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2025 Preview 5: VRA and Punjab-Ghausia

Rod Lyall 20/04/2025

Having leapt from seventh in 2023 to runners-up last year, VRA Amsterdam will be keen to go one better this time round and claim their first championship since 2011.

Last season’s improvement was driven by a sustained campaign of recruitment, both locally and from overseas, contrasting sharply with the youth development policy which had been pursued by Peter Borren during his time in charge in the Amsterdamse Bos.

One of those recruits, left-arm spinner Clayton Floyd, has now returned whence he came, while one of the most promising of the younger brigade, Udit Nashier, has gone to pursue his development with Voorburg; on the other hand, Shreyas Potdar has joined the squad, transferring across Amstelveen from relegated ACC.

The Amsterdammers have also signed three new overseas: New Zealanders Peter Ruffel and Jack Cassidy, and, unusually, Jersey’s Patrick Gouge.

Ruffell, a pace bowler who replaces Elijah Eales in the attack, has played for Auckland Under-19s and hails from Westlake Boys’ High School, which also produced Max O’Dowd and brothers Daniel and Ross ter Braak.

Wellington-born Cassidy, a wicketkeeper-batter who will succeed Demari Prince behind the stumps, plays for the illustrious Cornwall club in Auckland.

22-year-old Gouge has played for several English clubs, and has appeared eight times for Jersey across two formats, his best score 52 in a T20I against Spain in April last year; in addition to his batting, his leg spin will be useful to his new club given the departure of Floyd and Nashier.

They do, however, still have the services of Dutch international wrong’un specialist Shariz Ahmad, who has also developed into a valuable middle-order batter; he topped VRA’s batting averages last season with 323 runs at 46.14.

The Amsterdam club will also be delighted to see the return of Teja Nidamanuru, who missed all but two matches of the 50-over competition last season through injury. He will resume the captaincy, and will be an important factor when national team duties permit his availability.

The same applies to opener Vikram Singh, who seldom showed his best form with the bat in 2024 after a mercurial season the year before.

The squad has plenty of bowling options, with left-armers Ben Fletcher and Ashir Abid alongside Ruffell and Sharad Hake, who broke into the Topklasse side towards the end of last season and bowled some useful spells.

Nidamanuru sees an increased role this year for youngsters Ibaad Zaidi and Darsh Abhinay, who have made considerable progress over the winter.

‘We definitely want to go one better this year,’ he says, and we believe we have the squad to do that.’

‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ seems to have been the watchword for Punjab-Ghausia Rotterdam over the winter, and the defending champions have opted firmly for the mixture as before.

The only real change is the departure of Asad Zulfiqar to Hermes, but he had played much less frequently in the first team following the arrival of Belgian-based wicketkeeper Fawad Shinwari at the Zomercomplex.

Shinwari warmed up with a century against Excelsior in the side’s first game a couple of weeks ago, and adds another dimension to a batting line-up which also includes, among local players, Musa Ahmad and the remaining Zulfiqars, Saqib and skipper Sikander.

But the real power was provided last year by Musa’s opening partner Shoaib Minhas, the enormously destructive Jonathan Vandiar, and Mohsin Riaz, all of whom are back this season.

Together they make an extremely solid top six, probably the most consistent in the competition, and few sides will relish the trip to the Zomercomplex.

But equally, the well-balanced attack has the knack of strangling opponents’ batting, with evergreen Suleiman Tariq often bowling ten extremely testing overs of seam first up, overseas Ahmad Shafiq providing accurate spin from the other end, and then Kamal Sajjad and Sikander Zulfiqar continuing the pace attack and Saqib Zulfiqar contributing teasing leg spin.

Should they be needed, Mubashar Hussain, Burhan Niaz and Minhas can all chip in with some useful overs, while Khurram Shahzad stepped up towards the end of last season after the departure of Shafiq and played an important part in Punjab’s taking the title.

Musa and the brothers Zulfiqar are, of course, all former internationals, and one or more of them might well receive a call-up during the summer, especially given the likely unavailability of the national side’s county-contracted players.

And if strength in depth should be needed, the Rotterdammers claimed the championship last year without calling on the reserves they acquired through their merger with Ghausia Feijenoord, although Danish Ateeq, Aon Mohammad Cheema and Bilal Saleem, among others, all played significant roles in the Second XI’s successful season in the Eerste Klasse.

All in all, then, Punjab look in good shape to defend their title, and they should be there or thereabouts when the competition reaches its denouement at the start of August.

2025 Preview 4: Voorburg and HCC

Rod Lyall 19/04/2025

Champions in 2024 and defeated semi-finalists last year, Voorburg will be delighted to welcome back South African Gavin Kaplan, who topped the season’s batting averages with 701 runs at 77.89, hitting four centuries and three fifties in just ten innings.

Given that he also chipped in with 15 wickets at 18.67, he had a strong claim to be the overseas player of the year, and there is no doubt that the Westvliet club missed him sorely in their last five games, when he had returned to South Africa.

He will be joined this year by two Zimbabweans, 30-year-old international Carl Mumba and former Under-19 international Patient Charumbira, the latter making the short journey from HCC.

Mumba, who played 19 times for Zimbabwe across the three formats between 2016 and 2021, will reinforce an already strong Voorburg pace attack, which includes Viv Kingma – whose appearances may well be limited by national team commitments – and the steadily-improving Mees van Vliet, even if fitness problems continue to make Ryan Klein a useful off-spinner rather than one of the competition’s most effective pace bowlers.

Charumbira, too, is a more than useful medium-pacer, as well as a hard-hitting lower order batter.

Another acquisition is 20-year-old Australian Henry Melville, who plays for Melbourne University in the Victorian Premier competition.

A wicketkeeper and useful middle-order bat, Melville will perhaps be competing for the gloves with young Cedric de Lange when skipper Noah Croes is absent on national team duty; gifted behind the stumps, De Lange’s batting showed signs of growing maturity last summer, and with a maiden Topklasse half-century behind him he will be looking to establish his place in the side.

Voorburg have also picked up former national Under-18 captain Udit Nashier, who moves to Westvliet from VRA, where he only bowled six overs of spin in the Topklasse last season and, notably, posted his maiden half-century against the club he is now joining.

The only departure is Stijn de Leede, who has decided to try his luck with Hoofdklasse club Quick Haag this season.

With Michael Levitt (when fit and available), Nehaan Gagani and Nirav Kulkarni in the batting line-up, and Laurens Boissevain and youngsters like Alejo Nota and Tom de Leede also in the squad, Voorburg have enviable strength in depth, which will likely be a crucial factor given the club’s strong representation in the national set-up.

Skipper Croes recognises that restricted availability creates uncertainties, but believes that his squad is strong enough to challenge for a place in the top four, and possibly even head the table in this year’s playoffless competition format.

‘It will be a really interesting year with a format which is very positive for Dutch cricket,’ he says, ‘and the exposure which our younger players gained last year will stand us in good stead.

‘It’s really cool that Gavin Kaplan is coming back, and Henry Melville is a genuine problem-solver, who will adapt well to changing playing surfaces.’

There are big changes at HCC, with none of last year’s three overseas back this year, and an influx of locally-based players to join a new brace of imports.

One of the latter is New Zealander Oliver White, who had the tricky task of replacing Kaplan at Voorburg at the end of last season, but is now back for a full campaign at De Diepput.

Now back with Northern Districts, where he started his career, the left-arm spinning allrounder will be joined at HCC by another member of the Northern Districts squad, South African-born pace bowler Josh Brown.

