Category: Review

Rod Lyall 27/05/19

ACC suffered their first defeat of the season at Thurlede on Saturday, going down to Excelsior ’20 by 47 runs, while HBS hung on against a late challenge by VRA in the Amsterdamse Bos to win by 18 runs and move clear at the top of the table.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Excelsior ‘20 reached 221 for seven, thanks to a third-wicket partnership of 97 between Lorenzo Ingram and Brenton Parchment.

ACC pace man Brady Barends removed Roel Verhagen, restored to an opening slot after returning from injury, in his first over, and then came back to break the Ingram-Parchment stand by trapping Parchment in front after he had compiled an invaluable 45.

Helped by an aggressive cameo by Joost Kroesen, who made a rapid 22, Ingram went on to post his sixth Topklasse century. He faced 136 deliveries for his 102, including eight fours and three sixes, and when he departed just before the close he had seen his side safely past the 200 mark.

Skipper Saqib Zulfiqar cashed in in the final overs and took four for 46, but it was Barends who bowled with hostility throughout for figures of two for 47 and the spinners Devanchu Arya and Anis Raza, who conceded 29 and 30 respectively in their 10-over spells, who were the most impressive of the ACC attack.

ACC were soon in trouble when they replied, slumping to 47 for four, and when Sikander Zulfiqar, having made 27, was run out with the total on 88 their cause was effectively lost.

Raza held the innings together as best he could and reached his first Topklasse half-century to finish with an unbeaten 67, but he eventually ran out of partners, the innings closing on 174 in the 48th over. Parchment and Tom Heggelman claimed three wickets apiece for the Schiedammers.

HBS Craeyenhout again posted the highest total of the day, their 273 for two dominated by a stand of 160 for the second wicket by Zac Elkin and Sharn Gomes.

Gomes contributed 68, while Elkin batted throughout the innings for an unbeaten 116, made from 157 deliveries with six fours and three sixes.

Elkin’s knock was matched by that of VRA’s Vikram Singh, who at the age of 16 years 136 days became the youngest-ever centurion in the Dutch top flight, eclipsing the two-week old record set by ACC’s Shirase Rasool, who had been 22 days older when he performed the feat.

Unlike Elkin, however, Singh was unable to find someone to share a really decisive partnership: Peter Borren made 32 and skipper Emile van den Burg 21, but when Singh was eventually bowled by Wesley Barresi for 102, made from 147 balls with ten fours, VRA were still well adrift at 183 for six.

But keeper Mitch Lees was still there, and with some support from the tail he made a hard-hitting 51, hitting four sixes and bringing his team frustratingly close to what had been an extremely imposing target.

Barresi was the most successful of the HBS bowlers with three for 56, and the new-ball pairing of Berend Westdijk and Zak Gibson collected two wickets each.

HCC kept pace with the leading group by cruising to an eight-wicket victory over Quick Haag at Nieuw Hanenburg, with skipper Tonny Staal hitting an unbeaten 86 to enable his side to chase down a modest Quick total of 169.

Quick were strengthened by the advent of Namibian international Jean Bredenkamp, who played for them in 2017 and who anchored their innings with 55.

He did not receive much support, however, Quick’s top scorers otherwise being once again Geert Maarten Mol with 29 and Thijs van Schelven with 26, while for HCC Bryce Street took three for 44 and Ali Ahmed Qasim, Hidde Overdijk and Bharat Itagi claimed two wickets each.

Itagi and Staal then got HCC off to a lightning start, putting on 82 in just over twelve overs, and Street helped Staal maintain the momentum with a 37-ball 40 which took the visitors to the brink of victory.

Finishing the job in just 26.2 overs HCC did their net run rate a power of good in a season when that might just be important in sorting out the table at the end of August.

While still playing some way below what they are almost certainly capable of, Dosti United were decidedly too strong forSparta 1888 at Sportpark Bermweg.

Taruwar Kohli (36) and Amitoze Singh (54) contributed over half of the visitors’ total of 174, with Max Hoornweg again the principal wicket-taker for Sparta with four for 41. Andrew Fletcher backed him up well with three for 35.

Then Kuldeep Diwan (three for 19), Kohli (two for 12) and Anees Davids (two for 18) claimed seven Sparta wickets as Dosti ran through the home side’s batting, dismissing them for 113.

Atse Buurman again provided much of the resistance, top-scoring with 29, and it took a late rally by Joost Martijn Snoep and Manminder Singh to get Sparta’s total into three figures.

