Category: Uncategorized

Rod Lyall 24/04/22

What is perhaps the earliest opening day in the history of the Dutch competition was greeted with splendid Spring weather on Saturday, bright sunshine tempered by a chilly breeze, and although there may have been some creaking joints and aching muscles, there were also some outstanding performances.

The tightest match of the day was at Het Loopveld, where fortunes fluctuated all day before HBS Craeyenhout won the Group A encounter with ACC by 46 runs.

Put in to bat, HBS were given a great start by Tobias Visée, who cracked a 21-ball 42 in typically Dartagnan-like fashion, dominating an opening stand of 60 at almost ten an over before he was dismissed by Robert Ackermann.

Tayo Walbrugh continued at the other end, but some fine bowling from Thomas Hobson and Joseph Reddy brought ACC back into the game, and with five wickets falling for 23 runs HBS were in trouble at 106 for six; Hobson finished with three for 23 and Reddy two for 20.

This brought Ryan Klein in to join Walbrugh, however, and they proceeded to turn the innings around with a stand of 113, Walbrugh reaching his century before, with three overs remaining, he fell to Mees van Vliet.

Klein continued to attack, bringing his own score to 76 before he became Van Vliet’s third victim of 23 runs, and HBS closed on 247 for nine.

ACC’s hopes of overhauling this target were largely dependent on South African overseas player Robin Smith, who shared a third-wicket stand of 59 with Hobson (48) and who thereafter played a fairly lone hand with some support from Navin Saran and Ammar Zaidi.

Once the latter had gone and his side were reduced to 183 for seven Smith began to hit out in earnest, but after smacking Stephan Vink for a huge six he tried to repeat the shot and was caught by Walbrugh, lurking in the deep, departing for a fine 92.

Vink finished with three for 23 as ACC were all out for 201, Kyle Klein and Ferdi Vink picking up two apiece.

Walbrugh was beaten in the century stakes, however, by HCC opener Tonny Staal, who made 121 as his side ran up 263 for three against Sparta 1888 at Sportpark Bermweg.

He and Clayton Floyd put on 70 for the first wicket, and then Staal and Zac Worden added 122 for the second, Worden ending the innings on 79 not out.

Sandeep Sardha hit a defiant 46 at almost a run a ball when Sparta replied, but the HCC attack was too strong for the Capelle club’s batting, only Nasratullah Ibrahimkhil holding out with an unbeaten 40 as they were dismissed for 168; Henrico Venter was the most successful of the HCC’s bowlers with three for 15 from five overs, with Clayton Floyd, Tim Pringle and Olivier Klaus each picking up two wickets.

In the remaining Group A match first-time champions Punjab Rotterdam began their defence of their title with a comfortable win over promoted side Kampong Utrecht, Mubashar Hussain taking four for 38 and Saqib Zulfiqar three for 42 as Kampong were all out for 172, to which skipper Usman Malik contributed 58.

The Kampong bowling was then unfortunate enough to run into Stephan Myburgh in full cry, who despatched them to all parts with a superb, 88-ball knock of 108 not out, including 11 fours and six sixes, as Punjab cruised to victory in 28.4 overs.

It was Myburgh’s 15th top-flight hundred, the most by anyone this century.

The promoted side in Group B, Salland Deventer, were similarly overpowered by VRA Amsterdam in the Amsterdamse Bos.

Batting first, VRA posted 249 for four, thanks in large measure to an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 135 between Jack Balbirnie (57 not out) and skipper Peter Borren (75 not out from 66 deliveries), the latter passing fifty for the 67th time in his 301 matches for the club.

Salland had no answer to this, and although opener Pasan Ottachchige made a patient 42 before he was seventh out, Aryan Dutt marked his arrival in the Bos with figures of five for 11, and the Deventer side were all out for a disappointing 110.

Many observers’ pre-season title favourites Voorburg achieved a six-wicket victory over Excelsior ’20 Schiedam at Thurlede, but it took them almost the full complement of overs to do it.

With both sides still awaiting overseas reinforcements the early exchanges were dominated by Voorburg’s Delano Potgieter, who took three for 16 in 8.1 overs, and by Excelsior’s long-serving Lorenzo Ingram, who top-scored with 41 out of the Schiedammers’ total of 164.