Brown has broken into ND’s Plunkett Shield side over the Southern Hemisphere summer, and will doubtless slot into the new-ball spot vacated by Adam Leonard.

Equally significant for HCC’s prospects, though, is likely to be the return of Clayton Floyd and Henrico Venter from VRA and HBS respectively: Floyd had a relatively quiet season with VRA last year, but HCC will be hoping that he can return to the sort of form which saw him claim 37 Topklasse wickets in 2021 at a cost of 7.32 apiece.

Venter, who last played for HCC in 2023, has accumulated 60 Topklasse wickets for his three clubs, but had limited opportunities at HBS last year and will be looking for a more significant role following his return to De Diepput.

Other arrivals include youngsters Mark Wolfe and Dinand van Hommel, transferring from ACC and Hermes-DVS respectively, and South African Jayden Peskin, who was Western Province CC’s Most Improved Player for the 2023/24 season.

These seven join the club’s established players, again led by Boris Gorlee, who like Tonny Staal enjoyed only intermittent success last year. Both will be looking to recover something of the form which took them into the Dutch national side a couple of years ago, and which contributed significantly to the side’s Topklasse championship run in 2023.

The same applies to the middle-order contribution with the bat by allrounder Hidde Overdijk, although he remains a very effective member of the pace attack, having claimed 15 wickets last year at 15.88.

Among the younger brigade, Teun Kloppenburg, after a very productive introduction to the top flight in which he hit three successive half-centuries, had a poor run towards the end of last season and will be looking to get back into his best form, and Shirsak Banerjee will also hope to consolidate his place in the top order.

Seamer Teun Leijer’s 17 wickets in his first season at De Diepput was a very promising start, and he will again form part of a traditionally-strong HCC seam attack, alongside Brown, Overdijk and Daniel Crowley, the leading wicket-taker last year with 22 at 25.27.

2025 Preview 3: Hermes and HBS

Rod Lyall 15/04/2025

Newly promoted last season, Hermes-DVS Schiedam could be thoroughly satisfied with their position in the top six, and will be looking to consolidate that achievement in the new campaign.

They will be aided in that endeavour by the acquisition of wicketkeeper-batter Asad Zulfiqar from Punjab-Ghausia – thus splitting up the triplets for the first time since they made their debut for ACC at the age of 15 back in 2012 – and seamer Sahil Kothari, back after a season with ACC.

The arrival of Zulfiqar at Sportpark Harga might mean relatively few games this season for 50-year-old Nick Statham, who kept wicket regularly last year and who needs just three more matches to become the second player to post 500 in the top flight – only René Schoonheim, with 583, has played more.

Kothari, who claimed 18 wickets last year in ACC’s unsuccessful battle to stay up, joins a seam attack which also includes skipper Sebastiaan Braat, brothers Olivier and Ralph Elenbaas, and Niels Woermeijer

Of last year’s overseas, CP Klijnhans will not be returning, but Ashley Ostling is back to resume his prolific opening partnership with Spanish international Daniel Doyle Calle.

Ostling’s 526 runs last season at 43.83 was a big factor in the side’s success, while Doyle’s strike rate of 121.43 put him at the top of the table of quick-scoring batters.

National team commitments will presumably again restrict the appearances of Aryan Dutt, who only played four 50-over matches for Hermes last season, but the spin department will be strengthened by the advent of 24-year-old leg-spinner and Belgian international Dewald Dumon, who played ten T20Is for Belgium last year.

Dumon had a successful season with Eerste Klasse (third-division) club Hercules Utrecht in 2023, claiming 34 wickets at an average of 17.00, and he could form a useful partnership with Dutt when they are both available.

Others who will be vying for a place in the side include another Belgian-based player in Abdul Jabar Jabarkhail, joined this year by leg-spinner Hikmat Jabarkhail, youngsters Sam van Giezen and Rinck van Dam, both of whom made a couple of appearances last year, and such seasonedcampaigners as Zaffar Chaudhary and Roy Numair.

Captain Braat is optimistic about the new campaign: ‘Having gained sixth place in our first year back,’ he says, ‘we’ll be looking for a top-four place this time, although we realise that other clubs have been building their squads over the winter as well.

‘It will be a tough competition, but we have a broad choice of players and we are certainly hoping to build on last year’s achievements.’

HBS Craeyenhout, too, can look back on a relatively successful 2024, but like Hermes will doubtless be conscious of this season’s expansion of the relegation zone.

Tayo Walbrugh, who often skippered the side last year in the absence of Wesley Barresi, takes over the captaincy on a regular basis, and be supported by a strong contingent of fellow South Africans on and off the field.

Lehan Botha returns after making a valuable contribution last season, and will be joined by countrymen Jayden Rossouw and Sellin de Beer, the latter a late replacement for the injured Ruan Terblanche.

Rossouw is a tall off-spinner who has played for both Loughborough University and the Ashby Hastings club in Leicestershire, while de Beer, a graduate of Mpumalanga’s cricket academy, is a young allrounder.

But perhaps the most striking feature of the Crows’ team list is the presence of both Heino Kuhn and Roelof van der Merwe, who bring enormous coaching experience, not to mention quite a bit of the on-field variety to their new roles.

Kuhn, who played four Tests and seven T20Is for South Africa, averaged 56.34 with the bat in four seasons with ACC between 2011 and 2023, and although at 41 he may not appear regularly in the Topklasse side, his presence behind the scenes will be invaluable, not least for promising young wicketkeeper Martijn Scholte and his rival for the gloves, Lucas del Bianco.

And the same is true of Van der Merwe, a few months younger than Kuhn, whose international career with the Proteas extended to 13 ODIs and the same number of T20Is, followed by 18 ODIs and 47 T20Is for the Netherlands as well as very successful stints with Somerset and a dozen T20 franchise teams around the world.

Famously competitive, he has had a hand in several of the Dutch men’s most significant victories, and he is likely to be a powerful force at Craeyenhout.

The attack will again be spearheaded by Botha and, subject to national team commitments, Kyle Klein, whose outstanding start to his international career may well make him one of the first names on Dutch coach Ryan Cook’s team-list.

They will be backed up by De Beer, Benno Boddendijk and, possibly, by Del Bianco, who shed the gloves towards the end of last season and revealed some lively pace and genuine aggression with the ball.

With the spin of Rossouw and Julien de Mey the Crows will have a well-balanced attack, while the top order, with new captain Tayo Walbrugh and his predecessor Wesley Barresi, looks to be good for plenty of runs.

Walbrugh is delighted that he can look for greater involvement of several of Craeyenhout’s old hands, like explosive opener Tobias Visée, seamer Ferdi Vink, and middle-order batter Navjit Singh, all of whom are likely to be available more regularly.

‘The boys are really excited to get going, and it’s an honour and a privilege to have Heino and Roelof as part of the set-up.

We know that they, like Kyle Klein, will have big commitments with the national side, but they will really make a difference.

‘We want to play a quality, positive brand of cricket, and we will need to strike the right balance of youth and experience to make HBS a force, not just this season, but for five or ten years to come.’

2025 Preview 2: Sparta and VOC

Rod Lyall 12/04/2025

No club, perhaps, has undergone as great a transformation over the winter as Sparta 1888, who may find themselves facing an even sharper battle than usual against a return to the Hoofdklasse.

Last year’s leading overseas, Riley Mudford, is not returning, while Will Clarke has moved to Kent club side Bromley and Cameron Fraser, who took 29 wickets last year, has also departed.