Defending champions VOC Rotterdam recorded their first win of the season at Westvliet, where Voorburg again performed poorly with the bat and collapsed to 135 all out.

It would have been even worse without a spirited knock of 44 from Viv Kingma, who came in with his team on 75 for six and almost immediately lost Noah Croes, who had made 31.

Kingma got Voorburg to 135 almost single-handedly, dominating a last-wicket stand of 47 with Stef Mulder.

VOC’s attack was reinforced by the inclusion of Belgian international Noman Kamawi, who took three for 12.

The Rotterdammers made heavy weather of their chase, with Kingma grabbing three quick wickets to reduce them to 48 for four, and it took some dogged batting from Pieter Seelaar (26) and Dirk van Baren (22) to get them over the line.

After an impressive opening-day victory promoted side Voorburg have now lost three on the trot, and unless their batsmen can reverse their current slump the Voorburgers could find themselves in a battle to avoid a speedy return to the Hoofdklasse.

Rod Lyall 20/05/19

The bowlers were back in control in Saturday’s third-round matches with only one side managing to get past 200, and Sparta 1888 and Quick Haag, previously winless, sprung surprises by beating Excelsior ’20 and defending champions VOC Rotterdam respectively.

The biggest upset came at Thurlede, where Sparta successfully defended a meagre total of 189, bowling the previously unbeaten home side out for 146.

Star of the show for Sparta was young Max Hoornweg – incidentally the grandson of former international pace man Ruud Onstein – who finished with career-best figures of seven for 36.

Hoornweg reduced Excelsior to 43 for three, including the key wickets of Lorenzo Ingram and Brenton Parchment, and then returned to clean up the tail.

Tim Etman again top-scored for Excelsior with a patient 45, but of the later batsmen only skipper Tom Heggelman with 31 showed any real sign of resistance.

Earlier, opener Garnett Tarr had led the way for Sparta with an 81-ball 61, the highest score of the match, while Andrew Fletcher showed the first signs of what he is capable of in making 32. Sohail Bhatti was the most successful of the Excelsior bowlers with three for 22, and there were two apiece for Heggelman and Ingram.

If VOC might have counted themselves a little unlucky to have been narrowly beaten by Dosti on the season’s opening day, there could be no doubts about their defeat by Quick Haag at Hazelaarweg on Saturday.

Their batting was unable to get going against a Quick attack still awaiting the arrival of its Indian reinforcements, and collapsed to 168 all out in just 38.3 overs.

Namibian Pieter Groenewald took three for 41, debutant Daniel Mason two for 34 and Thijs van Schelven two for 16 as VOC’s batsmen, despite mostly getting a start, were unable to build a competitive score.

Lesley Stokkers began the chase aggressively, making a 52-ball 45, and although they lost four wickets along the way Quick, judging the tempo perfectly, completed the win with more than five overs to spare, Rupert Young following up his century last week with a measured 34.

The old adage that there’s a big difference between an outstanding team on paper and an outstanding side on the field was vindicated twice this week.

At Het Loopveld Voorburg demonstrated, to their own chagrin, that last Saturday’s collapse against Excelsior was not an isolated event by falling apart even more comprehensively against a rampant ACC.

Put in to bat, the visitors lost skipper Tom de Grooth – one of four victims for ACC keeper Jean Marais – in the opening over before they had a run on the board, and Brady Barends went on to claim four more wickets to finish with five for 19 as Voorburg subsided to 84 all out.

Only Noah Croes (18) and Philippe Boissevain (20) reached double figures, while for ACC Devanshu Arya was also among the wickets with three for 15.

The Voorburg attack did their best to stage a spirited fightback, picking up six wickets as ACC chased down their modest target, but with Shirase Rasool compiling a mature 30 the home side made it within 25 overs, further improving their net run rate in the process.

In what was in many ways the most absorbing match of the day, HBS defeated Dosti United in a game of fluctuating fortunes, but it was the failure of Dosti’s threatening batting line-up to master the home side’s attack which produced a 66-run HBS victory.

Dosti’s bowlers, especially the spinners, had done well to hold the Crows to a total of 220 after they had been well placed on 119 for two after 27 overs, with Asief Hoseinbaks, Mahesh Hans and Kuldeep Diwan picking up seven wickets between them.

Although Diwan collected three wickets it was Hoseinbaks’ eight-over spell for figures of two for 25 which prevented the powerful HBS batting line-up from getting into top gear after Tobias Visée had given his side its usual rollicking start with a 21-ball 33.

Zac Elkin top-scored with 45 before hitting a return catch to Hoseinbaks, while Sharn Gomes contributed 39.

