Category: Review

Rotterdam see off Kampong; Rushmere does it again

Rod Lyall 14/06/26

Not, perhaps, since the heyday of the legendary Nolan Clarke has the Dutch competition seen a player with the determination to post really big scores and both the skill and temperament to do so on a fairly regular basis, as Hermes’ David Rushmere is proving himself to be.

Having announced his arrival with 169 on the season’s opening day, Rushmere had a run of low scores before rediscovering his form with 118 (out of a total of 188) against Rotterdam last week.

And on Saturday he was at it again, producing a 124-ball 167 as Hermes chased VRA’s imposing 313 for eight and getting his side to within 38 runs of their opponents’ total.

The VRA innings was built on a third-wicket stand of 192 between Sam Cassidy and skipper Teja Nidamanuru, which enabled them to recover from a perilous 14 for two; Cassidy eventually fell for 103, but Nidamanuru continued to his own hundred – remarkably, his first in the Topklasse – before being dismissed for 104 as the Amsterdammers pushed on towards 300.

He eventually became one of four victims for Ralph Elenbaas, at a cost of 71 runs, but quick-fire cameos from Jack Cassidy and Udit Nashier took them past that milestone.

Opening in place of the absent Daniel Doyle-Calle, Rushmere saw his side slump to 43 for three, all three wickets grabbed by Sharad Hake, before he found a partner in stand-in skipper Nick Statham, who contributed 51 as the pair put on 117 for the fourth wicket, bringing Hermes back into the game.

Once Statham had departed Rushmere again watched as wickets fell steadily at the other end, but he continued the pursuit almost single-handed, going past his 150 and hitting a succession of boundaries before he was the last to fall, caught off Nidamanuru as he attempted another six to go with the 17 fours and six sixes he had already struck.

The defeat left Hermes still at the foot of the table, but they could derive some consolation from the fact that their rivals in the relegation battle, VOC and HBS, both also lost.

VOC’s 13-run defeat by Voorburg was the outcome of a seesawing battle at Westvliet, where the home side recovered from 52 for four to post 238 for seven, thanks mainly to Michael Rippon’s 69 and Don Glover’s 71, and the fifth-wicket partnership of 133 they shared.

Tom de Leede chipped in with an unbeaten 39, ensuring that VOC would need their highest total of the season to take the points.

Tim de Kok made 44 and Jason van der Meulen 38 when they replied, but at 145 for six they were again in trouble, and only a stand of 51 between Ahsan Malik (29) and Asief Hoseinbaks (27) took them to within striking distance of their target.

Then Jaynul Islam removed both in the same over, and Waseem Mohsen ended the innings, finishing with four for 41 as VOC were all out for 225.

At De Diepput, outside title contenders HCC were too strong for HBS, dismissing them for 178 and chasing down their target for the loss of just two wickets.

Kent Goedeke (41) and Lucas del Bianco (60 not out) were the mainstay of the HBS innings, while Josh Brown and Justin Trijzelaar were again the most effective of the Lions’ attack, taking three for 37 and three for 43 respectively.

Tonny Staal and Shirsak Banerjee gave HCC a bright start, and once they had gone Zac Worden and Boris Gorlee finished the job with an unbroken stand of 103, Worden ending on 46 not out and Gorlee hitting a 50-ball, unbeaten 70, which included seven fours and four sixes, taking their side home with more than 15 overs to spare.

The top-of-the-table clash between Kampong and Rotterdam was reduced to 38 overs a side after overnight rain, Sikander Zulfiqar’s side reinforcing their position as leaders with an emphatic 49-run victory.

They, too, started badly, Shirsak Kumar and Lachlan Bangs reducing them to 21 for three, but they were rescued, first by Shoaib Minhas and Abdul Rehman Niazi (37), and then by Minhas and Saqib Zulfiqar.

Minhas eventually fell for 61, but Saqib stayed to the end, making an unbeaten, 34-ball 50 as Rotterdam reached 197 for eight.

This always looked likely to be too much for Kampong, and although Bangs made 59 before he was run out, the defending champions were all out for 148.

Voorburg’s narrow win keeps them within a point of Rotterdam, although with a greatly inferior net run rate, with HCC and Kampong a further two points behind.

In the lower half of the table, VRA have somewhat eased their concerns about relegation, although only three points separate VRA in fifth spot from Hermes at the bottom, with HBS and VOC also in the danger area, and four rounds remaining.

Preview Round 10

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall

Distractions abound this weekend as we push further toward the business end of the Topklasse season; the Netherlands women’s team are set to return to the global stage for the first time since before the ICC ran women’s world cups, the men’s team are in Canada for their ongoing CWC League 2 engagement, and we’re told there’s even some soccer happening. That’s all none of our business here at TK of course, except insofar as the men’s team being forced to endure King City for another week continues to unevenly affect availability for our four fixtures on Saturday.

BdJ: Arguably the most significant result arguably attributable in part to the national team’s absence was VOC’s upset win over an understrength Kampong last weekend, and the defending champions will again be without their skipper and two senior bats when they take on frontrunners Rotterdam at Maarschalkerweerd on Saturday looking to reclaim the lead. Without Roy, Edwards and O’Dowd the hosts will start as underdogs against a Rotterdam side that boast four bats averaging well north of 40. Of available Kampong bats, only Pierre Jacod is averaging over 30 this season, and the off-spinning all-rounder will likely have a key role to play with the ball too if the defending champions are to stage an upset.

RL: Rotterdam don’t need any assistance from the national selectors to take the field brimming with confidence against any team in the competition, and although they have suffered the odd aberration, their batting line-up is one of the most powerful ever assembled in the Dutch top flight. But the bowling, while it attracts less attention, is also formidable, especially in the spin department. Apart from a bag of six against Hermes early on, Carl Mumba has perhaps been a less incisive spearhead than Rotterdam may have hoped, but Ahmed Shafiq, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shoaib Minhas, Musa Ahmad and Muhammad Gondal more than make up for that. For Kampong, Saurabh Zalpuri filled in admirably for the absent Alex Roy, The return of Lorenzo Ingram, too, could not have come at a better time for the defending champions, and although his contribution against VOC was limited, the mere presence of his vast experience is a considerable asset in a team deprived of its other senior players.

