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Season Preview 2021 – Part 2

Bertus de Jong 27/04/21

Last season’s winners (if not official champions) HCC will be looking to replace their pseudo-title with the real deal this season, and are keeping faith with essentially the same squad as topped the table in the abbreviated 2020 competition. Though the competition will be tougher this time round as a smattering of overseas players return elsewhere, HCC nonetheless look in decent shape for their “title” defence. The increasing maturity of HCC’s young top-order bats Musa Ahmad and Boris Gorlee, together with the fine preseason form of the less-heralded Daniel Trijzelaar, should allow skipper Tonny Staal more licence to revert to his natural role of early aggressor. HCC also have the added security of the batting depth provided by spin all-rounders Clayton Floyd, Yash Patel and Italian international Damien Crowley together with last season’s stand-out performer Hidde Overdijk in the middle order. Overdijk and Ollie Klaus, with 17 and 18 wickets respectively, were also 2020’s most successful seamers. Together with Rijnier Bijloos they make up a more than capable seam attack, albeit one lacking in express pace. In short, Staal has an enviably balanced squad at his disposal as HCC look to translate last season’s success into this season’s silverware.

Likewise largely unchanged are 2020 runners-up Punjab CC Rotterdam, who finished just one point behind HCC last season. That effort was based in large part on the 524 runs that flowed from the bat of Stephan Myburgh, who hit three centuries in seven innings to finish the season with a faintly absurd average of 131. Kiwi all-rounder Teja Nidamanuru was right behind him in the averages with 261 runs at 87, and if the pair can replicate that form Punjab will doubtless be right in the mix at the top of the table again this season. Backed up by a full armory of Zulfiqars, Punjab’s batting card looks like one of the more intimidating in the league again. Meanwhile Sohail Bhatti’s arrival from Excelsior to join Sikander Zulfiqar and Mubashar Hussain in the seam section gives veteran skipper (and 2020 lead wicket taker) Sulaiman Tariq another option with the ball, the Punjab attack’s tendency to leak runs being their only major weakness last season.

Also shaping up as likely title challengers are Voorburg CC, who will be strengthened by the additions of South African all-rounders Sybrand Engelbrecht and Karl Nieuwoudt as well as Netherlands international Logan van Beek. The pair will do much to shore up a batting line-up which, in the absence of the Smit brothers, looked rather over-dependent on Bas de Leede last season. While opener Righardt Pieterse provided de Leede with creditable support last Summer, VCC will be hoping for more substantial contributions from the veteran Tom de Grooth and young prospect Aryan Dutt to their 2021 title challenge. Likewise they will look to young legspinner Phillipe Boissevain to translate his growing international experience into continued domestic success. With a slow-bowling section built around Boissevain and Engelbrecht, and a pace attack comprising de Leede, Ali Ahmed, Viv Kingma and van Beek, with Dutt able to provide both spin and seam support, VCC can comfortably find 50-overs of international quality bowling. If the batting holds together this season, VCC’s first national championship in almost 20 years look within reach.

For Sparta 1888 the coming season looks rather more of a challenge, and with the loss of last season’s top-scorer Lenert van Wijk (nominally transferred to VRA but unlikely to play this season) Sparta will do well to replicate their fourth place finish. The arrival or big-hitting Sherry Butt will go some way to compensate however, the Belgian captain joining compatriots Ali Raza and Mamoon Latif at Capelle. Sparta will be more reliant on the Belgian trio for runs than last season, however. Aside from Raza and van Wijk, evergreen skipper Mudassar Bukhari was the only Sparta bat to break 200 runs last season. The rumoured return of Garnett Tarr may go some way toward shoring up the batting, but van Wijk’s remain big shoes to fill. The bowling likewise looks a little threadbare, though Bukhari remains a threat with the new ball while Max Hoornweg and younger brother Ivo continue to improve. Sparta spinners Manminder Singh and player-chairman Martijn Snoep both had solid 2020 seasons, and all told Sparta’s prospects this season suffer more from the strengthening of the competition than any significant deficiencies of their own. Nonetheless without a real replacement for van Wijk, a top-table finish looks a long shot for 2021.