Backed up by outstanding fielding the HBS spinners, Wesley Barresi and Julian de Mey, also built the pressure when Dosti replied, and with five wickets down for 57 and Taruwar Kohli and Amitoze Singh among those who had come and gone, the Dosti cause was effectively lost.

Diwan played a defiant hand for his 37, but as he began to run out of partners he became one of several Dosti batsmen to hole out at deep midwicket, and the innings eventually closed on 154.

De Mey took three for 34, and there were two wickets apiece for Zak Gibson, Farshad Khan and debutant Benno Boddendijk.

VRA’s unhappy start to the season continued at De Diepput, where they lost to HCC by seven wickets after having been dismissed for 189.

The match was a personal triumph for HCC’s Bharat Itagi, who took three for 30 in the VRA innings and then guided his side to the brink of victory with 90.

Itagi shared a 103-run partnership for the third wicket with Bryce Street, who went on to complete the task and finish with an unbeaten 59.

The VRA total owed much to the contribution of former international Eric Szwarczynski, who made 61 before being run out, while Peter Borren, who had earlier become VRA’s all-time leading run-scorer, claimed two of the three HCC wickets to fall.

After an initial defeat by HBS HCC are beginning to look like a well-balanced outfit, and with Hidde Overdijk and Olivier Klaus also picking up key wickets on Saturday they can look forward with some confidence.

Rod Lyall 13/05/19

Three more centuries in the second round of Topklasse matches on Saturday brought the total to six in nine games, suggesting that there may be a vintage season for batsmen in prospect.

The most encouraging from a Dutch point of view was Shirase Rasool’s maiden hundred for ACC against Quick Haag, while the most remarkable was perhaps Rupert Young’s in reply. The most predictable was that by Taruwar Kohli for Dosti United against HCC although, like Young’s, it proved to be in a losing cause.

Three sides made it two out of two on Saturday, with ACC the initial leaders on net run rate, followed by Excelsior ’20 and HBS Craeyenhout.

In the only match between first-round winners, Excelsior firmly deflated Voorburg’s balloon, beating the promoted side by seven wickets at Westvliet.

Electing to bat first, Voorburg appeared to be coasting at the first drinks break, having reached 82 for two and with last week’s centurion Matt Smit well set on 44.

But then Excelsior skipper Tom Heggelman turned from seam to spin, and in eight overs of complete mayhem the home side subsided to 94 for seven.

Umar Baker collected three of those wickets, going on to clean up the innings and finish with six for 46, but it was Lorenzo Ingram who removed the dangerous Smit, who had added just two more before he had the misfortune to glove a delivery which deflected from his pad as he tried to sweep, into the hands of Branton Parchment, lurking at slip.

There was some late resistance from Brandon Glover and Yasir Hamid, but in a disappointingly irresolute effort overall Voorburg were dismissed for 144.

Glover and Clayton Floyd looked dangerous when Excelsior replied, but a single wicket for the former was their only reward. Without ever seeming really comfortable Tim Etman played a crucial innings for his side, helped by a couple of missed chances, and in partnerships with Ingram – eventually forced to retire hurt after taking one in the ribs from Viv Kingma – and Parchment he steered them towards the win.

He eventually fell to a catch at slip by Tom de Grooth after Glover returned, but he had made 81 and only six were now needed, Joost Kroesen and Heggelman finishing the job with more than 16 overs remaining.

On the new artificial outfield at Nieuw Hanenburg ACC enhanced their run rate standing with a comprehensive 102-run victory over Quick Haag, built on a second-wicket partnership of 125 between Rehmat Zulfiqar, who made an aggressive 80, and Rasool.

The youngster has served a long apprenticeship, but in following up his fifty last week with an unbeaten 117 he reaped the reward for the hard work he has reportedly been doing over the winter.

Jean Marais contributed a quick 32, and ACC closed on 290 for seven.

Quick were soon in trouble with Bob van Gigch, Lesley Stokkers and Geert Maarten Mol all dismissed cheaply, but Young, after a cautious start, suddenly unleashed an extraordinary attack on the ACC bowlers, cracking six sixes in five overs and racing from 27 to 64.

Three more followed before he eventually fell to Aryan Kumar for 115, made at better than a run a ball, and Quick were all out for 188, with Brady Barends, Anis Raza, Devanchu Arya and Shreyas Potdar collecting a brace of wickets apiece.

HBS were also relatively untroubled in maintaining their unbeaten record, with a 72-run victory over Sparta 1888 at Sportpark Bermweg.