BdJ: VOC themselves will travel to Westvliet looking to strike again while the iron is hot, taking on a weakened Voorburg. The return of Gavin Kaplan has gone some way to mitigate the loss of four top order bats to Oranje, but it took a maiden century from Ryan Klein at five to get VCC to a respectable score against HBS last week before the rain put a stop to proceedings. Meanwhile VOC’s attack was bolstered by Vivian Kingma who took three wickets on debut for his new club last week, and may well be fired up on return to Westvliet. Paired with Roman Harhangi VOC could bring an incisive new ball attack to bear on Voorburg’s threadbare top order, and might just sense an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

RL: Voorburg will probably feel that they stood up pretty well to the loss of most of their top order against HBS, and perhaps a little frustrated that the adverse weather meant they had to be content with a point. A six-ball duck for Michael Rippon didn’t help their cause, and they will be hoping that he is able to make a more substantial contribution against VOC. Their attack, of course, is relatively intact, and while Mees van Vliet’s lack of form is a worry, they have sufficient resources to trouble a VOC line-up which added another to its list of disappointing performances against Kampong. The Bloodhounds’ bowling unit, on the other hand, was able to take advantage of their opponents’ slightly desperate and ultimately misplaced attempt to beat the rain, although it’s unlikely that Voorburg will display the same profligate tendencies. With the international experience of Kingma as well as Ahsan Malik, however, VOC won’t make life easy for the home side’s second string line-up, even with Kaplan added to the ranks.

BdJ: Meanwhile in the mid-table, HCC welcome HBS Craeyenhout to De Diepput. The Crows will be aiming to consolidate their place in the middle of the pack, while the hosts will be looking to catch up to the top three. They suffered a setback dropping points to VRA at the Bos last week, failing to fully recover from a top order collapse in the absence of skipper Boris Gorlee. With Hidde Overdijk sidelined, the Lions don’t have quite the same lower-order resilience that they once enjoyed, though their bowling reserves have covered for his absence admirably, young Justin Trijzelaar impressing when called upon to step up. HBS meanwhile will have to contend with the absence of seam spearhead Kyle Klein as well as, perhaps more worryingly, skipper Tayo Walbrugh’s alarming dip in form. They owe their current position of relative safety in large part to the batting form of all-rounder Botha and Del Bianco, coupled with new overseas Kent Goedeke finding his feet in the Topklasse, but will need more from their senior bats if they’re to avoid sinking back down toward the danger zone.

RL: With Voorburg and Kampong operating with one hand tied behind their backs, HCC really needed to capitalise if they are to launch a serious challenge for the title, and it was therefore a real blow that they were unable to beat VRA on Sunday. It’s not just a question of lower-order resilience, although that is important: twenties and thirties aren’t really enough from the top six, and although Tonny Staal features among the top ten batters in the competition, the Lions haven’t been able to build big partnerships and put opposing attacks under pressure. The Crows have been rather more successful with the bat, but the bowlers have conceded an average in excess of 250 in innings which have gone the full distance – home matches at runs-rich Craeyenhout admittedly pushing that figure up – and without Klein as spearhead and Botha not having bowled since 2 May, they have struggled to bowl their oppponents out. Benno Boddendijk has been consistently taking wickets and the development of Joris van Oosterom has been a bonus, but there have been occasions when the attack has seemed a bit threadbare.

BdJ: Finally VRA will be heading down to Schiedam to take on relegation spot incumbents Hermes DVS, well aware that defeat could see them slip into that undesirable position themselves. With word that stand-out seam all-rounder Vikram Singh has suffered a significant shoulder injury during preparations in Canada that will likely rule him out for a number of weeks, the Amsterdammers could find themselves staring down the barrel if they can’t get clear of the tail end of the table this week. For Hermes this four-pointer comes at an inconvenient time too however, with skipper Sebastiaan Braat still stuck at King City along with Oli Elenbaas and Aryan Dutt. That said, Ralph Elenbaas has now eclipsed his brother in the wicket-tallies this season, and spinners Kothari and Jabarkhail look a decent enough combo against VRA’s largely right-handed line-up. Newcomer David Rushmere also looks to have recaptured some of his early form, even if the opening pair continues to struggle. The absence of Braat leaves a tough hole to fill for the hosts though; the Sky Blues haven’t won without him since returning to the top flight. VRA meanwhile found a way to bank points last week even without Singh, and they’ll have to keep finding ways if they’re to pull clear of an ugly relegation fight.

RL: A classic four-pointer this, with both sides much closer to relegation than might have been expected at the start of the season and time beginning to run out. David Rushmere’s solo effort last week was a classic of a different kind, but it also pointed up how fragile the Hermes batting can be, especially without Elenbaas, Dutt and Braat contributing from the middle order. VRA’s bowling, it’s true, isn’t as testing as Rotterdam’s, but it has a similar spin component, and the Sky Blues will be hoping that Ash Ostling and Daniel Doyle-Calle will be able to give them a rather more solid start against their visitors’ seamers. Ibaad Zaidi’s mature knock in partnership with Shariz Ahmad made all the difference against HCC last Sunday, buoying up a VRA middle order which has also shown signs of vulnerability at key moments, but the Amsterdammers will need to do some serious rejigging at the top of the batting if, as feared, Vikram Singh’s injury turns out to be as significant as it appears.

BdJ’s picks: Rotterdam, VOC, HCC, Hermes

RL’s picks: Rotterdam, Voorburg, HCC, VRA.

Rushmere century in vain as Rotterdam go top

Rod Lyall 08/06/26

HCC missed an opportunity to move into second place on the Topklasse table on Sunday, when they lost to VRA by five wickets in a hard-fought, at times attritional battle in the Amsterdamse Bos.

Put in to bat in overcast conditions which clearly favoured the bowlers, HCC began confidently enough, but then Sharad Hake and Johan Smal grabbed three wickets in nine deliveries to break open the middle order, and when stand-in captain Teun Kloppenburg fell four overs later, the Lions found themselves on 52 for four.

The lower order was partially successful in digging them out of trouble, keeper Yash Patel top-scoring with 35 as Teja Nidamanuru turned to his four-man spin attack of Sharif Ahmad, himself, Darsh Abhinay and Udit Nashier, and a series of twenties managed to get the total up to 204.

Josh Brown removed both openers when VRA replied, but a 60-run third-wicket stand between Smal (29) and Nidamanuru (36) put the hosts back on track.