Finally VRA will be looking to improve on their fifth-place finish last season, though the side will look broadly similar to the one that contested the abbreviated 2020 competition. Lenert van Wijk, much like Michael Rippon, is a rather speculative inclusion on the VRA team sheet, listed more in hope than expectation. The only immediate addition will be batsman and occasional legspinner Jack Balbirnie (brother of Ireland captain Andrew), who will likely partner young Dutch international Vikram Singh at the top of the order. With number three Ben Cooper looking in fine form for the national side ahead of the season, skipper Peter Borren seeing the ball well, and Eric Szwarczynski expected to turn out more regularly this season the VRA top-order looks arguably the strongest in the league. Competition for selection will likely be fierce amongst VRA’s youngsters, especially those aiming for a top-order slot. Debrup Dasgupta, Shirase Rasool, Udit Nashier and Zamaan Khan would be sure picks for most Topklasse sides but all will likely be sitting out a few games for VRA this season. The bowlers have it a little easier, Ashir Abid is a safe bet to share the new ball with Quirijn Gunning, while offspinner Luke Hartsink’s efforts last season will likely be enough to earn him a regular spot in the spin section alongside Leon Turmaine. That said, seasoned campaigner Adeel Raja, along with the options of Prasuk Jain and Harry Will make for competition at the selection table.

Read part one here

Season Preview 2021 – Part 1

Rod Lyall 25/04/2021

ACC are still recovering from the loss of their quartet of Zulfiqars and young batter Shirase Rasool, and in the light of that they did surprisingly well last season. 2021 is the club’s centenary year, and that gives them all the more reason to push themselves to the limit. With no relegation at stake ACC has elected to again rely on its remarkably youthful and largely home-produced squad, with five teenagers Aryan Kumar and Ammar Zaidi (both 19), Shreyas Potdar and Jamieson Mulready (18) and Mees van Vliet (17) all making good progress. Spinner Devanshu Arya often opens the bowling, and the inexperience of the side is also balanced by openers Cameron Burnett and Charles McInerney and middle-order batter Chris Knoll, while Anis Raza remains a key figure with both bat and ball. With other clubs bringing in overseas reinforcements, though, ACC may find this another testing season.

Strengthened by the advent of South Africans Ryan Klein and Tayo Walbrugh (the former in possession of a Dutch passport), HBS Craeyenhout will be looking to improve considerably on last season’s seventh place. The mercurial batting of Tobias Visée is always a menacing factor at the top of the order, and if the rest of the line-up – minus the huge contributions of now-retired Wesley Barresi – hasn’t always realised its potential, players like Navjit Singh, Wessel Coster and Adil Ahmad may find the going easier in the presence of Klein and Walbrugh. Julian de Mey, now in the national side as a spinner, made decent progress with the bat last season, while with Ferdi Vink as valuable as ever in a seam attack which also features Singh, Coster and potentially Farshad Khan, the Crows have as threatening a pace unit as any. They gave the impression last year of having two-thirds of a really good side; with the addition of the two South Africans they may turn out to be a good deal better than that this time.

After their unaccustomed finish in the lower reaches last year Excelsior ’20 Schiedam seem well placed to go chasing after another championship. Outstanding South African prospect (and another Dutch passport holder) Tristan Stubbs joins veteran Lorenzo Ingram in what looks like a pretty strong batting line-up, especially with the return of opener Tim Etman from Australia. With three Van Troosts (seamer Rens and his teenage brothers Stan and Jelte), three Kroesens (middle-order batter Joost, seamer Gijs and opening bat Luuk) and a brace of Etmans (seamer Niels was a regular part of the attack in brother Tim’s absence), Tom Heggelman’s side could well be something of a family affair. Seamer Sohail Bhatti has moved to Punjab, but the Schiedammers have picked up Klaas Roelfsema from Rood en Wit, and he will be vying for a place in the pace attack. Add in keeper-opener Roel Verhagen and middle-order bat Sanjit Shankar, and Excelsior have a squad capable of giving any opponent nightmares.

VOC Rotterdam really felt the absence of internationals Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards last season, and with Pieter Seelaar also out through injury they battled to produce convincing performances with both bat and ball. The return of Tim de Kok from Sparta and the arrival of Arnav Jain made some difference, and with a more solid base the club will be looking to the further development of youngsters like Tizo Moorman and Siebe van Wingerden. The attack improved greatly when Bobby Hanif and former international Ashan Malik returned mid-season, while experienced hands like Dirk van Baren and Jelte Schoonheim (the side’s leading wicket-taker last year) may perform more consistently with less weight upon their shoulders. O’Dowd, Edwards and Seelaar all have the capacity to turn the Rotterdammers from a decent side into title challengers, but they will need plenty of support from the rest of the squad.