They got off to another flying start with an opening stand of 97 inside 17 overs, 74 coming from the bat of Tobias Visée, who faced just 43 deliveries and smashed ten fours and three sixes.

His partner, Zac Elkin, was much more circumspect, taking 117 balls to make his 58, but with Sharn Gomes and Navjit Singh going cheaply and Wesley Barresi making only 27, it took a brisk 31 from Zak Gibson to get the total up to 242.

Max Hoornweg and Usman Saleem claimed three wickets each, for 41 and 35 respectively.

Wessel Coster and Berend Westdijk, sharing the new ball, struck back for HBS, and at 39 for three Sparta were soon in trouble.

As they had against Voorburg, Mudassar Bukhari (35) and Atse Buurman (27) leant some solidity to the middle order, but once Westdijk had removed Bukhari and Barresi had accounted for Buurman the Sparta reply fell away, only skipper Joost Martijn Snoep’s unbeaten 24 enabling them to reach 170.

Westdijk finished with three for 20, with the spinners Julian de Mey and Barresi collecting a couple of wickets each.

The most exciting match of the day saw HCC snatch a final-over three-wicket victory over Dosti United, half-centuries by Adam Wiffen and Bryce Street enabling them to overhaul Dosti’s 229 for nine with two balls to spare.

Taruwar Kohli’s 108 not out was the highlight of Dosti’s innings, only opener Rahil Ahmed (42) and skipper Vinoo Tewarie (33) offering significant support.

The Amsterdam side were well placed at 140 for two, but once Tewarie had gone they lost their way, and with Hidde Overdijk taking four for 43 it was Kohli’s 126-ball innings which enabled them to set a decent total.

A 93-run stand between Wiffen (50) and Street (63) meant that HCC, too, reached 142 for two, but once they had been removed, by Kuldeep Diwan and Amitose Singh respectively, the home side’s middle order likewise failed to maintain the momentum, and it took hard-hitting cameos by Douwe Walhain and Ali Ahmed Qasim, the former finishing the game off with a winning six, to see their side to victory.

Rod Lyall 06/08/18

Three rounds to go, and each victory by leaders VOC Rotterdam, however it is obtained, makes the task significantly more difficult for their rivals: both VRA Amsterdam and HBS Craeyenhout still have a chance of pipping them at the post (VRA’s a good deal more realistic than that of HBS), but they are gradually being squeezed out by VOC’s resilience and the mathematics.

VOC stayed in front at Hazelaarweg on Sunday by successfully defending the very modest total of 169 for eight and bowling Sparta 1888 out for a disappointing 105.

That they reached even that score was very substantially due to a dogged knock from a partially-fit Max O’Dowd, whose 53 from 147 deliveries was the backbone of the VOC innings. Jelte Schoonheim had contributed 34 at the start and Pieter Seelaar made 27, but with Mudassar Bukhari and Warren Bell taking three wickets apiece, at a cost of 15 and 34 respectively, the home side were always forced to struggle for their runs.

But conditions proved even less savoury for the visitors, who were quickly reduced to 41 for seven in reply.

After Fred Klaassen and Pierce Fletcher removed the openers Seelaar and Bobby Hanif worked their way through the rest of the top and middle order, and only a defiant 37 not out from Craig Ambrose, who marshalled the tail admirably, enabled Sparta to get past the hundred mark.

Seelaar finished with three for 19 and Hanif three for 18.

VRA again recovered from an uncertain start to post an imposing 283 against Punjab Rotterdam in the Amsterdamse Bos, an innings dominated by Peter Borren’s 126-ball 153, his highest score in the top flight and one which included 14 fours and a six. It also took him into the select ranks of those who have scored 7000 runs in the highest division of the competition.

He came to the crease with his side on 7 for two, and they were on 51 for four, with Dan ter Braak, Eric Szwarczynski, Ben Cooper and Emile van den Burg all gone, by the time he was joined by Mitch Lees.

These two added 70 for the fifth wicket, and then with Borren in top gear he and Adeel Raja put on 126 for the eighth – a club record – of which Raja’s share was 36.

Mubashar Hussain was Punjab’s principal wicket-taker with four for 50.

283 always seemed likely to be too much for Punjab, and their cause suffered a crucial setback when Stef Myburgh was run out for 27.

Ali Raza made a solid 57, but the asking rate continued to rise and when he was stumped by Lees off the bowling of Ter Braak, who finished with three for 17, the only remaining question was whether the Rotterdam side would bat out their overs. This they managed to do, finishing on 207 for nine.

