and the frontrunners a favour by taking two points off Hermes, thus making things less interesting at both ends of the table. The return of some or all of the remaining three absent VRA internationals would make that outcome more likely, even if the three all had fairly forgettable tours, at least in their primary disciplines. Nidamanuru may be more likely to give himself a bowl after a career best return against Scotland in the T20I series, but the Sky-Blue slow bowling section remains the stronger of the two. VRA perhaps have an edge in the seam department and in depth of batting, at least on paper. Hemes have looked vulnerable on the occassions that their opening pair fail to deliver, and VRA have the attack to trouble them. A tough one to call just now, but prediction will likely be a lot easier by about the first drinks break of the Hermes innings.

RL’s picks: Kampong, HCC, Excelsior, HBS, Hermes
BdJ’s picks Punjab, VCC, , Excelsior, HBS, Hermes

A moment of idiocy clouds an otherwise routine day

Rod Lyall 16/06/25

What had been a fairly predictable day’s Topklasse cricket, with the top four sides proceeding to comfortable victories over the bottom four, ended in disgraceful drama at Maarschalkerweerd on Saturday, where Excelsior> paceman Jens Blankestijn headbutted departing Kampong batter Robert van der Harten, whom he had just dismissed, knocking him to the ground.

There had been words exchanged in the course of the over, which began with Kampong needing ten runs off four overs for victory, with four wickets in hand, Blankestijn bowling back-to-back bouncers, the first of which was not called wide – though it might well have been – while the second was.

Blankestijn then produced a slower yorker which found the base of Van der Harten’s stumps, and further verbal exchanges, and a slight push in passing, culminated in the bowler walking back to Van der Harten, who was still wearing his helmet, and deliberately headbutting him.

Such an act is a clear contravention of the Playing Conditions, arguably fitting the definition of a Level 4 offence, ‘Physical assault of another Player’, which should result in the offender’s removal from the field and the award of five penalty runs.

In this case, however, no such sanctions were imposed, and Blankestijn was allowed to complete his over, Kampong winning with five wides three deliveries into the next.

It was a sad conclusion to a match which had begun with opener Sam Rahaley making a fine 101 out of an Exclesior total of 239 for seven, sharing a fourth-wicket stand of 114 with Stan van Troost (39); Lachlan Bangs was the most successful of Kampong’s bowlers with four for 44.

Lane Berry led the reply with a 104-ball 95, ably supported by stand-in opener Karel Vieler (38) and Lorenzo Ingram (37), and when Berry’s dismissal produced a mini-collapse, two more wickets falling for the addition of 20 runs, acting captain Pierre Jacod saw his side home with 16 deliveries to spare.

Two other matches followed somewhat similar paths.

In what would in normal circumstances have been the natural lead story, Hermes-DVS made short work of chasing a HBS total of 233 all out at Craeyenhout, a stunning 49-ball 94 from Daniel Doyle-Calle, which included 15 fours and four sixes, racing them to an eight-wicket victory inside 33 overs.

Doyle shared an opening stand of 146 with Ash Ostling, who stayed to the end and finished on 86 not out.

The Crows had done well to reach 233 after a devastating opening spell from Olivier Elenbaas had reduced them to 37 for four; skipper Tayo Walbrugh anchored the rest of the innings with 101, his 13th Topklasse century, sharing stands of 66 with Navjit Singh (32) and 94 with Julien de Mey (43).

Elenbaas, who had four for 21 at one stage, finished with four for 32, while Hikmatullah Jabarkhail returned to the top of the wicket-taking list with five for 40, including both Navjit and Walbrugh.

And at De Diepput, Sparta 1888 owed their total of 216 against HCC in large part to Kyle Klesse (57) and Juandre Scheepers (37), who put on 63 together for the fourth wicket.

But Josh Brown, bowling with real aggression throughout, claimed six for 37, running through the lower middle order and the tail, and Tonny Staal (91) and Oliver White (56) set up the Lions’ five-wicket victory with a third-wicket partnership of 109.

The least competitive game of the day was at the Hazelaarweg, where VOC were bowled out for 84 by Voorburg, who completed their nine-wicket win before most other matches had reached the halfway mark.

Much of the damage was done by Gavin Kaplan, who claimed four for 21 in his ten overs, while Patient Charumbira and former international Philippe Boissevain picked up two apiece, the latter taking two for 7 in just 15 deliveries.

With one eye, perhaps, on their net run rate, Voorburg raced to the win in 11.4 overs, Cedric de Lange and Kaplan scoring at better than a run a ball and Carl Mumba finishing unbeaten on 31.

The weekend’s closest encounter was the postponed match between <b>VRA</b> and <b>Punjab-Ghausia</b>, played on Sunday in the Amsterdamse Bos, won by Punjab by four wickets with 11 deliveries to spare.

Patrick Gouge (59) and Sachin Peiris (41) put on 99 for the first wicket after Johan Smal won the toss, but it took them 25 overs to do so, and although Smal himself was eventually able to raise the scoring-rate, his dismissal for a fine 63-ball 80 prevented the kind of final-overs onslaught that would have taken the home side to a really imposing total.

Suleiman Tariq contributed another of his economical spells, conceding just 25 runs from his ten overs, and Punjab’s four-man spin attack was also effective, while Tehzeeb Haider claimed two for 34.

Ashir Abid struck early when Punjab replied, removing the dangerous Fawad Shinwari, but thern he pulled up with a side strain and had to leave the field.

Without ever really taking control, the defending champions were able to keep up with the asking rate of five an over, Shoaib Minhas contributing 55, Mohsin Riaz 38 and Mohammad Gondal 47, and although VRA had a moment of hope when Burhan Niaz  was the sixth out with 42  still needed, Sikander Zulfiqar and Khurram Shahzad were able to knock off the remaining runs.