Then Justin Trijzelaar took a hand, dismissing both and adding the scalp of Jack Cassidy, and at 83 for five VRA appeared to be heading for defeat.

That brought Ibaad Zaidi in to join Shariz, and they slowly built up what eventually became the match-winning partnership, Shariz making 45 not out and Zaidi posting his second Topklasse half-century, going on to a career-best, unbeaten 70.

The pair’s cautious and extremely effective approach was highlighted by the fact that they only hit three boundaries between them in their stand of 125, before Zaidi finished it with a six with 20 deliveries remaining.

The scheduling of this match for Sunday meant that, although the start was delayed by 45 minutes because of a wet outfield, the teams were able to avoid the disruptions which the weather created the previous day.

At the Zomercomplex, Rotterdam withstood a remarkable solo batting performance by Hermes-DVS’s David Rushmere and a long rain delay before they could start their abbreviated reply, their five-wicket victory taking them back to the top of the table.

Coming in at 2 for one, Rushmere made 118 out of a Hermes total of 188 before he was last man out in the 39th over.

He received very little support from the rest of the batting, only Daniel Doyle-Calle, Zaffar Chaudhary and Ralph Elenbaas reaching double figures, most of the damage being done by Rotterdam spinners Ahmad Shafiq and Saqib Zulfiqar with three wickets apiece and Shoaib Minhas with two.

After a long wait the players were finally able to return to the field, with Rotterdam set a DLS target of 165 in 36 overs.

They did it in just over 27, mainly due to Muhammad Gondal’s 63-ball 70 and an unbeaten 34 from Saqib, and results elsewhere saw Hermes return to the foot of the table.

The most remarkable of those results was at the Hazelaarweg, where a depleted Kampong dismissed VOC for 141, but were then themselves dismissed for just 132, losing by nine runs

With rain clouds threatening to bring the match to a premature end and at least 20 overs needing to be bowled to achieve a valid result, Kampong’s batters were caught between two stools, trying to knock off the runs as quickly as possible, but losing too many wickets in the process.

Two brief interruptions heightened their anxiety, but in the end VOC’s bowlers were able to have the last word, despite Damien van den Berg’s 40-ball 47 at the start of the innings.

Kampong were, of course, withut key batters Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards, but even so they will have been deeply disappointed that they were unable to capitalise on the efforts of their bowlers, Pierre Jacod claiming three for 26 and Lorenzo Ingram and Saurabh Zalpuri picking up two apiece as VOC slumped from 61 for one to 141 all out.

The national selectors had caused even greater problems for Voorburg as they took on HBS at Craeyenhout, but 59 from Gavin Kaplan, recalled to the colours for this eventuality, and a maiden Topklasse century of 100 not out by stand-in captain Ryan Klein, enabled them to reach 266 for seven in 50 overs.

The latter stages of the innings were not without controversy, as the umpires kept the players on the field during several showers and then, after an interruption and an early lunch, bringing them back to complete the innings.

A further long delay followed, before HBS were able to start their chase with the target 161 from 20 overs.

Only one over could be bowled, however, before the umpires ruled that after so much rain conditions were unsafe for play to continue and the match was abandoned, each side taking a point.

Kampong back on top as Voorburg stumble at De Diepput

Rod Lyall 31/05/26

The revolving door at the top of the Topklasse table gave another turn on Saturday, as defeat for Voorburg at De Diepput and a comfortable victory for Kampong over HBS at Maarschalkerweerd enabled the defending champions to regain their one-point lead.

Kampong’s seven-wicket win did not come without a moment of doubt, as after dismissing HBS for 177, Kyle Klein reduced them to 19 for two, with Damien van den Berg and Scott Edwards back in the pavilion.

And when Julien de Mey had Max O’Dowd caught for 16 with the total on 60, the Crows might have been forgiven for thinking that they were back in the game.

That was their last success, however, as first cautiously and then with increasing momentum, Pierre Jacod and Lachlan Bangs added 120 in an unbroken fourth-wicket stand which steered Alex Roy’s side to victory with nearly twenty overs to spare.

Bangs was distinctly the more aggressive, his Topklasse-career-best 86 coming from 60 deliveries with six fours and five sixes, while Jacod ended on a more sedate, but no less crucial 52.

It was a fine all-round performance by Bangs, who had earlier claimed four for 28 in his ten overs, including the vital wicket of Lehan Botha for 27.

Kent Goedeke top-scored for HBS with 37, while Klein chipped in with a useful 33 which ended only when he was run out trying to retain the strike with nine wickets down.

Having dismissed Rotterdam for 120 last Monday, HCC’s bowlers were again in charge against the enigmatic Voorburg at De Diepput, and it was again Josh Brown who was the main wicket-taker, completing his second successive five-wicket haul as Voorburg collapsed to 134 all out as they chased their hosts’ 251 for nine.

Tonny Staal (54) and Shirsak Banerjee (37) gave the Lions a great start with an opening stand of 94, and then Boris Gorlee (38) and Brown (27) were the main contributors as Cedric de Lange celebrated his selection for the Dutch squad for Canada with a career-best five for 38 and Additt Jain cleaned up the tail with three for 61.

But Voorburg were soon in trouble when they replied, Brown removing De Lange and Don Glover in quick succession and then adding the scalp of Michael Levitt, while Daniel Crowley had Noah Croes caught behind.

At 43 for four Voorburg were on the ropes, and Bas de Leede and Ryan Klein doubled the total, once Justin Trijzelaar had removed Klein, Clayton Floyd picked up three for 17 and Brown returned to dismiss Michael Rippon and Jaynul Islam with successive deliveries to finish with five for 44 and complete HCC’s 117-run victory.

The win consolidated the Lions’ position in the top four, but they still trail Kampong, Voorburg and Rotterdam who stayed in second position by virtue of a six-wicket win over VRA in the Amsterdamse Bos.

VRA’s total of 234 for nine was built around opener Vikram Singh’s 91, but apart from Johan Smal with 39 he received too little support from the rest of the batting, and it did not help the home side’s cause that both Smal and Singh were run out.

Six of the Rotterdam bowlers took a single wicket apiece, a combined effort which was able to prevent VRA from setting a really substantial target.