In a game of fluctuating fortunes at Sportpark Drieburg HBS Craeyenhout held on to beat Dosti United by 19 runs and give themselves an outside chance of nipping through to pinch the title.

With Tobias Visée and Berend Westdijk both missing from their line-up Wessel Coster and Sharn Gomes gave the side a good start with an opening stand of 71, but once Gomes had gone for 20 the wickets started to fall, including Coster’s for a determined 44, and it took an unbeaten 29 from Wesley Barresi to get the total up to a meagre 141.

Anees Davids took three for 22 for Dosti and Mohammad Hafeez – the leading wicket-taker in the competition – three for 13.

With Dosti on 86 for eight, in which Hafeez’s 28 was the main contribution, HBS seemed to be heading for a comfortable victory, but then Waheed Masood and Arief Hoseinbaks added 36 for the ninth wicket and the home side’s hopes began to recover.

Ferdi Vink dismissed Masood, however, and when Coster bowled Hoseinbaks without addition to the score HBS had made sure of the points. Farshad Khan and Barresi were again the main wicket-takers, with three for 30 and three for 29 respectively.

Remarkable as Borren’s innings was, it was surpassed by Rehmat Zulfiqar’s 188 out of an ACC total of 311 for seven against Quick Haag on the second ground at De Diepput.

Admittedly on a relatively small field the ACC opener equaled Darron Reekers’ record of 16 sixes in a single innings, hitting 11 fours into the bargain and facing 156 deliveries before he was caught off the final ball of the innings.

He shared an opening stand of 104 with Richard Frenz (36), and later he and Anees Raza (34) added 73 for the sixth. In between, a fine ten-over spell from Jeroen Brand, who took three for 15, had brought some much-needed sanity to the proceedings, but in the closing stages Rehmat again took charge, ensuring his side set the highest total of the day.

Quick’s reply was built around two contributions: Jay Bista’s lively 80-ball 85 and then Geert Maarten Mol’s maiden century in the top flight, 101 from 94 deliveries which included six fours and six sixes.

Mol’s heroics kept his side in the hunt, but when he finally skied a return catch to Saqib Zulfiqar 77 were still needed from 39 deliveries, and although the lower order kept battling they eventually fell 19 runs short of their target. Saqib’s three wickets cost 72 runs, but his dismissal of Mol was enough to turn the game ACC’s way.

On a day of radically contrasting games, much of the excitement came in the closing minutes at Thurlede, where HCC were chasing Excelsior ‘20’s total of 200 for seven.

Bryce Street’s 68 had got them into contention, but when he was trapped in front by Lorenzo Ingram 33 were still needed at exactly a run a ball and five wickets in hand.

Dan Trijzelaar and Douwe Walhain brought their side to the brink of victory, and Sohail Bhatti’s final over began with just five runs needed and four wickets remaining.

Walhain was bowled for 21, Laurens Jan Lagas was run out off a wide, and although Trijzelaar and Tyrone Peters managed to level the scores, another run out – Trijzelaar this time – ensured that Excelsior escaped with a tie.

Earlier, James Hilditch, back from injury, top-scored with 39 as Excelsior achieved their 200 total, an innings in which most of the batsmen got a start but no-one was able to produce a truly decisive knock.

In the end, though, it proved to be just enough for the sides to share the points in the first tied match of the season.

Rod Lyall 23/07/18

Recovering from a somewhat shaky, if decidedly lively, start to beat their closest rivals, HBS Craeyenhout by 39 runs on Sunday, VRA Amsterdam set out their stall as the principal challengers to VOC Rotterdam’s run towards this year’s Topklasse title.

As the players left the field, however, the news came through that the leaders had themselves held on for a two-wicket victory over ACC, thus remaining effectively two games ahead in their bid to take the championship for the first time since 1994.

At Craeyenhout, VRA began at a gallop after Emile van den Burg won the toss and elected to bat, maintaining a rate of nearly six an over in the initial powerplay.

But this came at a cost, as Berend Westdijk, battling a shoulder injury, produced a sustained spell of hostile seam bowling, and Eric Szwarczynski, Ben Cooper and Daan ter Braak all fell hooking rising deliveries.

By the twentieth over three more wickets had fallen, including that of surprise inclusion Michael Rippon, and at 89 for six VRA were in some difficulty.

The Amsterdam side bat deep, however, and with Westdijk having completed an excellent spell for figures of four for 49 the innings was rebuilt by Vikram Singh (29), Leon Turmaine (19) and Mitch Lees, the latter top-scoring with a fine 55-ball 44.