Among local players, Faizan Bashir has moved to lower-division club Royal Punjab, and Sandeep Sardha has decided to call it a day.

On the credit side, the Capelle club has signed 30-year-old South African Kyle Klesse and 18-year-old Australian Lukas Boorer; both are wicketkeepers and hence may be vying for Mudford’s place behind the stumps, but Boorer in particular has had a great season with Tuggeranog Valley in the ACT League, including a recent, unbeaten 111 against Western District, and both are likely to command a place in Sparta’s all-too-often fragile top order.

They will also continue to enjoy the services of New Zealander Sam Ferguson, back for a third season, and South African Juandre Scheepers, who topped the side’s run-scoring last year with 419 at 52.38 as well as bowling some useful spells.

Ferguson, moreover, will be joined by elder brother Tim, since both are now living and working in the Netherlands.

Having greatly missed former internationals Mudassar Bukhari and Ahsan Malik from the attack last season, skipper Joost-Martijn Snoep is delighted at the prospect of Malik being more regularly available this time round.

His ability to claim early wickets will add cutting power to a pace attack which also includes Snoep himself, who has now claimed 105 Topklasse wickets at a very respectable 21.92, and the dangerous Khalid Ahmadi, not to mention brothers Max and Tom Hoornweg.

Spin will again be provided by Umar Baker and Manminder Singh, both useful lower-order batters into the bargain.

It is, however, the batting which has often been Sparta’s Achilles heel in the past, and Snoep will be looking for more substantial contributions from Shaquille Martina and young Prithvi Balwantsingh.

Snoep remains optimistic: ‘There’s no team we can’t beat on our day,’ he says, ‘and we’re going to try to win every game.

‘If we play a whole season of good cricket and end up in the bottom two or three or whatever it is now, we’ll be at peace with that.’

VOC Rotterdam similarlycontinue to be something of an enigma, a team which consistently contrives to be less than the sum of its parts.

Compensating for the loss of Edwards and O’Dowd last year by signing four overseas players, they again failed to make it into the top six, although their overseas foursome did top their batting averages and they were handicapped to a degree by a mid-season injury to allrounder Jock McKenzie.

Of the four, only Dutch passport holder Jason van der Meulen is back this season, and he will be looking to build on a promising first season with the club.

He will be joined by 21-year-old New Zealander Scott Janett, who has just broken into the Canterbury side, and the South African Christiaan Oberholzer, who had an outstanding season with Walton on Thames in the Surrey Championship last year.

Both bat right-handed and are leg-break exponents, so the Bloodhounds will be looking to their local talent to supply an effective seam attack.

They will hope for further progress from Aaditt Jain, still only 17, and Roman Harhangi, both of whom did enough last year to suggest that they are genuine prospects, Harhangi’s 5-33 against Sparta one of the side’s best performances of the season.

The two youngsters were well backed up by the veteran Jelte Schoonheim, who has the knack of breaking partnerships as well as playing useful knocks in the lower middle order, while spin is again provided by Aadditt Jain’s elder brother Arnav, just back from captaining the European Under-23 side at Lord’s, Asief Hoseinbaks, last season’s leading wicket-taker for the Bloodhounds, and Ramdas Upadhyaya.

But with Janett and Oberholzer both purveying their leg-spin, skipper Tim de Kok will not be short of options once the shine has gone off the ball.

As with Sparta, though, the real need is for more consistency from the locally-based batters, and De Kok, who had a very disappointing season by his standards, will be looking to raise his own game as well as hoping for more regular contributions from opener Francois Fourie.

Coach Pierce Fletcher, joined this year by former international Stephan Myburgh, also has a cohort of other players he can draw on, including Mussayab Jamil, who showed some promise in his limited opportunities last season, Rohan Malik, and back-up opener Pieter Recordon.

There is no question that if they can put it all together VOC have the potential to move well clear of those two or three relegation spots.

2025 Preview 1: Kampong and Excelsior

Rod Lyall 09/04/2025

Back in the Topklasse after a two-year absence, Kampong Utrecht will be keen to ensure that their stay in the top flight lasts longer this time than their single, Covid-related season in 2022.

Since then, of course, they have acquired the services of internationals Scott Edwards and Max O’Dowd, and if their commitments with the national side are likely to mean that their appearances for Kampong are limited, they will provide plenty of star quality when they do turn out for their club.

The Utrecht side will also have the benefit of the allround skills of Lorenzo Ingram, who has ended his 11-year, 171-match relationship with Excelsior ’20 Schiedam, in which he contributed 5912 Topklasse runs at 44.79 and claimed 221 wickets at 18.21.

Few overseas players have given such long service so profitably, and he is likely to make a significant contribution to Kampong’s drive to stay up; with two automatic relegation spots this year thanks to the KNCB’s reorganisation of the competitions and the side finishing eighth facing a play-off against the Hoofdklasse champions, the safety of a mid-table position will be every club’s first ambition.

The Maarschalkerweerd club will also welcome Western Australian Lane Berry, who had a very successful season with VOC Rotterdam in 2023, when Edwards and O’Dowd were his team-mates, and Kampong will be hoping he can replicate the form which earned him 674 runs at 51.85 for the Bloodhounds.

Also coming from Australia is 25-year-old allrounder Lachlan Bangs, whose left-arm pace will add some fizz to an attack which includes captain Alex Roy, last year’s leading wicket-taker Shashank Kumar, Kirtan Nana, Saurabh Zalpuri and youngster Gert Swanepoel.

Another important contribution to their batting, alongside those of Berry and Ingram, will likely come from South African-born opener Damien van den Berg, whose 566 runs at 35.38 last season made a significant contribution to their Hoofdklasse title and earned him call-ups for the Pro Series and the Dutch A side.

He and O’Dowd could form a strong opening partnership, with wicketkeeper Ratha Alphonse, who returned from HCC last season and also played a significant part in the side’s promotion, a potential stand-in when O’Dowd is on international duty.

With Pierre Jacod and the improving Tushar Sharma providing spin options the core squad looks more than strong enough to challenge for that mid-table spot, and in a season in which reserve capacity is likely to be a crucial factor Kampong have enough talent and experience to go into the campaign with a fair degree of confidence.

With the loss of not only Ingram but also of Victor Lubbers, who returns to Salland after one season at Thurlede, Excelsior ’20 have made two of the most attractive signings of the winter in the person of former South African Test opener Raynard van Tonder and the 25-year-old Belgo-Zimbabwean Antum Naqvi.

Van Tonder, now 26, has had a great first-class season with North West, hitting a century and three fifties in eight innings, and he should bring greater solidity to an Excelsior line-up which showed a disturbing tendency to crumble last year.

The only issue facing the Schiedam club is whether his availability will be affected by his possible selection for South Africa A.

Few players have a more intriguing CV than Naqvi, who was born in Brussels but who grew up in Australia before moving to Zimbabwe, where he made his first-class debut for the Mid West Rhinos in January 2023, scoring centuries in his first two first-class innings.

A right-handed bat and off-break bowler, his allround skills should be invaluable, and Excelsior will be hoping that he proves an outstanding replacement for the departed Ingram.

The attack will again be spearheaded by Australian James Ralston, whose 38 wickets at 14.84 last season was a crucial factor in the side’s avoidance of relegation; not only did his ability to rip the top off opposing batting line-ups give Excelsior a vital edge, but his new-ball partnership with the rapidly-improving Jens Blankestein made a real contribution to the Schiedam club’s future.