Preview Round 11

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 12/06/2025

Two double weekends back-to-back have seen us hare past the half-way point of the season, and while there’s plenty still to play for, by this time next week most sides will likely know whether they’re headed for a championship challenge or a relegation battle. This Saturday’s round pits the top half of the table against the bottom, and if the outcome goes on first-half form there will be five sides aspiring for the top spot and five left concentrating their attention down towards a looming relegation risk.

BdJ: Among the sides already battling to avoid a stint in the Hoofdklasse are VOC Rotterdam, who will have taken heart (along with four points) from last week’s efforts, tripling their points for the season with wins over VRA and frontrunners Kampong. They face almost as stern a challenge when they welcome third-placed Voorburg CC to Hazelaarweg on Saturday, though once again the Bloodhounds are fortunate in the scheduling. Whether they like it or not (and one suspects not) the Dutch national team are still stuck in Scotland for the time being, meaning VCC will be without Levitt, Kingma and skipper Croes on Saturday – bringing the total opposing players avoided by VOC in the week to nine (or ten if one includes VRA’s Patrick Gouge, who was away with Jersey last Saturday). Voorburg have a deeper bench than Kampong or VRA at the minute though, and though they went down to Kampong in a shortened match last Saturday, the weather forecast is likely to play to their advantage this weekend. Dropping Gavin Kaplan down the order and promoting Carl Mumba to open proved a smart gambit on Monday, taking some of the sting out of the threat of Aaditt Jain and the new ball and shoring up the middle order in the absence of Croes. While VCC are unlikely to pile up the sort of score they put on VOC at full strength earlier in the season, it’s hard to imagine they’d need to. While VOC have at times impressed with the ball, they’ve yet to chase a score north of 200 and indeed have only passed the milestone once thus far.

RL: If you take out Scott Janett, Christiaan Oberholzer and Monty Singh, the rest of the VOC top six are collectively averaging under 11 with the bat, and that includes one knock of 71 by Jason van der Meulen against HCC. In other words, it’s the consistent failure of the batting, already a problem last season, which has left VOC battling to stay up, and it’s a problem to which there’s no immediately obvious solution. The club’s Seconds are in the lower half of the Eerste Klasse, none of the batters making an insistent case for promotion. That leaves the attack, spearheaded by the youngsters Aaditt Jain and Roman Harhangi, to carry an almost impossible load, although last weekend’s results suggest that their efforts could yet bring redemption. A strong youth policy and some smart horse-trading have yielded Voorburg untold riches by comparison, Cedric de Lange’s 378 runs at 47.25 the clearest illustration of the former factor. Boosted by the return to fitness of Ryan Klein, Voorburg are poised to mount a challenge for the title they last won in 2023, and for that to happen this is a must-win for them.

BdJ: Another side that may take some encouragement from the surprise result at Hazelaarweg last week are Excelsior ‘20, with the sheen of invulnerability rather rubbed off of Kampong, who they will take on at Utrecht on Saturday. Yet that result hardly improved Excelsior’s position on the table, and while the frontrunners will still be without Scott Edwards and Max O’Dowd, and doubtless perturbed by the precedent of their loss to VOC, the lion’s share of the pressure on Saturday will be on the Schiedammers, whose loss to VRA on Monday has left them staring down the barrel. Nor have Excelsior been at full strength through the middle phase, with a hamstring issue keeping their star bat Raynard van Tonder carrying drinks for the last couple of games. Skipper Roel Verhagen stepped up admirably against VRA in his absence, but without more support from the rest of the batting card the outcome on Saturday is likely to be the same. As VOC demonstrated, early wickets are key to containing Kampong’s top order, and Excelsior spearhead Jason Ralston has yet to rediscover the form that made him last season’s lead wicket-taker. Conversely Joost Kroesen’s legspin has become a reliable source of wickets for his side, and Antum Naqvi has made a decent fist of shouldering the responsibility of two overseas, but to take a win home on Saturday will likely require more of Excelsior’s line up to fire at once than they have managed so far this season.

RL: Having been reduced to 10 for three, 49 for four and 38 for three in their last three outings, Kampong will be well aware that they need to build stronger foundations if they are to avoid putting undue pressure on Lorenzo Ingram and the lower middle order, although Pierre Jacod’s efforts with both ball and bat have been among the most encouraging features of their season so far. Excelsior do have the bowling resources to test the leaders’ aggressive strategy in the initial powerplay, even if Ralston has not been the force he was last season. Conversely, the Schiedammers’ form with the bat has also been somewhat hit-and-miss, Verhagen’s solo effort on Monday a clear illustration of the problem. The yawning gap between the performances of the Topklasse’s 35-plus overseas players and most of the locals continues to widen, and apart from some notable exceptions like De Lange and Jacod it’s an issue that must be addressed. That said, Kampong have more Dutch-produced players capable of holding their own in the Topklasse than most of their rivals, and that may prove to be the difference here.

BdJ: Still three points adrift of incumbents Kampong, erstwhile frontrunners Hermes DVS will be in the odd position of cheering on local rivals Excelsior, even as they busy themselves with the more immediate task of taking two points home from their trip to HBS Craeyenhout. It’s been Hermes’ enviable bowling line-up that saw them make the early running, and even without Aryan Dutt facing the Sky-blue attack will be a worrying prospect for HBS, especially without Wesley Barresi and Kyle Klein. Without question the overriding concern for the Crows, however, will be how to remove the prolific Daniel Doyle-Calle at the top of the Hermes batting order. When Doyle’s been absent or out the Sky-blues have struggled to compile any sort of score, even if they’ve shown themselves capable of defending sub-200 totals more often than not. Getting the Spanish captain early, one would think, is thus a necessary but not sufficient condition for an HBS victory come Saturday.