Voorburg were soon in trouble at 19 for three when they replied, but Bas de Leede and Tom de Grooth steadied the ship with a fourth-wicket partnership of 95, and after Rens van Troost removed De Grooth for a steady 38 Karl Nieuwoudt provided a much-needed acceleration which saw the visitors home with two overs to spare.

Nieuwoudt’s 33 not out came from 25 deliveries, while De Leede finished on 73, made from 122 balls with just four boundaries.

On Sunday, VOC Rotterdam completed a comfortable win over Dosti Amsterdam at Sportpark Drieburg, chasing down the home side’s 187 all out to win by seven wickets with almost 15 overs to spare.

The highlight was international wicketkeeper Scott Edwards’s innings of 112 not out, made from 118 deliveries and including 14 fours and two sixes which ensured the Rotterdammers’ success after they had started shakily and found themselves on 30 for two.

Edwards was given excellent support by Arnav Jain, who made 36 out of a stand of 157 for the third wicket before, with the scores level, he holed out to Kuldeep Diwan, giving a third wicket to Wahid Masood, who finished with three for 24.

Earlier, opener Masood had given Dosti an excellent start with a knock of 64 before he was stumped by Edwards off Jelte Schoonheim, but thereafter only Mahesh Hans, with 33, was able to put up much resistance.

On his first outing for VOC Max Hoornweg claimed three for 33, while Jain and Schoonheim had two for 29 and two for 20 respectively.

Bertus de Jong 07/04/22

2021 Topklasse runners-up Voorburg CC caused something of a stir when they announced a slew of signings ahead of the 2022 season, most prominent among them South African international batsman, Janneman Malan. Also joining VCC during the season is Malan’s elder brother, South West Districts all-rounder Andre Malan, as well as Delano Potgieter, another right arm seam all-rounder who plays for North West Dragons and also impressed for SA Emerging XI on their recent tour to Namibia, while Netherlands international Logan van Beek will be back for the 2022 season.

Janneman Malan, who was recently awarded a central contract with Cricket South Africa and won the ICC men’s emerging player of the year last year, is the most high-profile signing by a Topklasse club in some time, but he will not be staying for the entire season, arriving too late for the first round owing to his upcoming wedding and departing mid-June to join up with the South African team.

In fact all three of the South African trio as well as Van Beek will miss some part of the season, explained VCC Chair Kobus Nel, with van Beek’s wedding plans in New Zealand similarly seeing him arrive late and Potgieter staying only until mid-July, while Andre Malan will play only the back end of the season after his brother’s departure.

Though delighted with the prospect, Nel provided context to their signings, stressing that the Malan brothers’ staggered stints at VCC will in effect be covering for Sybrand Engelbrecht, who is recovering from shoulder surgery. “Sybrand’s not likely to play much this season. We’re hopeful that perhaps towards the end of the season he may be able to play some games, but it’s far from certain.” Nel added that it is also through Engelbrecht that the Malans come to VCC. “They are good friends of Sybrand’s, so it’s very much a personal connection.”

Potgieter too, comes to the club via via as the Dutch say. Emiel Bam, new to the VCC coaching team, knows Potgieter after coaching him earlier in his cricket development journey, and made the connection with the club. “Delano thought a spell in the Netherlands during the South African winter would be both good for his game and an exciting new life experience.” The seam all-rounder will also provide a measure of cover for Van Beek, who was unavailable for parts of last season and like a number of our players will likely be regularly called upon by the national team during what looks set to be a packed international summer. “Logan has been great for us of course, both on the field and for the club community, but he missed a number of games last year playing in England. The Dutch have a full schedule that will put substantial physical demands on our national players, so it’s good to have Delano for the first part of the season both for the team and also assisting club wide on the coaching side of things.”

Nel emphasised the value of the signings from a development perspective above all. “We’ve tried to take a holistic approach to move things forward, always putting our members first. What we’re striving to do is gradually raise the standard from the bottom up, from the juniors, through amateurs and up to the professional level. Having players like Janneman, Andre, Delano and Logan over for a spell is great for the whole club, and especially to support the development of our local international players. But it’s part of a broader aim where we’re attempting to create a cricket centre of excellence in which all involved can have the opportunity to develop their full potential. We have been doing this with our facilities, more recently our indoor facility and hybrid grass wickets, and strive to keep on improving all facets of our cricket club environment. Obviously signing especially Janneman has drawn a fair bit of attention, but that can only be a good thing for the league and Dutch cricket as a whole.”