Excelsior, too, have joined the movement towards a larger cohort of overseas players, a fourth member of their squad being the South Australian Sam Rahaley.

Part of the Kensington side which has just won the state’s first-grade competition, Rahaley will slot into the middle order at Thurlede, while his off-breaks will provide another option once Ralston, Blankestein and left-armer Niels Etman have exploited the new ball.

The locally-produced contingent is not greatly different from that which brought the trophy to Thurlede three times in four seasons between 2016 and 2019, but it’s fair to say that that youthful cohort has not lived up to the promise its showed back then, and they have greatly missed the leadership of Tom Heggelman in the middle.

The news, therefore, that he will be more involved in coaching this year will be welcomed on Excelsior’s side of Schiedam.

With a plentiful supply of Kroesens – batter and leg-spinners Joost and Luuk, and pace man Gijs – and Van Troosts – pace bowler and useful lower middle-order batter Rens, and emerging batter Stan – there will be some strong competition for a spot in the first-choice eleven.

Skipper Roel Verhagen and his fellow-opener Tim Etman had modest seasons last year, but with less pressure on them given the rejigged top order they will be looking to reassert themselves this time round, and with likely few disruptions from international call-ups Excelsior should have a decent crack at one of those coveted mid-table positions.

KNCB faces pushback on domestic structure overhaul

Bertus de Jong 12/03/2025

The beleaguered KNCB board headed by Guido Landheer will face further tribulation tomorrow, as they look to face down opposition to the overhaul of the domestic one-day competition structure that was announced in January. A number of clubs from various divisions, including Sparta 1888, VRA, Dosti, Hercules, Rood en Wit, Salland CC, VVV, Quick 1888 and Qui Vive among others, moved last month to request a Bijzondere Algemene Ledenvergadering (Special General Members Meeting) to reconsider the proposed changes, and that meeting has been duly scheduled for tomorrow (March 13th).

Perhaps unsurprisingly Hoofdklasse clubs comprise a substantial proportion of the remonstrants, more than half the current competitors in the second division adding their voices to the call. Under the current proposal the Hoofdklasse will see fully half of the current field relegated at the end of the coming season, with five teams dropping down to an enlarged Eersteklasse for 2026, to make room for three relegated Topklasse teams and the promotion of the 2025 Eersteklasse champions.

Speaking on behalf of the clubs appellant, former national team captain and sometime KNCB vice chair Steven Lubbers stressed that the appeal for a BALV was a move of last resort, but the group saw no other option. Lubbers, who has long advocated a broader pyramid with expedited promotion especially at the lower end of the ladder, told TKcricket that the remonstrant clubs felt there were significant deficiencies both in the process and that led to the new structure revealed in January, as well as the outcome.

Lubbers argues that the relegation of half of the Hoofdklasse would leave those clubs in an appreciably weaker position vis-a-vis local councils and rival sports when it came to Topsport subsidies and competition for facilities. Lubbers also echoed an observation which several commentators have raised regarding the board’s proposed promotion/relegation scheme for 2025/26, namely that the absence of any relegation playoffs means that sides in lower divisions enjoy a perverse advantage in jockeying for position for 2026. A team now in the Eersteklasse, for example, need only win that division (effectively placing 21st on the ladder) to win promotion to the Hoofklasse for 2026 while a team starting in the Hoofdklasse would have to place in the top five (essentially 15th in the full rankings) to retain their place.

Lubbers had previously championed and alternate plan which had come to be known as Voorstel Salland, which envisioned broadening the pyramid structure substantially all the way up to the Hoofdklasse, which under the Salland plan would be split into two pools and expanded to 16 or more teams, while lower divisions would also be expanded and slip into more pools – a format which Lubbers argues would both alleviate competitive pressure on clubs while allowing for expedited promotion.

Former VRA chair John Wories, who has played a leading role in the opposition to the new structure, observed in a memo circulated to clubs early last month that “expanded relegation will increase the pressure on clubs for extra reinforcement with foreign players/coaches” further crowding out homegrown youth talent on the field while limiting other expenditure “if only because financial resources would be used for [overseas recruitment] rather than for improving facilities (including grass wickets), strengthening participation and developing (young) players.” Indeed while early indications suggest that we may be on course for record spending on overseas talent for the coming season, at least in the Hoofdklasse. That in and of itself may however generate resistance to the remonstrants’ proposals from clubs that have already invested heavily ahead of what is currently slated to be a cut-throat season.

The remonstrating clubs are arguing for a postponement of any substantial restructure, either maintaining the same format as 2024 for the coming season or, in deference to the difficulty of overhauling the calendar at this late stage, at least postponing the envisaged transition to the planned 2026 structure and the numerous relegations that it would entail. Pointing to perceived deficiencies in the consultative process followed by the KNCB, which saw a nine-member working group headed by Reinout Scholte and Adriaan van der Dries arrive at the current restructure plan, the dissenting clubs propose a new committee be set up to consider the question.

Scholte, KNCB board member with the High Performance portfolio who has acted as point-man for the board on the issue, stepped down last month citing in part the increasingly fractious nature of the controversy, but the board shows little sign of throwing in the towel. Regretting the departure of Scholte, KNCB chair Guido Lanheer said in a previous statement, “The reasons for his departure give rise to thought and reflection on the way we deal with each other within cricket Netherlands. Differences of opinion will always exist, but the way we currently deal with each other and with these differences of opinion does not lead to the best result for cricket Netherlands in our view.”

Speaking to TKcricket, Landheer defended the process that produced the restructure plan, which included wide consultation with clubs across various divisions. While conceding that it was regrettable that the subject could not be discussed at the December ALV (which was busy with other matters), an extra virtual meeting was scheduled in January to address the issue specifically. “There were 45 clubs represented at the January (8th) meeting, and all clubs were afforded the chance to comment up until January 24th.” Landheer said, observing that neither Salland nor VRA did so at the time.

Referring to the alternate proposals first tabled two years ago, Landheer insists they were not dismissed out of hand. “The so-called Voorstel Salland was considered in depth, and several aspects of it have been incorporated into the new structure.” Landheer told Tkcricket, “a broader pyramid, and regionalisation at lower levels, for example, the latter especially has been made easier by the new scheduling software.” Landheer explained. “We’ve sought to give more attention to T20 and recreational cricket, while providing for more predictable and stable scheduling compared to the previous system.” The board is not entirely blind to some of the problems the upheaval expected at the end of the 2025 season may throw up, and aspects of the “Big Bang” transformation are less than ideal as Landheer concedes. “Transition is difficult but it is a necessary investment in the future.”

Following several bruising meetings focusing on the KNCB’s now well-documented financial woes, the board may even be relieved to be back on the familiar ground of wrangling about domestic structures, and it has been noted that the ALV’s role in questions of domestic structure is, constitutionally speaking, purely advisory. Nonetheless it is doubtful that the board will be afforded an easy time of it tomorrow, though with the first ball of the season now just weeks away it is late in the day to be changing course…

Finals Day Preview

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 12/09/2024

It seems a very short time ago that the Topklasse campaign got under way, and in a way it was, the T20 Cup having delayed the start of the 50-over competition until the end of May. Yet here we are, with autumn beginning to assert itself, and the final matches of an all-too-short cricket season once more with us. At this stage the forecast for Saturday is decidedly promising, so we can look forward to some excellent cricket to grace the competition’s denouement.