RL: Now just two points ahead of Excelsior and VOC, HBS are in some danger of slipping into the danger zone, and really need to win games like this in order to stay out of trouble. But again, in the absence of the dependable Barresi the batting is too dependent on Tayo Walbrugh and Lehan Botha, as the collapse against Punjab on Monday clearly demonstrated. Hermes’ combination of the seam of the brothers Elenbaas (who have seemingly slipped into Box-and-Cox mode), Sebastiaan Braat and the easy-to-underestimate Roy Numair, with the spin of Hikmatullah Jabarkhail and Sahil Kothari will likely test their opponents’ line-up to the full, and will need to do so if too great a burden is not to be imposed on their own fragile batting. But a win here is no less crucial for the Sky-blues, who have lost three of their last four games and will be painfully aware of the pursuers breathing down their necks.

BdJ: For fourth-placed HCC it would likely take a catastrophic return to first-game form for them to drop points the beleaguered Sparta 1888, who they take on at de Diepput on Saturday. While the HCC batting has looked vulnerable whenever Boris Gorlee fails at three, the HCC skipper will be back on his home astro again this week and, as has been repeatedly noted in these pages, there’s no better bat on a mat. Meanwhile the early season fight that saw the Sparta struggle to semi-competitive scores at the start of the season seems to have been beaten out of them, the Spartans not having passed 200 since round four. Coming up against season lead wicket-taker Hidde Overdijk, it would take a remarkable reversal for Martijn Snoep’s side to take anything but hard lessons back to Bermweg.

RL: Now two games adrift of their nearest rivals at the foot of the table, Sparta are not yet at the Point of No Return, but it has definitely become visible on the horizon. Apart from their three principal overseas, only Ahsan Malik, pressed into service at first-wicket down, averages better than 15 with the bat, and even his cutting edge with the new ball can’t disguise the limitations of an honest but far-from-menacing attack. HCC, for all their occasional fitfulness, look much stronger in all departments, and like Voorburg and Punjab, they have created a launching-pad from which they could potentially take advantage of any further lapses by the top two. It’s true that after dominating with the ball they struggled a bit to beat Hermes on Monday, but even that eventual victory illustrated the depth of their batting and their resilience when things get tough. Five of the current side were in the team which came from behind to take the title in 2022, and there’s no question that that experience stands them in good stead on such occasions as that.

BdJ: And finally, after a long absence, and a day behind the rest of the round, Topklasse cricket returns to the Bos on Sunday, though it finds hosts VRA in a rather less comfortable position than when last they played a home game. Still short fully four Dutch internationals, VRA face the prospect of taking on a full strength and finally (if fitfully) firing Punjab Rotterdam, who’ve strung a series of wins together as their title defence belatedly got into gear over the past couple of weeks. A crucial win over relegation rivals Excelsior on Monday meant stand-in VRA skipper Johan Smal will have at least two points to present the returning internationals when they get back from Scotland, but he’d likely like a couple more to cheer up his clubmates when they get back from what’s shaping up to be a less-than-triumphant tour. While Smal has done his best to marshal the diminished and diminishing resources available to him, one suspects he may be regarding the team-sheet handed in by opposite number Sikander Zulfiqar with a degree of envy on Sunday.

RL: This match-up of fifth and sixth on the current table is crucial for both sides, and that makes it pretty clearly the Match of the Day. From one angle it looks like an ordinary mid-table clash, but so crowded is that central space and so narrow the margins between safety and a battle to stay up that these points take on much greater significance than that. For Punjab, too, there is the knowledge that a really successful sprint to the finishing-line, combined with the right results elsewhere, could yet see them in the mix for the title. Three of their batters are among the dozen who have posted centuries this season, Musa Ahmad the latest to join that company, and the return of Saqib Zulfiqar reinforces the strength of a spin department which has taken over from the seamers as the side’s principal weapon in the field. For the home side, the addition of Sharad Hake and Viraj Thakur to the seam unit and Ashir Abid’s stepping up with the new ball proved vital in the victory over Excelsior, and if the batting remains an uncertain force in the absence of the internationals there’s enough quality there to set or chase a decent total. Another tough one to pick, this.

BdJ’s picks: Voorburg, Kampong, Hermes, HCC, Punjab.
RL’s picks: Voorburg, Kampong, HBS, HCC, Punjab.

VOC shock Kampong, tightening the table at both ends

Rod Lyall 10/06/25

Ninth-placed VOC Rotterdam sprang the surprise of the season so far with a hard-fought three-wicket victory over leaders Kampong Utrecht at Hazelaarweg on Monday.

The win was spearheaded by 17-year-old Aaditt Jain, who grabbed three wickets inside the first nine overs to reduce Kampong to 38 for three.

A partial recovery by Lachlan Bangs and Lorenzo Ingram was halted by the spin of Siebe van Wingerden, who removed both, and it took a fighting 56 from Pierre Jacod to get the leaders up to a moderately respectable 188, Aaditt Jain returning to collect another and finish with four for 40.

VOC soon found themselves of 25 for two when they replied, but Scott Janett and Christiaan Oberholzer combined in a stand of 94 for the third wicket, turning the game back the Bloodhounds’ way.

Oberholzer’s dismissal for 33, followed by that of Scott Janett, who made a fine 85, gave Kampong some hope, and with four wickets falling for 18 runs it seemed that VOC might again implode.

But Aaditt Jain now joined elder brother Arnav at the crease, and in growing tension they knocked off the remaining runs to give their side victory with two deliveries to spare.