Then Quirijn Gunning and Haseeb Gul Mia finished things off with a breezy, unbroken last-wicket partnership, and VRA closed on 226 for nine.

The same pair ripped through the HBS top order once they got the ball in their hands, and with 13 overs the home side had in their turn been reduced to 30 for five, with three wickets for Gunning and two for Haseeb Gul, Lees claiming four catches behind the stumps.

Wesley Barresi and Dennis Coster, the latter having sustained a painful rib injury while fielding, set about restoring HBS’s fortunes, but Coster eventually fell to a fine catch by Gunning at mid-on off Borren’s bowling, and it was left to Barresi to keep his side’s hopes alive, in company with Navjit Singh.

The asking rate was, however, rising, and when Barresi fell to another Gunning catch, this time on the midwicket boundary, as he attempted to push the score along, the chase was effectively over.

Singh and Ferdi Vink added 58 for the eighth wicket in a spirited stand, but by the time Vink fell, caught and bowled by Rippon for 20 at the start of the 47th over, 15 an over was still required.

Singh went on to complete a fine not-out half-century, ending on 55, but a run-out ended the innings on 187. Gunning took three for 26 and Haseeb Gul three for 35.

Leaders VOC Rotterdam were pushed all the way at Het Loopveld West by ACC, but another solid innings from Scott Edwards saw them home with five balls and two wickets in hand.

Anchored by opener Richardt Frenz, who made 82, ACC reached 217 for seven in their fifty overs, with Asad Zulfiqar making 40 and skipper Saqib Zulfiqar contributing a crucial 57 in the latter stages of the innings. Pierce Fletcher was VOC’s main wicket-taker with three for 42.

The Bloodhounds soon lost Corey Rutgers and Dirk van Baren, and then Jelte Schoonheim, when they replied, but their fortunes were at least partially restored by stands of 49 between Max O’Dowd and Pieter Seelaar, and then a further 46 between Seelaar and Edwards.

Once Seelaar was run out by Frenz for 52, however, it was left to Edwards to see his side home, and with support from the lower order he was ultimately successful, making a 66-ball 64 not out in the process.

Dewald Botha kept ACC’s hopes alive with three for 34, including the wicket of Fred Klaassen with 36 still needed, but in the end VOC were just too strong.

In the middle of the table there were wins for Dosti United and Excelsior ‘20, who beat Sparta 1888 and Quick Haag respectively.

Sparta did well to dismiss Dosti for 183 at Sportpark Bermweg, with Mudassar Bukhari and Martijn Snoep taking three for 22 and three for 32 respectively; the first of Bukhari’s three, in his 200th top-flight match, took him into the select company of those bowlers who have claimed 300 wickets in the limited-overs era.

Mohammad Hafeez was again Dosti’s top-scorer with 52, and he and Rahil Ahmed (35) shared in a vital fourth-wicket stand of 92.

That relatively modest total, though, turned out to be plenty as the home side quickly slumped to 38 for five and were finally bowled out for 83, Snoep the most successful of the batsmen with 21. Anees Davids took three for 23 and was also responsible for the vital wicket of Michael Pollard, run out for 12.

Excelsior’s total of 209 for five at Thurlede was mostly due to a 98-run stand between Joost Kroesen (55) and Lorenzo Ingram (57), while another Topklasse returnee, former international Daan van Bunge, chipped in with an unbeaten, 33-ball 39.

Then Rens van Troost ran through the top of the Quick batting, taking four for 29, and only a fifth-wicket partnership of 60 between Geert Maarten Mol (42) and Daan Vierling (37) lent any respectability to the Quick reply.

Once that stand had been broken Gijs Kroesen claimed three for 33 and Ingram two for 12, and Quick were all out for 157, 52 runs short.

But the most dramatic collapse of the day came at De Diepput where bottom-placed Punjab Rotterdam, chasing HCC’s total of 166, found themselves on 5 for four in the space of 10 deliveries, with Stef Myburgh, Ali Raza, Rohan Qadri and Barend Vorster all having come and gone.

That soon became 13 for five, and it took a defiant 41-ball 40 from Yasir Usman to get them up to 105 all out, with Ali Ahmed Qasim claiming three for 21 for the home side.

Ali Ahmed (42) had earlier shared a crucial 67-run partnership of 67 with Hidde Overdijk (47), which enabled their side to set what proved to be an adequate target. Mubashar Hussain took three for 44 for the Rotterdam side.