Musa Ahmad and Shoaib Minhas gave their side a valuable start with an opening stand of 90 when Rotterdam replied, and after Minhas had departed for 34, victim of another run-out, and was soon followed by Muhammad Gondal, Musa and Mohsin Riaz added 72 for the third wicket.

Shariz Ahmad struck back, removing first Riaz for 48 and then his elder brother Musa for 80, but debutant Abdul Rehman Niazi and Sikander Zulfiqar knocked off the 43 runs still needed to make sure of victory with seven overs remaining.

Hermes-DVS made short work of VOC Rotterdam at the Loopuyt Oval, bowling them out for 105 and needing only 20.5 overs to make sure of a five-wicket win.

Ralph Elenbaas was the architect of the victory, taking four for 33, with Hikmatullah Jabarkhail claiming three for 2 in nine deliveries to clean up the tail; skipper Jason van der Meulen again top-scored for VOC with 31.

Hermes stuttered slightly in reply, with Roman Harhangi picking off the openers with 32 on the board, and Asief Hoseinbaks then taking three quick wickets to leave the Sky Blues on 75 for five.

Mussayab Jamil and Aryan Dutt, however, then steadied the ship, making sure that Hermes reached their target without further loss.

HCC shock Rotterdam, but Voorburg back on top

Rod Lyall 26/05/26

The title race tightened appreciably on the Pentecost holiday on Monday, as the leadership again changed hands and HCC reinforced their claims with a decisive victory over early leaders Rotterdam.

At Maarschalkerweerd in Utrecht, Voorburg proved too strong for home side Kampong, dismissing them for 190 and going on to win by six wickets.

After winning the toss and electing to bat Kampong were never really in charge, off-spinner Cedric de Lange reducing them to 117 for six with a career-best spell of four for 18 in ten overs.

Robert van der Harten, Tushar Sharma and Alex Roy were able to achieve a partial recovery, adding 73 to the total for the last four wickets, but with Aaditt Jain returning to claim three for 25 the Utrecht side faced an uphill struggle against Voorburg’s powerful batting.

After the early loss of Damien van den Berg, De Lange and Noah Croes, both of whom made 61, joined forces in a second-wicket stand of 124, and with Bas de Leede contributing a 24-ball 26, all but two of those runs in boundaries, Voorburg eased home with 15 overs to spare, leapfrogging their opponents to return to the top of the table.

The sensation of the day came at the Zomercomplex, the shock being not so much that HCC were able to beat Rotterdam but the completeness of a batting side which had until now seemed to regard 300 as a par score.

Daniel Crowley started the rout by removing openers Shoaib Minhas and Musa Ahmad inside the first eight overs, and despite Muhammad Gondal’s 44 and an aggressive 35 from Saqib Zulfiqar, the Rotterdammers were all out for 120 in 30.4 overs, Josh Brown cleaning up the lower order to finish with five for 36.

With Teun Kloppenburg hammering a 36-ball 65, including five fours and as many sixes, the Lions raced to 99 without loss in twelve overs, but when Sikander Zulfiqar removed him and Boris Gorlee with successive deliveries the chase suddenly faltered.

Zulfiqar added the scalp of Tonny Staal five runs later, and with Minhas bowling three straight maidens from the other end, picking up Brown’s wicket in the process, the game seemed to be swinging Rotterdam’s way.

Minhas now removed Clayton Floyd as well, but Zac Worden and Yash Patel knocked off the remaining runs without further mishap, Zulfiqar finishing with three for 36 and Minhas a remarkable two for 2 from 24 deliveries.

Extraordinary as this was, there was real drama later in the day as the two matches pitting the bottom four sides against each other turned out to be real thrillers, the two bottom teams recording vital last minute victories.

The day had begun very well for HermesDVS, for whom openers Ash Ostling and Daniel Doyle posted a club-record-equalling stand of 207 against HBS before Doyle was run out for 95 attempting a quick single to Heino Kuhn.

Ostling was then LBW to Kent Goedeke for 94, and at 230 for two with less than seven overs remaining, the Hermes middle order sacrificed wickets in the quest for as many runs as possible, Benno Boddendijk collecting three for 46 as Sebastiaan Braat made an unbeaten 28 and 52 were added.

This seemed likely to be too much for HBS, and although Tayo Walbrugh contributed 37 at 116 for five after 25 overs Hermes could have been forgiven for thinking that the points were theirs.

But Roelof van der Merwe now joined Lehan Botha, who was on 47, and together they added 152 in 23 overs, Botha needing just 42 deliveries to go from 50 to 100 as the tempo steadily accelerated.

Ten balls were remaining when Dutt finally bowled Botha for 132, made from 122 deliveries with 14 fours and one six, but the HBS pair had reduced the demand to just 15.

They still needed 11 as Hikmatullah Jabarkhail began the final over, but Van der Merwe and Reece Mason were equal to the task, Mason taking the winning single with one ball to spare, Van der Merwe remaining not out on 70.

Meanwhile in the Amsterdamse Bos, VRA were in pursuit of VOC Rotterdam’s total of 219 all out.

The Rotterdammers had recovered somewhat from 128 for six, Ethan Price making 43, Ahsan Malik 44 not out, and last man Ludwig Spies an enterprising 20, but Vikram Singh has taken his season’s tally to 23 wickets with four for 35, and Udit Nashier had collected three for 26.

VOC’s five-man seam attack reduced VRA to 67 for four when they replied, but with Teja Nidamanuru playing a vintage captain’s innings, well supported by Shariz Ahmad, they appeared to be on the brink of victory at 216 for seven.

Then Roman Harhangi, returning to the attack, turned the game on its head: first Darsh Abhinay was caught by Ludwig Spies, and then Adam Madgwick was trapped in front first ball.

That left Nidamanuru on 92 to face Ahsan Malik with four still needed, knowing that last man Shayan Moodley was at the other end.

He tried to hit Malik’s first delivery to the long on boundary, but succeeded only in finding the fielder at deep mid-on, who completed a sprawling catch to give VOC a sensational three-run victory.

Kampong back on top as Voorburg and Hermes tie

Rod Lyall 24/05/26

A tied cricket match tends to raise the question of whether it involves a point gained or a point lost, not only in terms of the course of the game itself, but also with respect to the teams’ respective positions in the competition. And sometimes these two considerations can lead to opposite conclusions.