Meanwhile, at the Loopuyt Oval, second-placed Hermes-DVS were unable to capitalise on Kampong’s defeat, losing to HCC by three wickets in another tight, low-scoring encounter.

The Lions’ pace attack never allowed the Hermes innings to gain any momentum after Sebastiaan Braat had elected to bat, Hidde Overdijk taking four for 22 and Teun Leijer three for 16 as the home side were dismissed for 151 in 39.2 overs. Hermes opener Daniel Doyle-Calle top-scored with 31.

The Hermes attack, so often the key to their success this season, struck back early in the HCC response, and at 73 for five the chase appeared to be faltering.

But with runs at a premium Shashank Banerjee’s 30 before he was run out by a smart direct hit from Doyle proved instrumental in HCC’s win; only eight more were required when he departed, and Daniel Crowley (30 not out) and Overdijk saw their side home with nine overs left.

HCC’s victory brought them to within one point of Hermes and three of Kampong, and they were joined there by two more Monday winners: Voorburg and Punjab-Ghausia.

In the only game where overs were lost, a delayed start at Westvliet reducing each side to 47 overs, Voorburg imposed themselves on Sparta 1888 almost from the outset, a destructive ten-over spell from veteran medium-pacer Usman Malik yielding figures of four for 16 and reducing Sparta from 46 for one to 88 for six.

After some resistance from Manminder Singh and Umar Baker, Floris de Lange claimed three for 6 in nine deliveries, and Sparta were all out for 133.

Voorburg needed only 25.1 overs to secure an eight-wicket victory, Carl Mumba hitting a 29-ball 30 to get the innings moving and Cedric de Lange making 51, leaving Gavin Kaplan and Tom de Leede to finish the job.

On a day when bowlers were generally in charge, the highest scores came at the Zomercomplex, where Musa Ahmad’s unbeaten 114, including six fours and four sixes, was the spine of Punjab-Ghausia’s total of 259 for seven.

Musa shared a second-wicket stand of 76 with Shoaib Minhas (52), and then batted through to the end, a flurry of boundaries taking him to his third Topklasse centuries despite wickets falling at the other end.

A hard-hitting 18-ball 32 from Reece Mason gave HBS a brisk start, and when Tayo Walbrugh (46) and Lehan Botha (68) put on 106 for the third wicket in just 20 overs the Crows seemed on course for a notable victory.

But then Punjab’s spinners reasserted themselves, Musa removing Botha and Minhas Walbrugh to set in train an HBS collapse which ended with their being all out for 221, Saqib Zulfiqar celebrating his return to fitness with three for 46.

In a crucial battle on the fringes of the relegation zone, VRA Amsterdam got the better of Excelsior ‘20 at Thurlede, although the Schiedammers’ batters showed more fight than they had when the two sides met on the opening day of the season.

Again it was the bowlers who were largely on top, 42 from skipper Johan Smal and 53 from Jack Cassidy the most significant contributions to VRA’s somewhat under-par total of 197 all out.

Jason Ralston claimed three for 24 in nine overs, including the wicket of Cassidy, while Antum Naqvi took three for 30 and Niels Etman two for 36.

The Amsterdammers’ four-man seam attack then cut through the Excelsior top order, and at 54 for five there were echoes of that opening-day game, in which the side had been dismissed for 85.

Captain Roel Verhagen was still there, however, and he shared partnerships with Joost Kroesen, Etman and Ralston which took the total up to 150.

Once he found himself batting with last man Jens Blankestijn with 45 still required, Verhagen concluded that attack was his only option, hitting Sharad Hake for two sixes before the bowler had his revenge, trapping him in front to 80 to finish the innings on 175.

Hake finished with four for 37, while Ashir Abid, who had done much of the early damage, took three for37.

The win edged VRA a little further towards mid-table, but with VOC now level on points with Excelsior, it is only net run rate which prevents the Schiedammers from slipping down into one of the two automatic relegation spots.

Preview Round 10

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 08/06/2025

And so we gallop into the back straight, the Pentecost holiday providing us with another brace of rounds one clear day apart. Things have moved on, of course, since these sides met on the opening day, and in several cases the return games distinctly pit one of the leaders against one of the relegation-threatened. The weather promises to be a good deal more co-operative than it was on Saturday, and we must hope that this time there will be no delays or interruptions .

RL: Having kicked off their season with a rapid nine-wicket victory over VOC back in April, Kampong go into the rematch at the Hazelaaarweg without their two internationals, although it was local boy Pierre Jacod and overseas Lane Berry who were instrumental in that opening-day victory. Jacod has gone on to lead his side’s wicket-takers with 16 at 17.75, and with Lorenzo Ingram chipping in with 14 at 14.86, Kampong’s spin department has been a significant factor in their position at the top of the table. The Bloodhounds’ campaign, on the other hand, has devolved into a fairly desperate battle to avoid relegation, and their victory over VRA on Saturday notwithstanding, even a depleted Kampong will start as favourites against them. There have been occasional glimmers of hope for VOC, but with just two wins in the first half they will need significant, consistent improvement in all departments if they are to avoid slipping down to the Hoofdklasse.

BdJ: VOC’s two wins so far have both come defending low totals, where their opponents in both cases took an arguably over-cautious approach to the chase, eventually collapsing under partly self-applied pressure. It’s difficult to see the same scenario playing out against Kampong, certainly not with Ingram marshalling the middle order. Even Kampong’s depleted batting unit has continued to play positively, and it will take wickets to contain them. The brothers Jain, along with young Roman Harhangi, have been taking their share, but the Bloodhounds will need their own batting card to deliver something more substantial if they are to have a hope of upsetting the frontrunners.