Rod Lyall 16/07/18

A sustained 15-over spell of hostile fast bowling by VOC’s new-ball pair of Fred Klaassen and Pierce Fletcher, backed up by aggressive fielding, effectively put an end to Excelsior ‘20’s remaining hopes of winning a third successive championship at Hazelaarweg on Sunday, as the Schiedam side, chasing 192, were reduced to 42 for four.

That included the prolific Lorenzo Ingram, caught at slip to give Klaassen his third wicket at a cost of just 13 runs, and it exposed Excelsior’s brittle middle order to the off-spin of Max O’Dowd and the medium pace of Bobby Hanif, which completed the job as Excelsior were dismissed for 83, O’Dowd finishing with four for 25.

David Woutersen showed some resistance, top-scoring with 17, but otherwise was another disappointing day with the bat for the defending champions.

Earlier, they had started well, claiming the wickets of Jelte Schoonheim and Corey Rutgers with just two runs on the board, but then Dirk van Baren (40) and O’Dowd (23) led the fightback, and a splendid innings from Scott Edwards, who made 69 from 82 deliveries with six fours and a six, supported by Umar Baker (21), enabled them to reach 191 for nine.

It turned out to be a very decent total on a day when the bowlers were again often in charge, and it reinforced VOC’s hold on the lead as well as consigning Excelsior to the middle of the table.

The chasing pack, now reduced to two, both maintained the pressure with comfortable victories.

The easier of the two was third-placed VRA’s ten-wicket win in the Amsterdamse Bos against one-time leaders Sparta 1888, which featured an unbroken opening stand of 141 between Daan ter Braak and Eric Szwarczynski.

Sparta had begun well with a first-wicket partnership of 64 between newly-promoted Vikki Rattu (16) and Warren Bell (44), but once they had gone Leon Turmaine and Peter Borren worked their way through the rest of the batting, and the Capelle side were dismissed for 138.

Turmaine finished with four for 26 and Borren four for 30, George Dunlop collecting two for 9 to complete the demolition work.

For the second week in succession Szwarczynski and Ter Braak responded with a century opening partnership; against ACC the latter had been dismissed with his side on the brink of victory, but this time they completed the job in style.

Szwarczynski ended on 65, made from 89 deliveries with 10 fours, his partner on 63 from 87 deliveries with five boundaries.

At Het Zomercomplex, Punjab Rotterdam lost Ali Raza and Barend Vorster before they had a run on the board, and although Stef Myburgh contributed another aggressive 41 and later Yasir Usman produced an equally hard-hitting 43, the home side could only manage 135 against a determined HBS Craeyenhout.

Wessel Coster, who took those two early wickets, claimed two more to finish with four for 28, while Farshad Khan took three for 41.

Raza then made up for his lack of success with the bat by taking four catches when HBS replied, and with Vorster taking three for 29 the visitors were in a degree of trouble at 92 for five.

But Wesley Barresi was still there, in company with Dennis Coster, and these two knocked off the remaining runs without further alarms; Barresi made an unbeaten 40, from 32 deliveries with five fours and a six, while his partner ended on 17 not out.

Dosti United could once again thank Taruwar Kohli’s bat for their 13-run victory over ACC at Sportpark Drieburg: he made 62 out of their total of 177, and shared in an 83-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Hafeez (39).

Skipper Saqib Zulfiqar was the most successful of the ACC bowlers with three for 40, and he completed a fine double with a knock of 67, sharing in a even more productive stand of 99 for the fourth wicket with Richardt Frenz (60).

When Kohli had Frenz caught behind it was left to Zulfiqar to continue the chase with 48 still needed, but with wickets tumbling at the other end, Hafeez taking four for 30 in another decisive spell, he was eventually dismissed himself, and despite a defiant 18 from Dewald Botha the ACC innings ended on 164.

Quick Haag took a crucial step away from the relegation danger zone with a hard-fought 27-run win against HCC at De Diepput.

Another fine innings from Jay Bista, who made 77 at better than a run a ball, was the foundation of HCC’s total of 193 – the highest score of the day – with Geert Maarten Mol chipping in with 29 and Govert Trappenburg with 25.

Ryan Ninan took three for 30 and Bryce Street three for 39 for the nominal visitors, and both then proved the backbone of their side’s batting. Ninan, opening, made 72 and Street 46, but those apart only Tonny Staal (19) was able to reach double figures.

The destroyers for Quick were Pieter Groenewald with four for 40 and Mol with four for 30, and despite Street’s rearguard battle HCC were dismissed for 166.