Saturday’s encounter between Voorburg and Hermes-DVS at Westvliet was no exception: on the run of play, Voorburg could take some satisfaction from the fact that they had avoided defeat after posting a relatively modest 228 all out, but the point dropped leaves them at a slight disadvantage compared to their main rivals for the Topklasse title.

Conversely, every point matters for Hermes as they try to stay clear of the league’s one relegation spot, but they will regret not having taken full advantage of their bowlers’ efforts in keeping Voorburg’s batting within bounds.

That Voorburg, having won the toss, reached 228 was largely due to half-centuries by Noah Croes (59) and Ryan Klein (61), although after they lost four wickets for just five runs towards the end of the innings they were rescued by a last-wicket stand of 36 between dubutant Tanveer Khawaja and last man Jaynul Islam.

Much of the damage was caused by spinner Hikmatullah Jabarkhail, who picked up four for 49.

Islam then removed Ash Ostling with the fourth ball of Hermes’ reply, but 36 from Daniel Doyle and 44 from David Rushmere before he fell to a stunning catch by Klein at point – mirroring an equally remarkable effort by Sebastiaan Braat to remove Croes – took them at 117 for four at the halfway point of their innings.

But then Voorburg applied the pressure, and it was left to Olivier Elenbaas, in company for a time with his captain Braat, to steer Hermes towards their target.

Braat departed for 25 with 24 still needed from 26 deliveries, but Islam and Don Glover conceded just 11 from the next two overs, and as Mees van Vliet started the final over Elenbaas and his brother Ralph required eight more for victory.

They managed a string of five singles, then Olivier turned the final delivery to leg and they ran two to level the scores.

Voorburg appealed for a run-out which would have given them victory, and while the not-out decision was being discussed between fielders and umpires the brothers tried running a third; the ball was, however, ruled dead and the tie confirmed, Oliver finishing on 74 not out.

Voorburg’s dropped point enabled Kampong Utrecht to go back to the top of the table by virtue of their 82-run victory over HCC at De Diepput.

Their total of 232 for seven was built on a steady 63 from Pierre Jacod and an unbeaten 90 from Scott Edwards, who between them rescued their side from a perilous 74 for four; dropping Edwards down to six proved a wise move, as he plundered 22 from the last two overs of the innings, undoing much of the good work of HCC’s pace trio of Josh Brown (three for 29), Thijs Vrolijk and Justin Trijzelaar.

Kampong’s new-ball pairing of Shashank Kumar and Alex Roy, however, ensured that the Lions’ reply never really got off the ground, taking four for 35 and three for 13 respectively, and it took an unbeaten 36 from Brown to get their total up to a still-disappointing 150.

Still one win behind the leaders pending a decision on the outcome of their abandoned match against HBS, Rotterdam posted their fourth 300-plus total of the campaign against Rotterdam rivals VOC, although it seemed for much of their innings that they would have to settle for a good deal less.

Their innings was transformed by skipper Sikander Zulfiqar who, coming in at 94 for four with 27 overs left, pulverised a tiring VOC attack and smashed an 84-ball 126 which included nine fours and five sixes.

He was initially supported by Mohsin Riaz, who made 63 from 65 deliveries, but thereafter it was largely a solo effort which put the target well beyond VOC’s reach.

Their reply began promisingly with a 97-run opening stand between Samir Butt (51) and Caleb Montague (44), but once they were dismissed the innings fell away in the face of Rotterdam’s spinner, Musa Ahmad claiming four for 29 and Muhammad Gondal and Saqib Zulfiqar picking up two apiece, and they were all out for 202.

VOC’s position at the foot of the table was exacerbated by HBS Craeyenhout’s four-wicket victory over VRA.

The Amsterdammers made 261 all out, opener Vikram Singh making 52 and Johan Smal, back from injury, celebrating with an 85-ball 88; for the home side seamer Benno Boddendijk took four for 51 and spinner Kent Goedeke three for 44.

The Crows’ batting has not always been completely convincing this season, but here Lehan Botha belted a characteristic 25-ball 40, and then Goedeke and Lucas del Bianco added exactly 100 for the fourth wicket in 19 overs to keep their side in the hunt.

Goedeke eventually fell to Shariz Ahmad after making 82 from 69 deliveries with six fours and four sixes, but Del Bianco continued, and he and Kyle Klein put on 57 for the sixth wicket and carried HBS to within a couple of runs of victory.

Del Bianco ended on 61 not out as HBS won with 21 deliveries to spare.

There will be a further round of matches – the last of the first half of the campaign – on Monday’s Pentecost holiday.

Cedric de Lange stars in Westvliet runfest

Rod Lyall 10/05/26

There have been many remarkable days in the 136-year history of the Dutch men’s competition, but few have been as dramatic as that on this year’s Ascension Day holiday.

Top billing went to the clash at Westvliet between leaders Rotterdam and hosts Voorburg, and despite – or perhaps because of – the fact that the match was reduced to 25 overs a side because of a wet outfield, it more than fulfilled expectations.

More than 450 runs were scored in those 50 overs, the Rotterdammers almost succeeding in retaining their unbeaten record as they came within an ace of overhauling Voorburg’s massive 235 for two.

Star of the show for Voorburg was Cedric de Lange, whose 125, his third century in fourTopklasse innings, included 16 fours and four sixes as he shared an opening stand of 205 in 21 overs with Michael Levitt.

Levitt was subsequently run out for 73, and with Bas de Leede chipping in with a brisk 20 not out, Voorburg averaged nearly ten an over.

Despite losing Musa Ahmad in the third over of their reply Rotterdam were undaunted by the scale of their task, Muhammad Gondal making 61, and at 122 for two after 14 overs they were on course to pull off an extraordinary victory.

Then De Lange struck twice in successive overs, removing first Gondal and then Mohammad Riaz, and once Mees van Vliet had dismissed Sikander Zulfiqar it was left to Saqib Zulfiqar and Burhan Niaz to keep up the chase.

So successfully did they do so, adding 78 in seven overs, that with two overs left Rotterdam needed just 28 for victory.

But they could only manage 17, Niaz falling for 46 in the final over, and Saqib was left on 54 not out as Voorburg squeezed home by ten runs.

There was tension of a different kind at Maarschalkerweerd, where Kampong needed an unbroken 29-run last-wicket partnership between Gert Swanepoel and Shashank Kumar to see them to the narrowest of victories against VRA Amsterdam.