RL: There’s another top vs. bottom meeting at Westvliet, where third-placed Voorburg will be at home to current wooden-spooners Sparta 1888. The Spartans put up a decent effort with the bat on the opening day, but were comfortably beaten in the end by overseas Gavin Kaplan and the returning Bas de Leede. This time, of course, the home side will be without their three internationals as well as De Leede (comparatively) senior, but they still have plenty of local talent to fill the gaps, not to mention Kaplan, Henry Melville and former Zimbabwean Carl Mumba. Joost-Martijn Snoep’s squad, undisturbed by international commitments, have proved themselves doughty fighters on occasion, and this is the sort of match they will have to win, albeit against the odds, if they are to remove the relegation Sword of Damocles which is hanging over their heads.

BdJ: Even at their best Sparta have generally looked outmatched by any side even remotely on their game this season – a banana peel that so far only VRA have slipped on. While Voorburg have looked vulnerable when Kaplan fails at the top – especially in the absence of their internationals – they bat deep enough that even without big runs from their overseas they should be reasonably confident of getting to a score beyond anything Sparta have managed this season. With just five fifties between them in the first half of the season, it’s the Spartan batting that’s chiefly to blame for their current predicament, and without a remarkable turnaround in the top order’s form it’s difficult to see them picking up many more points at all this summer, let alone on Monday.

RL: While some of the air has escaped from the Hermes-DVS balloon, they were back in command against Sparta and will go into their match against HCC at the Loopuyt Oval with plenty of confidence, having demolished their opponents for 99 first time out. They will be without Aryan Dutt this time, his 79 having anchored what proved to be a winning total at De Diepput, but that is compensated for by the presence of Saturday’s centurion Daniel Doyle-Calle and the return to the attack of Olivier Elenbaas. The Lions have had an up-and-down season so far, most of the ups having been provided by Boris Gorlee’s form with the bat and a varied attack led by a resurgent Hidde Overdijk. Overall, though, they’ve been a little less than the sum of their parts, while until a week or so ago, Hermes were distinctly more than the sum of theirs. To be serious title contenders, though, they will need to maintain their momentum, and their spin attack, with or without Dutt, is likely to be crucial in that. Hard to call, this one, but it would be quite something if the Sky Blues managed to roll HCC twice.

BdJ: It’s probably fair to say that Hermes caught HCC somewhat off-guard in their opening game, almost as though the arrival of the season had taken Gorlee’s side entirely by surprise. They’ll be better prepared for the trip to Harga, one imagines, and better rested that their opponents too having had a rain-enforced afternoon off yesterday. Gorlee’s own prolific form is indeed one of the principle reasons for their spot in the top five, though the question of whether the HCC skipper can carry that form from mats onto turf wickets is one he’ll doubtless be keen to answer. More pressing questions might be asked of the rest of the batting of course, though the same could be said of the Hermes line-up besides Doyle-Calle. The Hermes bowling attack has no obvious weak links though, Elenbaas looking sharp on return and Braat himself in excellent form with the ball, meaning the hermes skipper has plenty of options even beyond the slow-bowling section. Gorlee conversely has had to rely mostly on his seamers for wickets, though Ollie White generally delivers ten servicable overs of left arm spin, fellow slow southpaw Clayton Floyd has struggled for form since return from injury. All told Hermes look a team largely playing their best cricket, while HCC have been comparatively inconsistent. The flip side of that though, is that the latter have more room for improvement.

RL: Both Punjab-Ghausia and HBS Craeyenhout seem destined to finish mid-table, although it would be rash to write off a late dash towards the top by one or other of them, or even, for that matter, a plunge into the Nether Deeps. If the former’s going to happen, this would be a very good place to start, and both the home record of the defending champions and the Crows’ away from Craeyenhout suggest that it’s Punjab who are more likely to come out on top here, especially since HBS will be missing Wesley Barresi and Kyle Klein. One shouldn’t write off their remaining resources with either bat or ball, but there’s no doubt Punjab’s top order, led by Jonathan Vandiar and Shoaib Minhas, with Mohsin Riaz currently the man in form, boasts greater potential firepower than that of their visitors. It was Riaz’ century, supported by 71 not out from Sikander Zulfiqar, which was decisive on 27 April after a fluctuating battle, and it would probably take something similar from the Crows’ Tayo Walbrugh to see the rematch go the other way.

BdJ: While HBS will be hopeful that their fortunes will improve once Klein and Barresi return, they may well need to pick up some points without them if they’re to avoid sliding toward danger, with Excelsior – currently occupying the relegation play-off spot – just one win behind them. Punjab’s point from yesterday indeed looks increasingly valuable in that regard, and if the Rotterdammers look up rather than down the washout was almost as good as a win, given Kampong’s huge net run rate advantage over the field. Catching the front-runners looks a tall order at this point for any of the sides on ten points though, likely needing Kampong to lose at least three of their remaining matches to even leave an opening. Punjab have the squad to do it on paper, and it’s worth noting that they’re currently joint third on the table despite practically the entire squad, Riaz and Saqib Zulfiqar excepted, performing well below potential with bat or ball. If a reversion to mean does come a successful title defense is still possible, but they can ill afford to lose games like this if they’re to pull it off.

RL: If Excelsior ‘20 are to escape eighth place and a relegation-deciding play-off against the Hoofdklasse champions – or indeed worse – then their first task is to leapfrog VRA Amsterdam, now just a point ahead of them after the latter’s defeat by VOC and Excelsior’s victory over HBS. That makes the meeting of the two sides at Thurlede on Monday pretty much the Four-Pointer of the Day. The Amsterdammers are, of course, one of the principal losers from the national side’s Scottish foray, with four of their first-choice eleven on the other side of the North Sea, and their reserves have had mixed fortunes so far. The efforts of Sachin Peiris and Viraj Thakur against VOC will have given them some encouragement. ‘Full strength’ on paper, it is true, is not the same as on the park, and Roel Verhagen’s side are in the relegation zone because they have so far been unable to put together a string of all-round performances which measure up to that potential. But this is one they really have to win if they are to prevent their situation from deteriorating further.