In addition to the South African trio and the returning Van Beek, VCC also added brothers Musa and Shariz Ahmed to their roster for the coming season. Musa Ahmed, a Dutch-capped left handed opening bat, comes over from HCC while the younger Shariz, a leg spinner, who is also in the national set-up, joins from Groen en Wit. Conversely Netherlands international Aryan Dutt has departed the club for VRA.

Nel finished off by saying, “we’re excited about the season, but more importantly about the strong building blocks we’re putting in place to confidently move VCC into the future.”

Rod Lyall 30/08/21

In one of the most extraordinary turnarounds of this or any other season Punjab Rotterdam, thanks to a magnificent unbeaten 114 from Sikander Zulfiqar, recovered from an apparently hopeless 52 for six to beat Voorburg by three wickets on Sunday and progress to next week’s grand final.

In a rain-punctuated reply chasing Voorburg’s 209 for seven, Punjab appeared to be heading for defeat for much of their innings, but dogged knocks from skipper Suleiman Tariq and from Sohail Bhatti gave Zulfiqar the support he needed as he batted his side into a winning position.

Earlier, Tariq had led from the front with an unbroken ten-over spell in which he conceded only 24 runs, while fellow-seamer Mubashar Hussain was even more economical, removing Voorburg openers Tom de Grooth and Mohit Hingorani into the bargain to finish with two for 16 from his unrelieved ten.

Punjab’s effort was all the more remarkable because key allrounder Teja Nidamanuru was able to bowl only seven deliveries before he was forced to leave the field with a hand injury sustained as he tried to stop a straight drive off his own bowling.

But Irfan ul Haq stepped into the breach, and for much of his spell he, too, was able to contain Voorburg’s batters.

Bas de Leede and Sybrand Engelbrecht batted solidly as they put on 78, but with boundaries few and far between it took them 21 overs to do it, and almost as soon as the runs began to flow a little De Leede was caught behind reaching for a delivery from Irfan.

Aryan Dutt made a cameo appearance for his 15, and Engelbrecht, having reached a hard-working half-century, decided that the time had come for more sustained aggression and, after hitting Saqib Zulfiqar for successive boundaries, fell to a return catch at the end of the same over and departed for 59.

There were now five overs left and Logan van Beek, who had already shown his intentions, made full use of them; they produced 45 runs, 34 of them from the bat of Van Beek, who made 40 from 23 deliveries, hitting four sixes, before he was caught on the long on boundary off the penultimate ball of the innings trying to add a fifth.

That final flurry had given Voorburg a solid total in the conditions, and when Viv Kingma had removed Steph Myburgh and Asad Zulfiqar and Van Beek had bowled Rehmat Zulfiqar, it began to look like a winning one, particularly with Nidamanuru unable to bat.

Rain held up proceedings for half an hour at 44 for three after 17 overs, and immediately after the resumption Saqib Zulfiqar fell to Dutt without addition to the score.

Dutt, if not unplayable, was certainly unhittable, and having opened the innings with two overs for six runs he now bowled his remaining eight at a cost of 10 more; when his spell came to an end Punjab were on 77 for six with just 20 overs left and 133 still needed.

By now Tariq had joined Sikander, combining rock-like defence with the occasional meaty blow. But it was one of the latter off Van Beek which flew to De Grooth on the point boundary and ended the skipper’s resistance.

Still Punjab needed 117, now from just 16 overs with only two effective wickets left, and Voorburg must have believed that they had one foot in the grand final.

Bhatti continued, however, where Tariq had left off, and Sikander, himself batting with an injured hand sustained in Saturday’s T20 semi-final, reached fifty with a six off De Leede.

Now Sikander moved quickly through the gears, needing only 25 deliveries to go from fifty to his hundred and hitting four more sixes in the process, and by the time the rain intervened with only five overs remaining, Punjab were on 185, requiring 25 more and just ahead on DLS.

Bhatti played his part, pushing singles to give Sikander the strike, and as the target neared he took a hand himself, slicing Philippe Boissevain away for four off the first ball of the only over he bowled.

Voorburg continued to fight all the way, knowing that dismissing Sikander would turn the game back their way, but Punjab could now be content with ones and twos, and they gradually edged their way towards victory.