If the batters had been in complete charge in Voorburg, in Utrecht it was the bowlers who called the shots, VRA battling their way to 184 all out after collapsing to 112 for seven, Darsh Abhinay and Sharad Hake coming to their rescue with a last-wicket stand of their own, which produced 38 vital runs.

Abhinay top-scored with 40 not out, while Kampong’s spin trio of Pienaar Buys (three for 20), Pierre Jacod (two for 23) and Lorenzo Ingram (two for 32) collected seven wickets between them.

Kampong were soon in trouble when they replied, losing Daniel van den Berg and Scott Edwards by the time 14 runs were on the board, and although Max O’Dowd made 32 and Jacod 33, when three wickets fell for the addition of one run to leave them on 155 for nine, a VRA victory seemed certain.

But Swanepoel and Kumar gradually knocked off the remaining runs, taking their side to the win with eight deliveries to spare.

VOC had pulled off the shock of the season last week by beating Voorburg, but they were comprehensively brought down to earth at Craeyenhout, where HBS ran up a massive 337 for seven before dismissing their visitors for 175.

Four of the Crows’ top five made half-centuries, the sole exception being skipper Tayo Walbrugh, whose run of low scores continued when he fell to spinner Ethan Price for just 7.

But then Julien de Mey (56) and Lehan Botha (73 from 44 deliveries, with seven fours and four sixes) added 120 for the second wicket, and once they had gone, Kent Goedeke (63) and Lucas del Bianco (79) put on another 119 for the fourth.

Kyle Klein chipped in with a 22-ball 40 to complete VOC’s misery.

Only Jason van der Meulen was able to offer substantial resistance when the Bloodhounds replied, coming in at 27 for two and staying to the end; he was left on 75 not out as Goedeke ran through the lower order to finish with five for 47 and HBS collected their first points of the season by a thumping 162-run margin.

That was sufficient for them to reverse their net run rate situation, leap-frogging VOC and leaving them at the bottom of the table.

As at Westvliet, the overnight and early-morning rain brought a delayed start at De Diepput, reducing the match to 35 overs a side.

Put in to bat, Hermes-DVS lost Ash Ostling to a fine return catch by HCC’s Teun Kloppenburg off the very first ball, and in the following over Josh Brown had David Rushmere caught behind.

It was a start from which Hermes never really recovered, and although Nick Statham made a dogged 40 and Sebastiaan Braat a spirited 45, the innings closed on 136 for eight, Clayton Floyd picking up three for 23.

HCC were untroubled in chasing down this target, opener Tonny Staal batting through the innings for an unbeaten 51, while Kloppenburg smacked a 32-ball 51 not out to see the Lions to victory with nearly ten overs to spare.

VOC rock Voorburg as Rotterdam march on

Rod Lyall 10/05/26

The Hazalaarweg was the scene of the first real upset of the season on Saturday, when home side VOC produced a stunning five-wicket victory over championship contenders Voorburg.

It wasn’t so much the fact that the Bloodhounds’ attack, which had battled hard during the side’s defeats at the hands of Hermes-DVS and Kampong, was able to dismiss Voorburg for 160, as the way in which their opponents, fielding five Dutch internationals and young double-centurion Cedric de Lange, allowed themselves to subside so completely after reaching 141 for three.

The damage was mostly done by the spinners, Asief Hoseinbaks picking up four for 42 and Ethan Price two for 42, although the early wickets were claimed by the seamers, Roman Harhangi, Jason van der Meulen, and debutant Ludwig Spies.

Michael Levitt had given Voorburg a promising start with 43, and then Bas de Leede, back at his old club and sufficiently recovered from injury to make his first appearance though not yet able to bowl, top-scored with 49.

Once he had gone, however, the first of Hoseinbaks’ victims, the remaining six wickets fell for the addition of just 19 runs.

Bart Kooistra, promoted to open the VOC reply, gave his side a great start with 54 at almost a run a ball, hitting five fours and two sixes, and although Floris de Lange gave Voorburg some hope by removing Caleb Montague and Harhangi, Van der Meulen saw VOC home, finishing with an unbeaten 36.

On the other side of Rotterdam, Sikander Zulfiqar’s eponymous side had little difficulty in seeing off the challenge of defending champions Kampong Utrecht: not only did they post a 300-plus total for the third time in as many games, but they went past 350, finishing on 356 for eight.

Opener Shoaib Minhas led the way with 141, made from 126 deliveries with 17 fours and three sixes, and shared a third-wicket stand of 99 with Saqib Zulfiqar (41).

After Saqib had gone his triplet brother Sikander took over, and he and Minhas added 119 for the fourth wicket from 74 deliveries.

Sikander continued almost to the end, hitting seven fours and five sixes in his 56-ball 86, as Rotterdam reached the highest total conceded by Kampong in their top-flight history.

That seemed likely to be well beyond Kampong’s batting resources, and although Damien van den Berg and Max O’Dowd began the reply at a lively tempo, when Lorenzo Ingram came to the crease at 88 for four the match was effectively over.

Ingram, however, fought a lone rearguard battle, making a 72-ball 90, and when his was the last wicket to fall Kampong had reached 220, still 136 runs short.

Saqib Zulfiqar was the pick of Rotterdam’s bowlers with four for 46.

As Kampong and Voorburg faltered VRA took full advantage, beating Hermes-DVS by six wickets and moving into second place on net run rate.

Ash Ostling (60) and Daniel Doyle-Calle (64) gave Hermes a solid start with an opening stand of 118, but it took them nearly 30 overs to do it, thanks to some fine seam bowling from Sharad Hake, Vikram Singh and Viraj Thakur, and once they had gone, both dismissed by Shariz Ahmad, the innings fell apart, a further six wickets falling for 41 runs in the space of eight and a half overs, three of them to run-outs.

It took a defiant knock from Hermes skipper Sebastiaan Braat, who made 44 from 34 deliveries, assisted by Sahil Kothari and Oliver Herrington to add 58 for the last two wickets, to get his side up to 238; Shariz finished with three for 54, while Singh returned to pick up those last two wickets and end with two for 22.

Singh then led the way with the bat, making a valuable 46 before falling to Kothari, but it was Sam Cassidy who guided VRA to victory, making 91 and adding 97 with Shariz before he was bowled by Braat.