BdJ:It’s frankly doubtful that VRA will have spent much time “taking the positives” from events at Hazelaarweg yesterday, though perhaps the second team may have enjoyed their own Peiris and Zaidi being the only two bats that didn’t entirely disgrace themselves. Given VRA’s precarious situation the schedule really hasn’t done them any favours this weekend, pitting them against two relegation rivals in a row while they’re missing fully five players owing to international duty – Patrick Gouge of course also away at the Channel Islands Inter-Insular series yesterday, though he’s expected back for tomorrow. While Excelsior have had to do without Raynard van Tonder, the return of Brett Hampton coupled with Antum Naqvi finding some form with the bat means they look a stronger side than at any point in the season. With VRA looking in a horrid slump – winless now since round five – there’s every chance that the international absentees will return to find their side deep in the relegation hole.

RL’s picks: Kampong, Voorburg, HCC, Punjab, Excelsior

BdJ’s picks: Kampong, Voorburg, HCC, Punjab, Excelsior

Doyle hundred keeps Hermes in touch

Rod Lyall 08/06/25

On a day which began with a real prospect of another washout ground staff, officials and players triumphed over the elements at four of the five Topklasse grounds on Saturday, producing results which both took the leaders further away from the pack and made things a lot tighter at the bottom end of the table.

The chief beneficiaries of the day were Kampong Utrecht, whose thrilling five-wicket victory over third-placed Voorburg at Westvliet kept them clear at the top, still two points ahead of nearest rivals Hermes-DVS.

In a match reduced to 25 overs a side Kampong’s spinners were again in charge, collecting five wickets between them as Voorburg assembled 156 for seven, Cedric de Lange making 40 and stand-in captain Ryan Klein, returning from injury, 34.

The Utrecht side’s replied faltered somewhat at 49 for four, but then Lorenzo Ingram and Alex Roy put on 95 for the fifth wicket, and after Tom de Leede removed Roy for 27 in the penultimate over Ingram finished the job in style, hitting a six to reduce the tension and reach his half-century.

That meant that just two we required from the final over, and after Robert van der Harten levelled the scores with one delivery remaining, Ingram managed the winning run to end on 57 not out.

Chasing the highest total of the day, Sparta 1888’s 175 for eight in a 33-over game at the Loopuyt Oval, Hermes-DVS could thank opener Daniel Doyle-Calle for their seven-wicket win, his unbeaten 115 coming from 86 deliveries and including 13 fours and two sixes as Hermes won with 16 balls to spare.

Sparta’s innings was built around an 82-run stand for the fourth wicket between Kyle Klesse (39) and Juandre Scheepers (53), while for the home side Olivier Elenbaas, bowling for the first time this season, Sebastiaan Braat and Hikmatullah Jabarkhail picked up two wickets apiece.

Doyle then dominated the Hermes reply, with valuable support from Mussayab Jamil (24) and Elenbaas (17 not out), enabling his side to cruise to victory and reinforce Sparta’s position at the foot of the table.

That position was rendered even bleaker by events at the Hazelaarweg, where VOC Rotterdam eased their own situation slightly with a hard-fought 9-run win against VRA Amsterdam.

That outcome had seemed unlikely at the half-way mark, since VOC had failed to make use of their full 27 overs, dismissed for 123 with 11 balls remaining.

42 of those runs had come from Christiaan Oberholzer, with Ashir Abid (three for 20) the most effective of VRA’s bowlers and Topklasse debutant Viraj Thakur pciking up two for 16.

But that fairly modest target proved beyond VRA’s somewhat makeshift batting line-up, depleted by national team commitments, Sachin Peiris, called up to open in place of Vikram Singh, top-scoring with 30 and Ibaad Zaidi making 29.

Brothers Arnav and Aaditt Jain collected five wickets between them, Aaditt taking three for 27, and when Zaidi’s was the eighth wicket to fall, 28 were still needed with three overs remaining.

Aaditt and Jason van der Meulen managed to close things out, and with VRA’s final pair together the innings closed ten runs short of their target.

With VRA losing, Excelsior ‘20’s hopes of escaping the relegation zone were further improved by their own victory over HBS Craeyenhout at Thurlede.

This game was cut to 24 overs a side, and HBS, put in by Roel Verhagen, battled their way to 115 for nine, Verhagen himself equalling a club record with five catches and a stumping.

One of the catches, off Antum Naqvi, was of HBS skipper Tayo Walbrugh, who top-scored with 32, while Joost Kroesen added three more scalps to his tally for the season, at a cost of just 16 runs.

Verhagen then gave his side a solid start with 30, Naqvi made a 39-ball 48, and Brett Hampton completed the task with six overs in hand, facing just one ball after Naqvi’s departure and ending proceedings with a six.

The only match to fall victim to the weather was the mid-table clash between Punjab-Ghausia and HCC at the Zomercomplex, which was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Their point apiece brought the two sides level with Voorburg, although with inferior net run rates, but at the competition’s halfway point the championship race is increasingly looking like a two-way battle between Kampong and Hermes.

Preview Round 9

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 06/06/2025

We may be barely a month into the cricket season, but the half-way stage of this year’s frenetic Topklasse is already upon us, with another double round looming. Saturday’s schedule especially features a handful of games that may well prove retrospectively decisive, and at the least will be a test of the bench strength of several sides that have lost players to the national team – currently away in Dundee contesting the latest CWC trilateral series again Scotland and Nepal.