Rod Lyall 02/07/18

VOC Rotterdam retained their position at the top of the table with a comfortable victory over HCC on Sunday, but wins for HBS Craeyenhout and VRA Amsterdam over near rivals Sparta 1888 and Excelsior ’20 Schiedam respectively mean that the battle in the upper half remains extremely tight, with all five teams having a realistic chance of grabbing the silverware.

Only 0.33 of an average point now separates Sparta in fifth place from the leaders, and while two defeats in succession have seen the Capelle side’s challenge subside somewhat – not to mention three defeats in four matches for defending champions Excelsior – no side has been consistent enough to emerge from the chasing pack.

VOC again needed to recover from the loss of early wickets after winning the toss at Hazelaarweg, and it was a fourth-wicket stand of 108 between Max O’Dowd (57) and Pieter Seelaar (80) which enabled them to reach 238 for six, while Hidde Overdijk was the most successful of the HCC bowlers with three for 42.

The quick removal of both openers by Fred Klaassen and Pierce Fletcher soon had HCC on the back foot when they replied, but Tonny Staal (66) and Bryce Street (36) shared another valuable partnership, adding 89 before O’Dowd separated them.

O’Dowd went on to take six for 40 as HCC’s batting crumbled, and they were eventually all out for 161 to lose by 77 runs.

HBS moved into second spot with another powerful display, beating Sparta 1888 by 84 runs at Craeyenhout.

The highlight of the home side’s 259 for eight was a fine century by Sharn Gomes, who passed 50 for the seventh time in ten innings but this time went on to three figures, sharing stands of 97 with opener Wessel Coster (43) and 72 with Jaron Morgan (24).

With Wesley Barresi chipping in with a 24-ball 30, HBS posted a challenging target which their attack proved more than capable of defending, and Sparta’s batsmen never looked likely to approach it after Coster removed both openers by the time 9 runs were on the board.

Tim de Kok (29), Michael Pollard (27) and Mudassar Bukhari (37) – who had taken three for 39 in the HBS innings – all got a start, but with wickets falling at regular intervals the Sparta reply never really gained momentum.

Farshad Khan removed both Pollard and Bukhari, going on to finish with four for 35, and with spinner Julian de Mey contributing a useful spell for two for 28 even the dogged resistance of Atse Buurman (39 not out) was insufficient, and the innings closed on 175.

In the Amsterdamse Bos VRA reached 203 for two thanks to half-centuries from Dan ter Braak and Peter Borren and a splendid 89 from Ben Cooper, but a flurry of wickets in the final ten overs saw the side dismissed for 260 an over before the end, Sohail Bhatti cleaning up the tail with four for 54.

The Excelsior top order mounted a decent reply, Lorenzo Ingram making 42 and Joost Kroesen a career-best 74, and at 175 for three and ten overs remaining it seemed that the Schiedammers had an outside chance of pulling off the victory.

But they, too, collapsed in dramatic fashion, and with VRA’s former internationals Adeel Raja and Borren taking four for 38 and three for 37 respectively they were dismissed for 235.

ACC’s stop-start season took another extraordinary turn at Het Zomercomplex, where they ran up a total of more than 320 for two against a hapless Punjab Rotterdam (exact scores from this match are unfortunately currently unavailable).

Sikander Zulfiqar hit the highest score of the season with an unbeaten 150, while his brother Asad was left on 97 not out as the pair put on a record 227 (approximately) for the third wicket.

For the second week running Punjab belied their lowly position with a spirited response, but despite half-centuries from opener Stef Myburgh, Rohan Qadri and Yasir Usman they fell some 40 runs short of their massive target.

Veteran Ahmed Zulfiqar was ACC’s main wicket-taker.

Dosti United consolidated their mid-table position with two home wins over the weekend, beating Punjab by 95 runs on Saturday in a rearranged match and then prevailing over Quick Haag on Sunday.

Taruwar Kohli was again the star of Saturday’s show, posting his fourth century of the season as Dosti reached 252 for six, while in the absence of Anees Davids second-team coach Amitoze Singh contributed 53.

Waheed Masood then took four for 38 as Punjab were dismissed for 157, only Barend Vorster showing any real resistance with 48.

Singh and Masood underlined their value again on Sunday, the former making 99 in Dosti’s total of 201 all out against Quick and the latter picking up three for 48 as the Nieuw Hanenburg side were dismissed for 177.

This defeat coupled with ACC’s win sees Quick drop to ninth place in the table, but they, like ACC, are two wins ahead of Punjab and not yet in serious relegation trouble.