By that time, though, only 20 more were needed, and Shariz and Thakur saw their side home with seven deliveries to spare, Shariz finishing on 47 not out.

It took HCC a couple of balls more to complete their four-wicket win against HBS at Craeyenhout after the Crows had reached a reasonably challenging 267 for five.

Architect of HCC’s victory was Zac Worden, who played himself back into form with an unbeaten 115, made from 149 deliveries with fivee fours and four sixes.

Together with opener Tonny Staal, Worden put on 131 for the second wicket, and after Staal was caught behind off Kent Goedeke for 68, he added another 79 for the fourth with Teun Kloppenburg (43).

There was a mild flutter in the middle order when three wickets fell for just eight runs, but Worden was not to be denied, and he and Clayton Floyd made sure of the two points.

Earlier, HBS had recovered from a slightly shaky start to reach their 267, keeper Lucas del Bianco making a fine 84 not out after Lehan Botha had contributed 40 and Goedeke 42.

Del Bianco was supported very effectively in the closing overs by Kyle Klein, whose unbeaten 47 took just 25 deliveries and included two fours and four sixes, but HBS undoubtedly suffered from the fact that Klein, like Bas de Leede, has not recovered sufficiently from injury to be able to bowl.

HCC, too, have injury worries: Hidde Overdijk injured his hand catching Goedeke in the HBS innings, was unable to bowl his final three overs, and was unable to bat.

Teams will have just five days to recover before Thursday’s Ascension Day round of matches.

Rotterdam crush Hermes to go top

Rod Lyall 03/05/26

Another commanding performance by Rotterdam on Saturday saw off the challenge of Hermes-DVS with surprising ease and carried them to the top of the table on net run rate, ahead of pursuers Kampong Utrecht and Voorburg.

The Rotterdammers fell just short of last week’s total of 338, but it took a sustained late effort from the Sky Blues attack to briefly pause their onslaught after Musa Ahmad and Muhammad Gondal had put on 186 for the second wicket in just under 30 overs.

Musa had seemed certain to follow up last week’s century with another, but on 98 he cut Sahil Kothari uppishly to point, where he was caught by Oliver Herrington.

Three overs later Gondal also missed out on a well-deserved hundred, beaten by a direct hit from Hikmatullah Jabarkhail as, on 96, he attempted to regain the strike.

Four more wickets now fell comparatively quickly, but Saqib Zulfiqar ensured that the runs kept coming, and as the innings neared its close he hammered a 41-ball 55 to see his side to an imposing 331 for eight.

Hermes had also posted 300 last week, but chasing such totals is another matter, and when Carl Mumba removed Daniel Doyle Calle and last week’s record-breaking centurion David Rushmere with consecutive deliveries, their reply could scarcely have got off to a worse start.

The innings never recovered, Olivier Elenbaas and Nick Statham top-scoring with 25 apiece, but with Mumba returning to clean up the lower order and finish with six for 47 and Sulaiman Tariq chipping in with two for 27, Hermes were all out for 118, giving Rotterdam a thumping 213-run victory.

Voorburg joined the 300-plus club, posting 306 for five against HBS at Westvliet, but here both partners in a 166-run third-wicket stand did reach three figures, 18-year-old Cedric de Lange doubling up on last week’s century with exactly 100, made from 114 deliveries with eight fours.

After opening the previous week he dropped down to three to make room for Peter Hatzoglou, who contributed a brisk 39, but it was skipper Noah Croes who shared the big partnership for the third wicket, and who then went on to cash in in the final overs, reaching his own century and finishing with an unbeaten 120, from 112 deliveries with 16 boundaries.

Again, the task proved well beyond the Crows’ batting line-up, and although Kent Goedeke made 48 and Navjit Singh 41, the new-ball pairing of Jaynul Islam and Mees van Vliet ensured that their stand of 47 was the best HBS could muster.

This time it was Islam who collected the five-wicket haul, finishing with five for 32, while Van Vliet collected three for 60 as HBS were dismissed for 175; Croes bagged four catches behind the stumps to go with his unbeaten hundred.

VOC soon had reason to regret skipper Tim de Kok’s decision to bat first at Maarschalkerweerd, as Kampong’s new-ball seamer Shashank Kumar ripped through their top order, reducing them to 42 for four in the space of 11 overs.

Jason van der Meulen started a partial recovery, sharing a stand of 67 for the fifth wicket with Ethan Price, and once he had gone for 54 Price continued in company with a dogged Ahsan Malik, the pair adding another 75.

But Pierre Jacod eventually removed Malik, and although Price made 81, once he was gone the innings folded quickly, and VOC were all out for 215, Kumar taking four for 24 in that devastating early spell.

Pierce Fletcher struck back when Kampong replied, sending both openers back to the dug-out by the time 32 runs were on the board, but Scott Edwards now took over, and although he lost Lorenzo Ingram at 64, he and Jacod added 137 for the fourth wicket to take the game away from a persistent VOC attack, who again fought hard despite being unable to achieve the breakthrough they needed.

It finally came with just 15 more required, Edwards caught by Price off Jelte Schoonheim for 88, but despite losing Lachlamn Bangs soon afterwards, stayed to the end, finishing with an unbeaten 75 as Kampong won by five wickets with more than ten overs to spare.

The least one-sided game – not that that is saying very much – was at De Diepput, where after a delayed start HCC again struggled to create momentum against VRA after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Sharad Hake, Viraj Thakur and Shariz Ahmad picked up a wicket apiece to reduce them to 51 for three, and the only time they looked like getting on top was when Tonny Staal and Teun Kloppenburg were batting together.

But Staal eventually hit a return catch to Darsh Abhinay and departed for 43, and it was eventually Vikram Singh who took charge with the ball, collecting the last five wickets in the space of 24 deliveries and finishing with five for 25, his best figures in the Topklasse.

Kloppenburg’s 71-ball 61 was by a distance the most assured innings for the Lions, but once he had gone Singh took over, and HCC were all out for 184.

Singh then capped a fine all-round performance by making a 67-ball 57, getting the reply off to a rollicking start by smacking Hidde Overdijk’s first ball for six and adding two more, whereafter Johan Smal saw his side home with a composed 77 not out, VRA winning by six wickets with 13 overs to spare.