The end had something of the Keystone Cops about it as, with four needed, Bhatti pushed to point for a quick single to get Sikander back on strike, the return hit the stumps, and with the fielders’ attention on a sustained appeal for the run out, the ball continued on to the boundary for four overthrows.

Sikander Zulfiqar’s unbeaten 114 came from 116 deliveries and included six fours and five sixes, while Bhatti finished with 31 not out from 38.

Voorburg will look back on this match as an opportunity lost as they prepare to face VRA Amsterdam next Saturday, but the truth is that they were denied by a superb and courageous innings, one which will be remembered for a very long time.

After two weeks of controversy, HCC and VOC Rotterdam have both elected to withdraw from the playoff phase of the Topklasse, citing the greater interests of Dutch cricket. The decision leaves Punjab Rotterdam and Voorburg CC to contest the preliminary final this Sunday, with the winner of that match going on to host the final a week later. Meanwhile VRA have been granted a bye to the semi-final on Saturday September 4th where they will take on the loser of that encounter with the winner taking the second spot in the final the following day.

HCC and VOC were originally slated to contest their final league phase match at de Diepput on the 15th of August, but that match was eventually abandoned with HCC refusing to continue after a heated exchange in the middle apparently included a racially-charged comment directed at the HCC keeper. After the KNCB initially awarded the game to VOC, the Commissie van Beroep overturned the decision, mandating that the match be replayed the following week, consequently delaying the start of the palyoff phase.

In the event, VOC declined to play the rescheduled match citing concerns over escalating tensions and throwing the competition into further confusion, compounded by an unrelated controversy over the conflicting rules over precedence of tie-breakers for teams finishing on equal points which cast doubt on which of VCC or HCC would finish in second should HCC be awarded the game.

HCC would then find themselves embroiled in a controversy of their own this week when a photo surfaced of the whiteboard on which the team had written their pre-game objectives ahead of their Round 17 match against Punjab, which featured a slogan which reffered to their opponents using a derogatory Urdu term.

As the ongoing mess threatened to overshadow the final phase of the Topklasse entirely, both clubs, in consultation with the KNCB, mutually agreed it would be best to withdraw.

In a statement on the club website VOC explained: VOC and HCC jointly discussed the situation surrounding the abandoned match. This was both desirable and necessary as it became clear this that the replay … had not been established in accordance with the regulations. Following consultations – and taking into account the interests of cricket in the Netherlands – VOC and HCC jointly decided to withdraw from potential participation in the playoffs.

HCC likewise issued a statement, saying, As a club we have certain norms and values. The unrest generated by the match against VOC is sufficient cause for us to withdraw from further participation in the play-offs. With this we hope that peace will return to cricket. We would like to emphasize that we consider it of great importance that we continue to maintain friendly and sporting ties with all clubs and hope by means of taking this step to demonstrate those intentions.

Playoffs Schedule

Sunday August 29th: Preliminary Final – Punjab Rotterdam vs Voorburg CC

Saturday September 4th: Semi Final – Loser Preliminary Final vs VRA

Sunday September 5th: Grand Final – Winner Prelim Final vs Winner Semi Final

Bertus de Jong 24/08/21

HCC have come under fire after the emergence a photograph, obtained by TK cricket, of the Hague club’s match-planning white board in the side’s dressing room ahead of their 17^th round Topklasse match against Punjab Rotterdam. The whiteboard was discovered by Punjab players following the conclusion of the match on Sunday August 8^th. Together with the team selection and a series of tactical goals for the match in question, the slogan “Let’s back each other, stick together and Beat the Behenchods! [sic]” appears, the latter being an obscenity in Urdu and Hindi loosely translating as one who has sex with his sister.

A little over a week ago HCC controversially left the field and refused to continue their match against VOC Rotterdam after VOC batsman Dirk van Baren allegedly directed a racial slur at the HCC wicketkeeper Yash Patel. HCC then successfully appealed after the KNCB awarded the game to VOC, the Commissie van Beroep determining that the match must instead be replayed. VOC declined to contest the rescheduled game last Sunday, citing concerns over the risk of further escalating tensions.

The emergence of the photograph leaves HCC open to charges of hypocrisy, and calls into question the sincerity of their stand in regards the VOC match. The teams match against Punjab was itself not without controversy at the time, as HCC’s improbably slow over rate in the final phase of the rain-affected match prompted suggestions that they were attempting to avoid likely defeat by forcing an abandonment. In the event Punjab went on to win the game regardless, leaving HCC needing a single point to ensure progression to the playoffs.