[RL: If I may for once violate the conventions of the genre by adding a second headnote, most of what follows is written on the improbable assumption that the weather allows Saturday’s matches to go ahead uninterrupted. In the more likely event that they are abbreviated by rain, the balance obviously shifts, possibly in favour of the heaviest hitters.]

BdJ:The top-table clash between 3rd-placed Voorburg and current frontrunners Kampong at Westvliet is a match that falls into both of those categories, with the hosts missing skipper Noah Croes as well as Michael Levitt and Viv Kingma, while Kampong will be without Dutch skipper Scott Edwards and Max O’Dowd. Down a keeper and opener each, both sides will arguably miss the former more than the latter on current form, while the loss of Kingma is a blow to VCC it is one they’ve become accustomed to this season. For Kampong the importance of Edwards’ role as anchor to an otherwise rather gung-ho top order was illustrated again last week, striking a crucial century as part of a match-turning partnership with Lorenzo Ingram that delivered a critical away win over VRA. In Edward’s absence Ingram’s experience in the middle may prove crucial, should the rest of the top order’s buccaneering approach fail to come off. Voorburg’s batting has been driven above all by the opening pair of Kaplan and de Lange, and while the loss of Croes as backstop and the underperforming but dangerous Levitt will be a blow, their main concern remains a comparative lack of incision with the ball. The return of the now Netherlands-resident Carl Mumba may help in that regard, but one suspects the game will be decided by the battle between a care-free if occasionally care-less Kampong batting line-up, and Voorburg’s young bowling attack.

RL: Even without a handful of internationals, this is undoubtedly the Match of the Day: a win for Kampong would keep them clear at the top of the table going into the back half of the 50-over season, while a Voorburg victory could, depending on events at the Loopuyt Oval, turn the run-in into a genuine three-forse race, with the additional possibility of one or more from the chasing pack bridging the gap to tighten things up still further. Those absences put the spotlight even more than usual on the overseas contingent in both squads: Kaplan, Henry Melville and (in a sense) Carl Mumba for the Villagers, Lane Berry, Lachlan Bangs and (in a sense) Lorenzo Ingram for their opponents (who also, incidentally, have a claim to our ‘Villagers’ nickname, given that that’s what kampong means in Indonesian). And significant as the ability of Kampong’s top order to deal with Voorburg’s bowling will be, so will the match-up between Voorburg’s top six and the Utrecht side’s bowling unit, in which the seam of Kertan Nana, Shashank Kumar and Alex Roy combines effectively with the spin of Pierre Jacod and Akhil Gopinath. This is really one of the most crucial encounters of the season, as the return match on 3 August, when both sides should be at full strength, could well be as well.

BdJ: Already stumbling somewhat, VRA now suffer the hammer blow of losing four first-choice players to the Oranje, potential debutant Ben Fletcher joining Teja Nidamanuru, Shariz Ahmad and Vikram Singh on the tour to Dundee. Their hosts on Saturday, VOC Rotterdam, are conversely entirely unscathed, and may sense a chance to claim some direly-needed points against a weakened and wobbling VRA side. Even without their internationals VRA still boast a solid front line bowling attack however, with lead wicket-taker Peter Ruffel in fine flow, while both young Darsh Abhinay and less-young Leon Turmaine have impressed coming off the bench at the Bos. The batting may be somewhat dependent on stand-in skipper Johan Smal with support from overseas Jack Cassidy and Patrick Gouge, but the Bloodhounds have been no less dependent on their foreign recruits for runs this season. The brothers Jain have been consistent performers, but VOC have lacked a genuine match-winner with the ball as much as with the bat thus far this summer. Nonetheless of late they’ve come close to besting stronger sides than what VRA can likely muster next weekend, and if they’re going to turn their season around they can’t wait much longer to start.

RL: It’s a sign of progress that people seem to be accepting that you need a squad of 15 or so to be in with a real chance of doing well in the Topklasse, and that losing your internationals is the downside of packing your team with them in the first place. Whether VRA have the strength in depth to get the better of sides like a first-choice VOC is indeed moot: it seems a long time since the Amsterdammers, under Peter Borren’s leadership, had the most progressive youth policy in the competition. Their Second XI is having a hard time in the Hoofdklasse, to which they won promotion last year, but they do have possible replacements for Fletcher in Sharad Hake, who made a useful contribution to the Topklasse seam attack at the back end of last season, and Viraj Thakur. Turmaine’s efforts have again been good enough to keep him in the side even when the internationals are back, but the big question is how VRA reinforce the middle-order in the absence of Singh, Nidamanuru and Shariz. Along with the Jains we should not forget Roman Harhangi, who has bowled some great spells so far, while Jelte Schoonheim chipped in usefully last week. With Scott Janett and Christiaan Oberholzer beginning to find their feet with the bat and helping out with the ball, this is an opportunity VOC cannot afford to miss.

BdJ: Another side hit hard by the return of international cricket are HBS Craeyenhout, who will be without not only Kyle Klein, but also their lead wicket taker and most reliable bat in Wes Barresi when they head to Thurlede to take on Excelsior ‘20 on Saturday. Away games on turf wickets have generally posed a particular challenge for the Crows, and without Klein and Barresi much will depend on skipper Tayo Walbrugh and his compatriot Lehan Botha, or for a more impactful cameo from a veteran occasional like Navjit Singh or Toby Visée. Excelsior for their part have seen impressive individual performances from almost every member of their side at one point or another, without being able to consistently translate them into wins. They will likely have far the stronger side on paper and form come Saturday, but the question remains whether they’ll be able to translate paper advantage into points against an HBS side that, while weakened, has found wins in less likely places.