RL: If Punjab-Ghausia and VRA Amsterdam are able to produce a grand final anything like the semi-final they fought out a fortnight ago, neutral fans of the Topklasse could be in for a treat – and supporters of the two teams for a very tense afternoon. Whether it comes soon after 11 o’clock or at the start of the chase, the battle between VRA’s new-ball pairing of Ben Fletcher and Elijah Eales on the one hand, and Jonathan Vandiar (deployed these days as a pinch-hitting opener), Shoaib Minhas and Musa Ahmad is likely to be decisive. If those three can lay solid foundations, Punjab will be very favourably placed, with Mohsin Riaz and Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar to follow. Then it will be up to the Amsterdammers’ spin quartet of Shariz Ahmad, Clayton Floyd, Leon Turmaine and Udit Nashier, backed up by the seam of Sharad Hake and Vikram Singh, to limit the damage.

On the other side, the Punjab attack is equally challenging, if somewhat less incisive. Khurram Shahzad has done a great job since replacing Ahmad Shafiq in the side, and his new-ball combination with veteran Sulaiman Tariq is capable of applying real pressure to VRA’s rather hit-and-miss top three of Demari Prince, Shirase Rasool and Singh. Singh, though, is capable of taking any attack apart, and VRA then have the potential trump card of Johan Smal, their leading run-scorer with 476 runs at 47.60, coming in at four. Thereafter it’s down to the allrounders: Shariz, Floyd, Eales and Nashier, and it’s a question how well they would deal with the seam of Sajjad Kamal, Sikander Zulfiqar and Burhan Niaz, not to mention Minhas’ more-than-useful spin. They did, it is true, make 265 in the semi-final, but events proved that at the Zomercomplex that is not necessarily enough.

It’s a toss-up (not, hopefully, in the sense that the toss operated in the Bos last Saturday), but if I had to call it I’d probably give the edge to Punjab – but only just!

BdJ: With so little separating the two finalists across the season, it is indeed hard to look past home advantage as a potentially decisive factor for the climactic fixture of the 2024 season. With its short boundaries and lush outfield there’s sometimes a tendency for games at the Zomercomplex to devolve into slogging contests, though Shoaib Minhas showed last week the value of getting your eye in before teeing off (not recklessly). Batting against his favoured opposition (having made at least 50 every time he’s faced VRA this season) Minhas saw off 20-odd deliveries before striking his first boundary on the way to what proved a decisive run-a-ball ton, a notable contrast to the more ebullient Vikram Singh, who went hard from the get go, hitting as many sixes as Minhas on the day but precious little else.

Singh remains a potential match-winner of course, but the visitors will likely need him to spend longer in the middle (and ideally arrive there a little later) if they’re to get to a winning score. What exactly a winning total might be be is hard to know what might be enough at the Zomercomplex of course, though Punjab have only been asked to chase 260+ twice on their home ground this season and both times it was a near-run thing.

One intriguing sub-plot for the day will will be the goings on back at VRA’s home-ground, where the two clubs’ second teams will meet in the Eersteklasse final as their respective first XIs contend for the Topklasse title. The Amstelveen faithful will doubtless recall that the last time the VRA 2s won promotion was back in 2011, the same season as first team were last crowned Topklasse Champions. A chance then either for history to repeat itself, or for Punjab to claim that rare double success.

RL: There’s another re-match, of course, in the Hoofdklasse, though this time with a change of venue, Quick Haag having earned the right to host the grand final with their surprise semi-final win over Kampong Utrecht. Kampong have revealed an unwanted vulnerability with the bat in the past couple of weeks, not only with their dismissal for 155 by Quick but also by slumping from 116 for two to 150 for eight against Salland last Saturday. The fact remains, though, that their top four of Max O’Dowd, Ratha Alphonse, Damien van den Berg and Scott Edwards, Kampong have an enviable line-up, while Shashank Kumar, Alex Roy and Co. demonstrated against Salland that they will take advantage of any sign of weakness in opposing batters. Quick, through, looked firmly in command chasing a modest target in the semi-final, Daan Vierling guiding his side to victory, and this time they will have the advantage of playing on their all-astroturf home ground at Nieuw Hanenburg. Their overseas, Nathan Crudeli and Regan Sheahan, are likely to again play a key role, but you have to think that with a place in next year’s Topklasse at stake, Kampong’s superiority on paper will this time be transferred onto the field.

BdJ: A showdown with Quick Haag may be becoming something of a rite of passage for aspiring promotees to the Topklasse, and even if Jeroen Brand’s veterans had no stated ambition to win their way back to the top flight this season they’ll doubtless be delighted to spoil Kampong’s expected ascension and go mix it with the big boys for another season or two. At least three factors will be playing in their favour on Saturday; the first of course is experience, the second home advantage, and the third the comparative lack of pressure on a side for most of whom another stint back in the Topklasse would likely be something of a last hurrah regardless.

Conversely the pressure on Kampong seemed to translate directly into nerves last week, especially for the younger members of a side for whom promotion was very much part of the plan this season. With Edwards and O’Dowd in the top order Kampong hardly lack for experienced big game players of course, and the fact remains that on paper they remain the stronger side. Yet it’s worth noting that both of Kampong’s wins over Quick this season were set up by big scores from either O’Dowd or Edwards, and if either or both were to fail on Saturday Quick still have the resources to pile on some serious pressure.

While Brand, Vierling, Stokkers, Mol and van Gigch may have more collective years under their belts than the TK team combined, there’s little sign that any of them are interested in a dignified retirement just yet. They’ve provided consistent support with the bat for Crudeli and Sheahan, and it’s really in the bowling department that Quick look outgunned in this match-up. In Kumar, Jacon, Swanepoel and Roy Kampong have four bowlers collectively averaging less than 13, while Crudeli and Brand are the only frontline Quick bowlers averaging under 20. In short, Quick will be counting in part on pressure to do the job of taking wickets for them, and the Hoofklasse title still looks like it’s Kampong’s to lose.

RL’s picks: Punjab, Kampong.
BdJ’s picks: VRA, Kampong.

Qualifying Finals Preview

Bertus de Jong and Rod Lyall 07/09/2024

Just two games to go in this year’s Topklasse, three teams still in the running to claim the title. Punjab Rotterdam, having looked increasingly dominant all season, were tested to the limit by VRA last week but clung on for a one-wicket win to claim their place in next week’s Grand Final, along with hosting rights at the Zomercomplex. VRA will have to bounce back quickly from that disappointment if they’re to see off defending champions Voorburg at the Amsterdamse Bos on Sunday in this week’s eliminator semi-final and book a place in the final at the second attempt.

Meanwhile at the business end of the Hoofklasse champions-presumptive Kampong suffered a shock defeat to Quick Haag in the first semi-final, and will now have to face off against a resurgent Salland in the second to book a place in the final at Nieuw Hanenburg.

BdJ: League phase runners-up VRA owe their double shot at a place in the final in large part to the strength of their bench, with sometime second-teamers such as Luke Scully, Leon Turmaine, and Thomas Iles stepping up more than ably when injury or national duty deprived the Amsterdammers of first choice players. Similarly Johan Smal has again proved an able stand-in captain with Teja Nidamanuru sidelined for most of the season. Their most significant challenge on Saturday may simply be coming back from such an agonising loss at the Zomercomplex, having come so close to earning a week off and a home final. VRA have not lost a game at home since mid July, though it should be noted that owing to the vagaries of the schedule they’ve only played two matches at the Bos in that time. Nonetheless they’ve battled their way to the final three in impressive fashion, newcomer Ben Fletcher has proved as effective a spearhead as his new-ball predecessors at the Bos, such as Fred Klaassen and Quirijn Gunning, and one wouldn’t bet against the left arm seamer following them in donning the orange. The slow-bowling section of course already boasts a couple of current internationals, Shariz Ahmad and Clayton Floyd, along with the stalwart Turmaine and promising Udit Nashier comprising arguably the strongest spin attack in the competition. The somewhat hit-and-miss top order (Smal excepted) is perhaps also a concern as while VRA can bat as deep as 9 or 10, they often line up with just three or four players for whom batting is their primary discipline, and Smal is the only one with an average north of fifty this season.