Hermes’ Rushmere rewrites the record book

Rod Lyall 27/04/26

A piece of Dutch cricket history was rewritten at the Hazelaarweg on Sunday, when David Rushmere, Hermes’ new overseas, posted the highest score ever by a player on debut, plundering 169 from a hard-working but ineffective VOC attack.

27-year-old Rushmere, who played a couple of List A matches for South African provincial side Boland half a dozen years ago, came to the crease at 9 for one, and was watchful at first but then hammered a series of boundaries, including three in one over from former Dutch international Ahsan Malik.

Joined by Olivier Elenbaas with the score at 71 for three, he reached his half-century from 48 deliveries, and his century, the 18th time a player had achieved this in his first top-flight innings in the Netherlands, from 101 balls, by which time he had struck 16 boundaries.

Batting with supreme assurance and well supported by Elenbaas, he now expanded his range of shots, surpassing Tim Zoehrer’s debut record of 153 as the Hermes total reached 250 with seven overs remaining.

A tired Rushmere eventually fell to Malik when he was on 169, made from 140 deliveries with 26 fours and two sixes; his partnership of 184 with Elenbaas was a club record for the fourth wicket.

Elenbaas’s role had up to this point largely been taking singles to get Rushmere back on strike, and he reached his fifty, from 83 deliveries, just before losing his partner.

Now, however, he went on the attack, so effectively that when the final over began he had gone on to 84; Nick Statham gave him the strike with five balls left, but he could only manage 12 from them, and was left stranded on 96 not out, facing just 24 deliveries after passing fifty.

Hermes’ total of 328 for five always seemed likely to be beyond VOC, and although their new overseas Caleb Montague made 59 and they reached 94 for one in the first 15 overs of their reply, thereafter their challenge subsided, and they were all out for 192.

The pick of the Hermes bowlers was Sahil Kothari, whose four for 41 accounted for almost the whole of the VOC middle order.

There had been plenty of interest as well, some of it statistical, in the three matches played on Saturday.

Transformed over the winter from Punjab to Rotterdam CC, Sikander Zulfiqar’s side ran up the third-highest total in the club’s Topklasse history, their 338 against VRA Amsterdam at the Zomercomplex built around opener Musa Ahmad’s composed knock of exactly 100.

While he anchored one end, a succession of partners hammered the Amsterdammers’ bowling: coming in at 44 for three, Saqib Zulfiqar plundered a 60-ball 90 which included nine fours and five sixes, his brother Sikander compiled a relatively quiet 37 (but with three fours and two sixes), and then Burhan Niaz topped it off with a 42-ball 77, hitting five fours and six sixes to add to VRA’s misery.

Vikram Singh and Viraj Thakur each claimed three wickets as Rotterdam were all out off the last ball of their 50 overs, but former international (and Musa’s brother) Shariz Ahmad went wicketless, conceding 60 off his seven overs.

VRA were certainly not intimidated by this big total: skipper Teja Nidamanuru (55) and Singh (70) put on 134 for the first wicket in 20 overs, Singh smacking six sixes as he answered the Rotterdammers’ aggression in kind, and Johan Smal kept up the momentum with a solid 46.

But 105 were still needed with ten overs remaining, and by this time six wickets had fallen; it was now up to Udit Nashier, back with his old club, to finish the job, but although he made 59 from 43 deliveries the Rotterdam attack was able to hang on, and VRA finished 29 runs short of their target with the last pair together.

A fine all-round effort by Pierre Jacod, who made 52 and then claimed four for 30, was the key to Kampong’s successful start to the defence of their title, as they overcame HBS by 81 runs at Craeyenhout.

Young Joris van Oosterom had given the Crows a great start when he had international opener Max O’Dowd caught in the covers off the first ball he receeived, but a solid second-wicket stand of 72 between Damien van den Berg (42) and Scott Edwards (70) laid the foundations for a big total by Alex Roy’s Utrecht side.

Overseas Kent Goedeke and local seamer Benno Boddendijk bowled 20 overs on the trot as HBS skipper Tayo Walbrugh seemed content to let Kampong consolidate, only Van den Berg and Lorenzo Ingram falling during that passage of play, but once Julien de Mey had removed Edwards the middle order faltered, and it took Jacod’s half-century, his fourth in the Topklasse, and a run-a-ball 32 from skipper Roy, to get them to 256.

Lehan Botha took three for 54 for the Crows, while Van Oosterom returned to finish Jacod’s innings with a crushing yorker.

Roy started with the medium-pace of Shashank Kumar and Ingram’s left-arm spin, and although neither claimed a wicket they bowled tightly enough to have HBS already falling behind the asking rate.

Then Roy himself removed Goedeke and Walbrugh before running out danger-man Botha, and at 61 for four in the 21st over the home side’s challenge was starting to fade.

Keeper Lucas del Bianco did his best to hold things together with a defiant 65, but Jacod’s four-wicket haul ensured that there was no recovery, and when Del Bianco was the last man out the total was just 175.

The closest of Saturday’s matches was at Westvliet, where Voorburg, helped by an unbeaten century by opener Cedric de Lange, went into the final over before completing a four-wicket victory over HCC.

Put in to bat, HCC’s innings never really fired against a disciplined Voorburg attack, the star of which was Mees van Vliet with five for 53.

The Lions’ top and middle order got a series of starts, but only Shirsak Banerjee was able to build a substantial innings; he made 54 before he was freakishly run out, seamer Don Glover getting a boot to a powerful straight drive by Clayton Floyd and deflecting the ball onto the stumps with Banerjee stranded.

That was a key turning-point as HCC battled to recover from 140 for five, Ryan Klein having delayed their progress with an impeccable ten-over spell which conceded just 23 runs.

Josh Brown and Daniel Crowley chipped in with a 41-run ninth-wicket stand which helped their side to 230 for nine, and when Hidde Overdijk and Teun Kloppenburg reduced the home side to 70 for four it seemed as if HCC might be getting the upper hand.

De Lange, however, was still there, and although Voorburg were still in trouble at 150 for six with 14 overs remaining, that brought 17-year-old debutant Aarav Swaroop in to join the opener, just a year his senior.

The two teenagers proceeded to add 82 in an unbroken winning stand, De Lange finishing with 112 not out – his second Topklasse century – and Swaroop 43 not out.

Kloppenburg was the most successful of HCC’s bowlers with three for 28.