With their complement of overseas players reduced to just one Dosti Amsterdam had a miserable, winless campaign in 2020, relieved only by the fact that nothing was at stake. The return of Anees Davids, at least for part of the season, will bolster Dosti’s hopes somewhat this time round, while his countryman Touseef Ahmed whose 6-29 against HCC was the best individual showing with the ball last season, will also be back. Nonetheless it seems likely that there will in any case be plenty of opportunities for skipper Vinoo Tewarie, keeper-batsman Rahil Ahmed and off-spinner Mahesh Hans to demonstrate their skills. Seamer Wahid Masood has contributed some valuable spells over recent seasons and was Dosti’s leading wicket-taker last year, while Sukumar Raji chipped in with the bat when everyone else failed. Occasional individual performances won them no points last season though, and without a more consistent team effort the Amsterdammers may again find wins elusive.

Read part two here

Topklasse 2021 season gets the green light

The KNCB has confirmed that both the men’s Topklasse and women’s Hoofdklasse will go ahead for 2021, with both competitions slated to start on time on May 1st.

All ten of the teams that contested last season’s abreviated competition will return for Topklasse 2021, despite some initial hesitance 2015 champions Dosti-United were the final team to confirm they would participate. As was the case last season, there will be no relegation from the Topklasse for 2021. Should the men’s Hoofdklasse be able to start later in the summer however, provided there is time to complete at least half of the usual season, two teams from the Netherlands’ second domestic division will be promoted, which will see the Topklasse expand to 12 teams for 2022.

Five teams have confirmed they will participate in the women’s Hoofdklasse, with VRA, Rood en Wit, VCC, Ajax SC, and Quick Haag returning. Excelsior’20, Groen Geel and Kampong decided not to participate in the competition under the current mandatory testing protocol, whilst the German national team, who were scheduled to participate in this years womens competition, are unable to travel under the current COVID-19 regulations.

Both competitions will be conducted according to the  KNCB’s Verantwoord Opstart Topcompetitie protocol, requiring participating teams to conduct pre-match COVID testing during the season using Antigen speed tests provided by the board, as well as weekly tests during pre-season.

While last season’s abbreviated competition was the first since 1945 not to crown an official national champion, this year assuming a full season encompassing a double-round robin league of 16 rounds can be completed, the Topklasse Title will again be on the line.

note: This article initially stated that Dosti-United would not contest the 2021 season, it has been amended to reflect the reversal of this decision.

Scorecard | HCC vs VOC | 30.08.20

HCC I Vs VOC I
1-Innings Match Played At De Diepput, Den Haag, 30-Aug-2020, Topklasse
VOC I Win by 25 runs (DLS)
Round 9
Toss won by VOC I
Umpires RJ Akram – N Uduwage
Home Side HCC I
Comment Match reduced to 27 overs. Rain stopped play, VOC 141-4(21 overs). Match further reduced to 21 overs; DLS par score 166.
Points Awarded VOC I 2, HCC I 0
VOC I 1st Innings 141/4 Closed (Overs 21)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
MA Durrani c C Floyd b RR Bijloos 0 0 0 0
R Malik+ c LJF Lagas b J-WM Overdijk 13 0 0 0
TIM de Kok not out 83 0 0 0
A Jain c C Floyd b OO Klaus 1 0 0 0
AAJ Malik c LJF Lagas b J-WM Overdijk 0 0 0 0
JD Schoonheim* not out 39 0 0 0
M Forget dnb
BW Hanif dnb
SB van Wingerden dnb
RR Upadhyaya dnb
T Moorman dnb
extras (b0 lb1 w4 nb0) 5
TOTAL 4 wickets for 141
FOW
1-1(MA Durrani) 2-20(R Malik) 3-30(A Jain) 4-31(AAJ Malik)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
RR Bijloos 4 1 14 1 – –
J-WM Overdijk 5 0 39 2 – –
OO Klaus 3 1 22 1 – –
HC Overdijk 5 1 31 0 – –
C Floyd 1 0 15 0 – –
MN Ahmad 1 0 10 0 – –
DG Crowley 2 0 9 0 – –
HCC I 1st Innings 141/10 All Out (Overs 19.1)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
AJ Staal* c MA Durrani b A Jain 0 0 0 0
MN Ahmad c A Jain b AAJ Malik 48 0 0 0
DG Crowley b AAJ Malik 10 0 0 0
BHG Gorlee b JD Schoonheim 17 0 0 0
HC Overdijk c TIM de Kok b SB van Wingerden 20 0 0 0
C Floyd c RR Upadhyaya b SB van Wingerden 2 0 0 0
YJ Patel c TIM de Kok b RR Upadhyaya 13 0 0 0
OO Klaus c JD Schoonheim b BW Hanif 20 0 0 0
J-WM Overdijk c&b BW Hanif 1 0 0 0
LJF Lagas+ c SB van Wingerden b AAJ Malik 3 0 0 0
RR Bijloos not out 0 0 0 0
extras (b0 lb3 w2 nb2) 7
TOTAL 10 wickets for 141
FOW
1-0(AJ Staal) 2-11(DG Crowley) 3-59(BHG Gorlee) 4-86(HC Overdijk) 5-95(C Floyd) 6-112(YJ Patel) 7-130(MN Ahmad) 8-136(J-WM Overdijk) 9-141(OO Klaus) 10-141(LJF Lagas)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
A Jain 4 0 30 1 – –
AAJ Malik 4.1 0 23 3 – –
JD Schoonheim 3 0 29 1 – –
SB van Wingerden 2 0 10 2 – –
RR Upadhyaya 2 0 17 1 – –
BW Hanif 4 0 29 2 – –