Voorburg by contrast boast three, though top-scorer Gavin Kaplan has now of course returned to South Africa. Compounding the loss of Kaplan, pace spearhead Viv Kingma remains in doubt owing to a heel injury, while leggie Flip Boissevain – the stand-out in VCC win over HCC in the eliminator last week – has headed back to New Zealand. VCC don’t have the depth of experience on the bench that VRA can call upon, but youngsters such as Cedric de Lange and Alejo Nota have at times played crucial roles when needed, not least in that win against HCC. Of course one might argue that Voorburg will be under extra pressure come Saturday after taking the call to prioritise the Topklasse title defense last week and call up the pair to the firsts again, leaving their weakened seconds to fend for themselves in a relegation showdown away at Dosti, which would cost them their place in the Hoofklasse. Despite the return of Michael Levitt and Ryan Klein from international commitments it’s likely VCC will be fielding a smattering of youngsters again come Saturday, though they will be more seasoned now than at the beginning of the summer. Should VCC win through to the final again this season, it will be thanks in no small part to the efforts of those youngsters. That said VRA won comfortably when last the two met, even if conditions at the Bos are unlikely to provide quite the same assistance to VRA’s spinners as that Westvliet deck, though given Boissevain’s absence and VRA’s wealth of slow-bowling options they may be tempted to prepare something similar, weather permitting.

RL: These sides last met in the 50-over finals in 2021, and such is the whirligig of time that only half-a-dozen players from that game (at most) are likely to play on either side in this one. On that occasion Voorburg won before going on to lose to Punjab in the grand final, so both sides will be hoping that there is a different outcome this year. Among the VRA top order Vikram Singh’s appearances have of course been limited by international commitments, and his 304 runs so far at 38.00, with a couple of half-centuries, represent a reasonable rather than outstanding return. He batted at three last week – now, seemingly, his normal position in the national side – to allow room for Demari Prince and Shirase Rasool to open, although it must be acknowledged that neither has had a stellar season in that role. The shaky top order is compensated, though, by the value of Shariz Ahmad, and at times Clayton Floyd, further down. For the visitors, the emergence of Ryan Klein as a middle-order batter has been one of the season’s more significant features, and what may have been at first a response to his absence from the attach has turned into a real asset, potentially for the Dutch side as well as for Voorburg. The other returnees, Levitt and Croes, could of course prove to be trump cards, and Levitt actually contributed more with the ball against HCC than he did with the bat. Both are capable of batting VRA out of the game, and the Amsterdammers will need to get them early if they are to advance to a rematch against Punjab-Ghausia.

BdJ: Down in the Hoofdklasse Kampong’s apparent procession to promotion was dramatically arrested at Maarschalkerweerd last week by the veterans of Quick Haag, the dogged efforts of national skipper Scott Edwards in vain as the rest of the Kampong batting line-up (Damien van den Berg’s entertaining early hitting excepted) wilted under pressure. To secure a rematch with Quick they’ll first have to get past Salland, who despite only managing a fourth-place finish in the league phase could be a tricky proposition should Kampong produce another such a batting performance. Yet while Salland’s bowling attack has been their principal strength this season – German left-arm spinner Akhil Gopinath currently leading the Hoofdklassse wicket-taking tally by some distance – they took a fair drubbing the last time they had to bowl at a full strength Kampong line-up. Meanwhile Salland themselves have passed 200 only once this season, and indeed have barely made 200 for 20 wickets across their two matches against Kampong. In short, both on paper and precedent Salland will be massive underdogs when they head to Maarschalkerweerd, with little but momentum in their favour. That said, pressure can do funny things, and there will only be one side under any kind of pressure on Saturday.

RL: All of the above. Further, Salland’s capacity for dramatic batting collapses extends back into their recent Topklasse experience as well: they only managed to top 200 three times in sixteen attempts in 2023, and that was with the now-departed Victor Lubbers in the side. As far as Kampong’s sub-par effort against Quick is concerned, the tone was set by the dismissal of Max O’Dowd off the third ball of the game, followed by that of Ratha Alphonse two overs later, and Salland will do extremely well to replicate that sort of start. The fact that the match is to be played at Thurlede (the football season having made Maarschalkerweerd unavailable) will doubtless encourage the bowlers on both sides, a not-insignificant factor for Kampong, who will have been disturbed by the inability of their attack to make much impression on Quick’s top order. The switch of venue means extra travelling for the side from Overijssel (and points east), but they will no doubt think that worth it if they are able to pull off another surprise and give themselves a shot at an early return to the top flight.

BdJ’s picks: VRA, Kampong

RL’s picks: Voorburg, Kampong.

Preview Round 15

And so we reach the sharp end, with four teams chasing the title, not only in the Topklasse, but in the Hoofdklasse and Eerste Klasse as well. The winner of the Hoofdklasse will, of course, be playing in the Topklasse next year, so we shall be devoting some attention to that issue as well over the next three weeks. Not forgetting entirely this Sunday’s final round in the Topklasse Relegation Pool, where ACC will be trying to bid farewell to the top flight, for now at any rate, with a third successive victory.

RL: The first semi-final has been given additional interest by the way in which VRA demolished HCC in their crucial game last Sunday. If their attack can produce that sort of form again this week they could put pressure on a Punjab top order which has been instrumental in taking their side to the top of the table and keeping them there. Despite Jonathan Vandiar’s boundary-packed knock there was a definite wobble against a depleted Voorburg attack at the Zomercomplex last week, and although Punjab proved that they bat deep, not even needing skipper Sikander Zulfiqar to come to the crease, and indeed their line-up will be strengthened by the return of his triplet brother Saqib, VRA, too, will be reinforced by Vikram Singh and Shariz Ahmad. It’s the pace attack of Ben Fletcher, Elijah Eales and perhaps Ashir Abid, however, which is capable of putting the home side under early pressure, with Shariz, Clayton Floyd and Leon Turmaine to turn the screw later on. Vandiar, however, is always a threat, not to mention Shoaib Minhas and Musa Ahmad, and Punjab’s attack, nagging rather than explosive, will make life as difficult as possible for their visitors’ talented batting.

BdJ: The shoulder niggle that kept Saqib on the bench for the Dutch is likely to mean he’ll be playing principally as a bat, though against a full strength VRA Punjab will likely be glad of the extra depth. VRA were likewise at full strength when last the two met at the Zomercomplex early in the second phase of course, notably also the occasion of the Amsterdammers’ most recent defeat. Nonetheless they do look the side most likely to test Punjab’s batting, with no obvious weak link in the attack and wicket-taking options galore. Punjab have yet to lose a game at home this season however, which in and of itself should be plenty of motivation for VRA to break the streak and secure a home final.