RL: Among those waiting in the wings at Craeyenhout is veteran seamer and former skipper Ferdi Vink, and it will be interesting to see whether he comes into the attack in place of Klein. With 11 runs in three innings the potentially-explosive Visée has yet to fire, but it’s a fair bet that if the Crows persist with his recall some attack is going to suffer. It could conceivably be Excelsior’s, which has lacked the incisiveness it had last season, although as m’colleague observes, HBS are a much more menacing on their own astroturf than they are away from home. But Walbrugh remains one of the classiest batters in the competition, and if the rest of the top and middle order bat around him they are capable of posting a score which would challenge the theoretically more powerful Excelsior batting. They really missed Raynard van Tonder against HCC last week, collapsing dramatically after Sam Rahaley and Roel Verhagen had given them a great start, and they will need to do much better against a Crows’ attack which, even without Klein and Barresi, offers Walbrugh plenty of options with both seam and spin.

BdJ: Firmly in the mid-table both, Punjab-Ghausia and HCC’s clash at the Zomercomplex could set the tone for the rest of the season for the two sides – a late title challenge or relegation battle still on the cards for either in theory. Though the watchful eyes of the Dutch camp have doubtless been monitoring the likes of Overdijk, Gorlee, Floyd, Ahmad and Punjab’s remaining Zulfiqars, both clubs have been unscathed by the selector’s scythe for these rounds at least, and will presumably be at full strength come Saturday. After an underwhelming start to their title defence, Punjab have managed to string three wins together in their last three matches, perhaps building a degree of confidence or momentum. The return of Saqib Zulfiqar to bowling has lent a greater variety to the attack, though the lack of Sikander as seam option remains an issue. The batting hasn’t quite been firing on all cylinders either, but the quality of the top six is such that it’s rarely had to. Conversely HCC have been rather reliant on the prolific Gorlee for big runs at the top this season, even if the middle and lower order has been a steady source of helpful 20s and 30s. Alongside Gorlee’s weight of runs, it’s been the seam attack – the in-form spearhead Hidde Overdijk ably supported by Josh Brown, Henrico Venter and Daniel Crowley – that’s arguably delivered the most points for HCC this season. In conclusion, as they say, Punajb-HCC is a match of contrasts.

RL: That Punjab have been able to win despite Jonathan Vandiar managing just one run in his last two knocks is an indication that their batting overall is starting to run back into form, and you just know that sooner or later, as with Visée, some attack is going to bear the brunt of the big man’s hard-hitting talent. The consistency, though, has been coming from Mohsin Riaz, on course for his most productive season to date, but with players like Fawad Shinwari and Khurram Shahzad coming in at seven and eight, Punjab ought to be riding higher than they are. The same applies, though in a different sense, to HCC, whose attack is among the most effective in the competition. That it can be put under pressure was clearly demonstrated by Excelsior’s openers last week, but the Lions fought back impressively to take the points, and the battle between their bowling unit and Punjab’s top order is one to savour. By the same token, even without Sikander Zulfiqar the champions’ combination of seam and spin, reinforced now by Tehzeeb Haider, will test a HCC batting line-up which has experienced both the highs and lows already this season.

BdJ: Finally erstwhile frontrunners Hermes DVS welcome incumbent wooden-spooners Sparta 1888 to the Loopuyt Oval for what could be a make-or-break game for both sides, albeit for rather different reasons. Back-to-back defeats over the double round last week brought Hermes’ unbeaten streak to a jarring halt, and if they’re to get their title challenge back on track one feels a convincing victory at home to the struggling, straggling Sparta will be necessary, if far from sufficient. To their credit, the dogged Spartans have generally made their opponents work hard for their wins so far, and taken advantage when opportunity arose, as against a weakened and unwary VRA. Last Saturday’s batting capitulation against Punjab might just be an indication that Martijn Snoep’s side (Ahsan Malik aside) have begun to lose their appetite for tenacious resistance and valiant defeat, but if they can rediscover their resolution they could well prove a stern test for a Hermes side likely somewhat shaken by last week’s double blow. The return of Daniel Doyle-Calle, back from Spanish obligations, at the top of the order will doubtless provide some reassurance for the Sky-Blues, and while they will be without Aryan Dutt, the slow bowling section remains the most effective in the competition thus far. Leggie Hikmat Jabarkhail and southpaw Sahil Kothari have taken 33 wickets between them and both average under 12 this season – streets ahead of any competing spin pairing. For Sparta, that means getting to a competitive score on Saturday will require a degree of application that seemed to have deserted them last week.

RL: Doyle’s return is considerable compensation for the absence of Dutt, and it is a tribute to Jabarkhail and Kothari that the Sky Blues can even contemplate with equanimity the unavailability of the Netherlands’ international off-spinner. Likewise the absence from the attack of Olivier Elenbaas, after his brother Ralph Hermes’ leading wicket-taker last season, who has yet to bowl a ball in this year’s competition and indeed missed the first four matches altogether. But their batting has been a lot less reliable, and if anyone can make early inroads it’s Sparta’s Ahsan Malik, who has removed eight of the 14 openers he has faced this season, several of them in the initial overs. On the other side of the balance sheet, Kyle Klesse and Lukas Boorer may be finding the demands made on their batting to be somewhat excessive, and even Juandre Scheepers, a potential trump card with both bat and ball) has yet to really impose himself. Sparta will need all three to come to the party if they are to win here, still more if they are to perform the increasingly unlikely feat of escaping from a rapidly-deepening relegation zone.

BdJ’s picks: Kampong, VRA, HBS, Punjab, Hermes
RL’s picks: Voorburg, VOC, HBS, Punjab, Hermes.