VOC have the final word

Rod Lyall 31/08/20

Overnight rain had left conditions ranging from dampish to inundated, and the result was that two Topklasse matches were abandoned without a ball being bowled, one of them meaning that for Excelsior ’20 the season ended as it had begun, in inactivity.

But the weather also played its part in one of the season’s surprises, HCC surrendering their unbeaten record at the hands of VOC Rotterdam in a game in which the table-toppers found that Messrs Duckworth, Lewis and Stern had loaded the dice irretrievably against them.

Much of the credit for VOC’s victory, however, went to Tim de Kok and Jelte Schoonheim, whose unbroken fifth-wicket partnership saw their side recover from an unpromising position to one in which, when the innings was terminated prematurely by another shower, the DLS calculation worked in their favour.

A late start meant that the match had been reduced to 27 overs before it began, but only 21 overs were possible before the rain intervened, and by this time VOC had reached 141 for four, De Kok on 83 not out and Schoonheim on 39.

The DLS calculation then set HCC a target of 167, a smidgeon below eight and over, and when Tonny Staal and Damian Crowley fell in the first two overs of their reply the task became close to insuperable.

As long as Musa Ahmad was there HCC still had some hope, but eventually the side were dismissed for 141, slipping to a 26-run defeat.

In the Amsterdamse Bos, meanwhile, Punjab Rotterdam made light work of beating VRA Amsterdam by six wickets, despite an opening stand of 178 between Eric Szwarczynski and Ben Cooper.

Cooper was finally adjudged leg-before on 99, made from 100 deliveries with nine fours, and although Szwarczynski remained there until the end, completing his tenth top-flight century and finishing on 120 not out, the Punjab bowlers did well enough to restrict the home side to 261 for seven, no-one else except Mitch Lees reaching double figures.

Suleiman Tariq harried the middle order, and his three for 38 left him as the season’s leading wicket-taker with 19 at 19.26 apiece.

A knee injury to the most prolific batter of the year, Stef Myburgh, might have handicapped Punjab’s reply, but Asad Zulfiqar stepped into the breach, and his opening partnership of 75 with elder brother Rehmat, who contributed 31, set the tone for the innings.

Rehmat was succeeded by Teja Nidamanuru, whose 45 came from 50 deliveries and included three sixes, and then by Saqib Zulfiqar, and by the time Asad was dismissed for 85 only 62 were needed with plenty of overs left.

Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar added another 54, and Saqib continued in company with Kashif Khan to the end, making 47 not out and taking his side to victory with 14 deliveries to spare.

Sparta 1888 took full advantage of the opportunity to leapfrog VRA and move into fourth place by beating winless Dosti-United Amsterdam at the Bermweg, but the game was a good deal more hard-fought than it seemed likely to be when Dosti had been reduced to 14 for five and then to 50 for seven.

A patient, unbeaten 71 from Naqasiva Perumal, who marshalled the lower order so successfully that the last three wickets more than trebled the total, Asief Hoseinbaks contributing 37 as Dosti battled their way to 175 all out.