RL: Voorburg’s defence of their title has just about survived the loss of their internationals and outstanding overseas player Gavin Kaplan, and they will be able to welcome the former, at least, back into the side when they take on HCC at De Diepput on Sunday. The Lions will need to put up a much more convincing display with the bat than they managed in the Bos last week, especially if the Voorburg attack features Viv Kingma and/or Ryan Klein. It was the champions’ batting which suffered most in recent weeks, though, and the return of Michael Levitt, Noah Croes and batting allrounder Klein will add the solidity which has been lacking during phase two. Apart from the departure of Conor McInerney HCC do not have the excuse of physical absence to explain last Sunday’s lapse, and they will have to find a good deal more resolution if they are to see off a potentially resurgent Voorburg and keep their own title hopes alive.

BdJ: If the VCC attack does feature Kingma it’ll be a minor medical miracle – the heel issue that kept him out of the Dutch side expected to keep him on the sidelines at least until the final, should Voorburg make it that far. Similarly if Klein does bowl it’ll likely be the offspin he’s been sending down of late, admittedly with decent reward. That said the return of the international contingent will provide a welcome boost to the batting, and a timely one too as there’s a good chance the VCC seconds’ relegation showdown with Dosti will see a fair few occasional first-teamers headed to Drieburg. Whether HCC are in a position to capitalise on the defending champions’ resource-allocation dilemma is open to question though, certainly it’ll take a better showing than what they put up at VRA last week however tough the conditions.

RL: The inevitability of relegation seems to have had a liberating effect on ACC, and especially on Ben van der Merwe, whose two most significant 50-over innings have guided the side to victory in their last two games. It would be a remarkable, if ultimately fruitless, achievement were they to make it three in a row against Excelsior ’20 on Sunday, but beneath those wins is the more disquieting truth that the club’s home-grown players seem still to be out of their class in the top flight. The crop of youngsters they have been trying out in the back half of the campaign may be better able to find their feet in the Hoofdklasse, and that will be vital for the long-term future of the club. Excelsior’s local players have scarcely been more successful, even those who were in championship-winning sides not so long ago, and the Schiedammers’ dependence on Ingram, Mitchell and Ralston for such success as they have had should be giving rise to almost as much concern at Thurlede as there will (or should) be at Het Loopveld.

BdJ: Indeed it’s notable that aside from the overseas, Excelsior’s most valuable player with bat and ball this season has been the newly-arrived Victor Lubbers – a fortuitous acquisition from Salland. While the Schiedammers never looked in real danger of relegation this season, there’s certainly good reason to worry how sustainable their position in the top flight will be if their local contingent continues to regress. For ACC a stint in the Hoofdklasse may be salutary, but they need only look across the water for a reminder that even survival in the second tier is far from guaranteed.

RL: VOC Rotterdam will top the Relegation Pool regardless of the result of their final match against Sparta 1888 at the Hazelaarweg, but they will doubtless be keen to end their season in winning vein. For their opponents, beaten by ACC last week, a final victory is perhaps even more necessary in terms of morale, and both clubs will be keen to see their overseas contingents perform effectively as they bid farewell to a disappointing season. The Bloodhounds have at least had valuable contributions from the Jain brothers, Asief Hoseinbaks and Jelte Schoonheim, while Roman Harhangi and continues to show potential, but for Sparta the only real local compensation has come from skipper Martijn Snoep, and the fact that he only bowled one over last week was undoubtedly a key factor in their defeat.

BdJ: Another season where Sparta owe their survival largely to Snoep and the foreign contingent, (be the from the other side of the globe or a little closer to home in the case of Belgium’s Khalid Ahmadi). Sint Maarten’s Shaquille Martina was the only Dutch national to pass fifty for the Spartans this season, and Umar Baker the only local bar the chairman to take ten or more wickets. For VOC the season’s highlights have mostly come in the form of successfully staging internationals rather than any on-field efforts by the first team, and while they’d doubtless like to sign off with a final home win one suspects both sides at Hazelaarweg will be happy enough to put this season behind them.

RL: With just one 50-over defeat all season (at the hands of Hercules Utrecht), Kampong Utrecht have dominated the round-robin phases, and they will be delighted to welcome back internationals Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards for the denouement. They’ve already beaten Quick Haag twice, by 111 runs and by eight wickets, and by comparison with many sides in the top divisions they have a healthy crop of locally-based younger players, led by skipper Alex Roy. But their leading run-scorer has been South African-born, Dutch-qualified 19-year-old batter Damien van den Berg, ably supported by New Zealander Ben Pomare, while the bowling has been dominated by Shashank Kumar, whose 35 wickets so far have come at an average cost of 9.60. Quick’s side still features many of those who played when the club was last in the top flight, such as Geert Maarten Mol, Lesley Stokkers, Jeroen Brand and Bobby van Gigch, but they owe their second spot on the table in large measure to Western Australian allrounder Nathan Crudeli, who has made 387 runs and taken 33 wickets so far. He is backed up by Canterbury left-hander Regan Sheahan, and these two will need to be at their best if Quick are to upset Kampong at Maarschalkerweerd on Sunday.

BdJ: Given Kampong’s dominance this season, recording just a single loss despite missing Edwards and O’Dowd for half their fixtures, it’s fair to say it would take an almighty choke for them to stumble at the penultimate hurdle on Sunday (though preferable to doing so in the final of course). They saw off Quick’s veterans easily enough in their two regular season encounters, and though age does not seem to have wearied Quick’s old guard they don’t look to have an answer to the firepower a full strength Kampong can muster these days. Even without their two Dutch internationals the roster at Maarschalkerweerd would be the envy of several Topklasse clubs, and should Quick succeed in interrupting the apparent procession to the title it would be the upset of the round.

RL: Bloemendaal haven’t featured in the top division since 1990, but third place in the league phase this season has given them an outside chance of making a surprise return. They lost at home to Salland by seven wickets in July, but had their revenge with a six-wicket victory in Deventer a fortnight later, so this could be a very interesting battle. The improved fortunes at the Donkerelaan have been achieved in large part through the contributions of three Pretoria-based South Africans, Dihan Bekker, Keagan Thiele and Luca Balducci, and well as Portugal’s – yes, you read that right – Francoise Stoman, and the side is led by another South African, Karl Marais, now living in the Netherlands. His 419 runs hat 52.88 have also made a big difference to Bloemendaal’s success this year, while veteran Masood Khan and former Dutch international Quirijn Gunning have contributed usefully with the ball. Salland, of course, played in the Topklasse in 2023, and they still rely on their contingent of German-based players, including Venkat Ganesan, Talha Ahmed Khan, Akhil Gopinath and Acelan Pruss.

BdJ: Dutch domestic cricket as a destination competition for continental European talent is one of the less remarked-upon stories of recent years, and indeed it’s increasingly rare to come across sides at the European Championships that don’t have at least a couple of players with a season or two in the Netherlands under their belts. Salland of course are an extreme example in this regard, to the point that the first team’s reliance on talent from across the eastern border ought to be a point of concern, though there’s no question the German contingent is a substantial asset on the field. With Bloemendaal likely to be understrength come Sunday, Gunning amongst those in doubt due to injury, there’s every chance Salland could leapfrog them into the semis – just two wins away from an unlikely Topklasse return.

RL’s picks: Punjab, Voorburg, Excelsior, VOC; Kampong, Bloemendaal.

BdJ’s picks: VRA, HCC, Excelsior, Sparta; Kampong, Salland.