The awarding of the VOC fixture to HCC meant that as things stand HCC are set to progress to the playoffs, either in second or in third place – the exact final standings being the subject of another unrelated controversy regarding the precedence of tie-breakers in the competition. Should they be awarded second place it would set up a rematch with Punjab Rotterdam in the preliminary final on Sunday.

HCC Chairman Jan Nuijten told TKcricket “HCC takes this matter very seriously, and issue has been discussed with the team who are preparing their apologies to offer to Punjab. It is regrettable that this matter has emerged publicly before these could be made, though the chairman has already offered his apologies in a personal capacity. While the white board was intended only for internal use and was not intended to be seen by or directed at the opposition, nonetheless the use of such language is unacceptable and not in the Spirit of Cricket.”

The KNCB declined to comment on the situation at this time.

Bertus de Jong & Bertus de Jong 21/08/21

nb. the first half of this preview was written prior to the announcement of VOC’s withdrawal from the match in question.

Well the circumstances leading to this orphaned match are not uncontroversial, but the Commissie van Beroep have in their ineffable wisdom decreed that last weeks aborted game between HCC and VOC Rotterdam must be replayed before we can get to the business of the playoffs, so having scrapped our preview for those games we’re left with this final league phase encounter at de Diepput as the day’s only game.

BdJ: Realistically, given the forecast and the difficulty of getting de Diepput to dry out in reasonable time, the expected rain is likely to be the decisive factor tomorrow. A washout would give HCC the single point they’ve been after for the last couple of weeks to make the top four and leave VOC rueing missed opportunities. Should we get a game in however, the hosts are well placed to claim their playoffs spot by traditional means. VOC will of course be without Dirk van Baren, who despite an inconsistent summer has put in some crucial performances under pressure this season, and likely without skipper Pieter Seelaar, whose fitness stuggles have reportedly returned. Their absences leave the VOC batting card looking a little thin, though in a shortened game (which is likely the most we can hope for) they still have the top-order hitting power in Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards to take advantage, while the returning Corey Rutgers has been in superlative form since shedding the responsibility of marshalling our neighbours to the South and VOC’s remaining middle order bats are arguably better suited to shorter contests. That said, HCC’s home advantage will likely prove a significant factor even in an abbreviated match. Their attack remains the league’s most balanced, and while the HCC batting lacks the hitting power of their opponents they make up for it in depth. The most probable outcome tomorrow remains a wash-out, which would see VOC eliminated and HCC claiming fourth place behind VRA by virtue of the latter’s total league phase win-count (or, equally likely, third place by virtue of the KNCB’s entirely arbitrary attitude toward the priority of tie-breakers). The Board’s limited understanding of the rules of their own competition likewise make it difficult to predict what an HCC victory would imply; according to the rules that have been in force all season they would finish in third place behind VCC – again on the basis of the latter’s superior win-count – but it’s equally possible they will be adjudged to have finished in second on the basis of a superior net run rate, head to head record against VCC, tasseomancy or the dictates of a monkey with a Ouija board. A convincing VOC win meanwhile would put them unambiguously in third ahead of VRA on most traditional metrics, while a close win ought to leave them in fourth but at this point who knows?

BdJ (2 hours later): VOC have just announced they’re not going to play the game that likely would have been washed out anyway, and are conceding the points to HCC. As a moral stand it is marginally less convincing than that of their intended opponents last week, but barring another bizarre and baseless decision from the game’s administrators it is likely to prove decisive. What this means is that we now have a weekend without any Topklasse cricket at all for absolutely no good reason, and HCC are through to the playoffs, in third position according to the actual rules but quite possibly in second place because “reasons”. So the farcical close to the league phase continues, having left us with four playoff contenders but relatively little idea of what order they might be in or why. Next weekend will see Punjab and VRA take on VCC or HCC in the preliminary final and de facto quarter final respectively, but the two will likely have to wait on a decision from the board as to which tiebreaker they intend to apply this week before finding out who their opponents will be. We’ll bring you news of that decision as soon as we get it. In the meantime we imagine that you, dear readers, like all of us at TK, will be on edge of your seats.

BdJ’s pick: Rain.

BdJ (2 hours later)’s pick: Nonsense.