Preview Round 14

Bertus de Jong and Rod Lyall 23/08/2024

With one and a half rounds of league play remaining, the race for the knockouts reaches a climax this weekend even as the now-redundant relegation pool trudges on through an extended epilogue. The lower half of the table is effectively settled from a competitive standpoint, with ACC’s relegation confirmed despite them finally recording their first win of the season last week, but there remain five teams in contention for the four playoff spots, with only Hermes DVS out of contention in the championship pool.

BdJ: At the top of the table Punjab-Ghausia are already certain of a spot in the next phase and barring an utterly calamitous loss to Voorburg on Sunday (and bad luck with other results to boot)are essentially assured of a place in the top two and the double shot at the Grand Final that goes with it. The same cannot be said of their opponents, who are at risk of being pushed out of the top four by HBS, whom they currently lead only by virtue of a better net run rate. VCC’s youngsters have put up a creditable showing in the absence of their international contingent, but even with Oliver White reinforcing they look outmatched by a Punjab side that’s only accelerating into the home stretch. Punjab will be missing Saqib Zulfiqar owing to a call-up for the T20Is, but Ryan Klein has also been recalled to the national camp and VCC’s resources are already stretched thin. Facing off against a near full strength Punjab away at the Zomercomplex, the defending champions will likely need a favour from Hermes if they’re to keep their hopes of retaining the title alive.

RL: The roots of Voorburg’s situation actually go back to last winter, with the departure of Musa and Shariz Ahmad to Punjab and VRA respectively, followed by the loss of Karl Nieuwoudt and then Syband Engelbrecht. With the absence of the national squad, that means that just three of last season’s grand final side will likely be playing on Sunday, enough to stretch the resources of the healthiest clubs. It’s a huge ask, even without the distraction of the second team’s relegation-avoiding battle in the Hoofdklasse. Punjab, on the other hand, have a settled squad which has been strengthened by the arrival of Musa and of keeper Fawad Shinwari, and although they have shown occasional signs of vulnerability, their hard-hitting top order and balanced attack have made them deserving leaders for most of the competition. At this stage they are favourites, not only to go into the play-offs with guaranteed home advantage, but to claim their second national title.

BdJ: For Hermes DVS it’s mission accomplished, given that just staying up was their primary goal for the season. They’ve a chance to act as spoilers for HBS Craeyenhout at the Loopuyt on Sunday though, with the Crows likely needing a win to leapfrog VCC into the top four. Even without Daniel Doyle Calle (still on Spanish duty) the Hermes top order looked on their way to a decent score last week at de Diepput, Murid Ekrami filling the DDC role impressively, before falling away at the back of the innings. Against an HBS line-up missing both their overseas and internationals (though skipper Wes Barresi may return even if not fully fit) Hermes have every chance of signing off their return season with a win. For the Crows it’s a must-win rather than a would-be-nice match though, and expect them to fight hard for the points they need.

RL: We’ve all been impressed by the determination shown by Hermes when it’s really mattered, and while from their point of view there may not be a great deal rising on this final competitive match of the season, they have the opportunity to end their campaign on a high. But for the Crows this is a make-or-break conclusion to the league phase: they will have one eye on events at the Zomercomplex no doubt, but they will know that only a win will give them the ch ance to squeeze into the top four. The return of Barresi would be a huge bonus, but they have others, too, who are capable of crafting victory in what promises to be a very close game. But they probably miss Kyle Klein more than Hermes have been missing Aryan Dutt, and Hermes’ seam attack is a potent force.

BdJ: Meanwhile at the Amsterdamse Bos VRA vs HCC looks like a de-facto quarter final, with the winner overwhelmingly likely to claim the runner-up spot in the league phase (or just possibly top the table). VRA currently trail the Lions by 2 points, but with a superior net run rate are set to leapfrog them into the top two should they win. HCC are at least safe from the risk of slipping out of the top four altogether, while VRA aren’t quite assured of their final four spot yet. They’ll have the services of Clayton Floyd again at the weekend, released from national duty as the T20Is roll around, even if the southpaw was rather outshone by the stalwart Leon Turmaine at Westvliet last week. Vikram Singh and Shariz Ahmad remain with the Oranje, but the Amsterdammers’ bench strength has stood them in good stead thus far. Daniel Doram’s brief cameo for HCC comes to an end however, and the Lions will again look to their rather mercurial core of Staal, Gorlee and Overdijk, perennially overlooked by the national selectors to the benefit of the Diepput faithful. How well that rather mercurial trio go at the Bos will likely go a long way to deciding who takes the points and the podium finish on Sunday.

RL: Game of the day, no question, not only because of its significance for the semi-finals, but also because it pits against each other two sides with something of a Jekyll-and-Hyde character. HCC have been rather more consistent than VRA, particularly in the latter part of the season, but both are capable of producing very strong performances. And HCC have a much more settled side, nine of their players having appeared in 11 or more matches compared with VRA’s three. That is, of course, partly the result of national team commitments (and the Nidamanuru injury), but it also reflects both the depth of the Amsterdammers’ pool and a degree of uncertainty about the best combination. Winners in 2022 and runners-up last season, HCC also have a lot more experience of such high-pressure culminations to the competition, and strong as the home side’s team may be on paper, that may well count for a good deal on Sunday.

BdJ: Down in the now recreational relegation pool, Excelsior ‘20 will play their final home fixture when they welcome VOC Rotterdam to Thurlede, the Bloodhounds coming off the back of a surprise defeat to the already-relegated ACC while Excelsior are looking to bounce back from defeat to Sparta on the gaffer-taped Bermweg pitch last week. The Schiedammers will doubtless hope to give their home fans something to cheer for after a disappointing season, though like their opponents they’ll probably be relying on their overseas to deliver it if the past summer’s anything to go by.

RL: There was a lack of conviction about VOC last week which no doubt reflects the fact that the only accolade left to play for is Best of the Rest, a title which Excelsior could still take from them with strong performances in their last two games. Net run rate as well as a two-point gap still favour the Rotterdammers, but it’s Excelsior who play ACC in the last round, and in this battle between two teams which have often amounted to less than the sum of their parts, it may be Roel Verhagen’s outfit which is more motivated. VOC, on the other hand, still have four overseas players to rely on rather than Excelsior’s two, and that might be enough to get them over the line.

BdJ: Finally ACC have the first of their two valedictory home games as they take leave of the top flight, with Sparta 1888 taking a trip to ‘t Loopveld for the last time in some time. Ben van der Merwe’s near-faultless match-winning century against VOC last week after an utterly wretched season serves as something of a pars pro toto for the team’s efforts so this summer, and one fears that some significant changes are needed at the club if they’re to avoid following their neighbours-across-the-water Dosti-United into competitive oblivion (AKA the Eerste Klasse). Sparta meanwhile are in comparatively good spirits having survived another season in the top flight and finished their home schedule on a high, and while they’ve only managed one win away from home thus far they’re favourites to double that tally on Sunday.

RL: There will be time enough over the winter to reflect on the longer-term malaise which affects not only ACC and Dosti but much of Dutch domestic cricket, and the measures which need to be taken to counter it. In the meantime, credit should be given to Anis Raza’s side for having found the steel which earned them their first win last week, not only through Van der Merwe’s fine innings and the support he received from the admirable Izhaan Sayed, but for the way in which they resisted the temptation once again to falter in the home straight. They will hope to do the same against Sparta on Sunday, but that will require them to neutralise the threat posed by Cameron Fraser, Martijn Snoep and Khalid Ahmadi. Sparta will start as favourites, but having won once, ACC will be out to prove that that wasn’t just a flash in the pan.

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

RL’s picks: Punjab, Hermes, HCC, VOC, Sparta.