Joost Martijn Snoep, who finished with three for 21 and Max Hoornweg grabbed the first five wickets, and then Lenert van Wyk claimed three for 43 as he worked his way through the middle and lower order.

Van Wyk’s 40-ball 45 got Sparta off to a brisk start, and when Ali Raza made an uncharacteristically steady 52 the Capelle side seemed to be cruising to a comfortable victory.

But Vinoo Tewarie hit back with three for 8 in three overs of leg spin which included the dismissal of Raza, sixth out with 16 still required, and suddenly the game had tightened appreciably.

Waheed Masood, who had earlier removed both openers, returned to dismiss Max Hoornweg and, with the scores level, Sawan Sardha, but it all came too late and Sparta squeezed home by two wickets, though with a massive 15.4 overs to spare.

Scorecard | VOC vs Excelsior | 23.08.20

VOC I Vs Excelsior 20 I
1-Innings Match Played At Hazelaarweg, Rotterdam, 23-Aug-2020, Topklasse
VOC I Win by 22 runs
Round 8
Toss won by VOC I
Umpires J Hilhorst – DJ Kalloe
Scorers CCH Kaulingfreks – EM Heggelman
Home Side VOC I
Points Awarded VOC I 2, Excelsior 20 I 0
VOC I 1st Innings 160/10 All Out (Overs 45.5)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
MA Durrani c AK Arun b UF Baker 6 32 0 0
R Malik lbw b TJ Heggelman 1 4 0 0
TIM de Kok+ c TJ Heggelman b NT Etman 4 15 0 0
A Jain run out TJ Heggelman 62 108 5 1
AAJ Malik lbw b RWA van Troost 53 76 6 0
JD Schoonheim c SL van Troost b RWA van Troost 14 16 2 0
CL Rutgers* b RWA van Troost 4 6 0 0
RR Upadhyaya c JJ van Troost b RWA van Troost 2 10 0 0
BW Hanif not out 1 7 0 0
M Forget b RWA van Troost 0 1 0 0
SB van Wingerden b RWA van Troost 0 1 0 0
extras (b9 lb2 w1 nb1) 13
TOTAL 10 wickets for 160
FOW
1-2(R Malik) 2-9(TIM de Kok) 3-29(MA Durrani) 4-135(A Jain) 5-138(AAJ Malik) 6-144(CL Rutgers) 7-157(RR Upadhyaya) 8-159(JD Schoonheim) 9-160(M Forget) 10-160(SB van Wingerden)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
NT Etman 6 0 16 1 – –
TJ Heggelman 8 3 21 1 – –
RWA van Troost 9.5 0 42 6 1 –
UF Baker 5 0 16 1 – –
LT Ingram 6 2 11 0 – –
AK Arun 7 1 22 0 – –
JJ van Troost 4 0 21 0 – 1
Excelsior 20 I 1st Innings 138/10 All Out (Overs 47.5)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
LA Kroesen c A Jain b SB van Wingerden 30 84 0 0
RTF Verhagen+ c AAJ Malik b BW Hanif 24 42 4 0
SL van Troost c SB van Wingerden b JD Schoonheim 4 25 0 0
JJ van Troost b RR Upadhyaya 3 14 0 0
J Kroesen c A Jain b AAJ Malik 14 19 2 0
NT Etman c AAJ Malik b BW Hanif 9 34 1 0
LT Ingram not out 30 40 1 0
RWA van Troost run out AAJ Malik 9 16 0 0
UF Baker b AAJ Malik 0 2 0 0
TJ Heggelman* b JD Schoonheim 5 10 0 0
AK Arun c TIM de Kok b JD Schoonheim 0 1 0 0
extras (b2 lb1 w7 nb0) 10
TOTAL 10 wickets for 138
FOW
1-34(RTF Verhagen) 2-51(SL van Troost) 3-61(JJ van Troost) 4-78(LA Kroesen) 5-82(J Kroesen) 6-102(NT Etman) 7-124(RWA van Troost) 8-128(UF Baker) 9-138(TJ Heggelman) 10-138(AK Arun)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
AAJ Malik 9 0 16 2 – –
SB van Wingerden 6 0 16 1 1 –
A Jain 10 2 18 0 1 –
BW Hanif 9 0 49 2 1 –
JD Schoonheim 8.5 1 23 3 4 –
RR Upadhyaya 5 0 13 1 – –

HCC march to their not-quite title

Rod Lyall 24/08/20

It was HCC’s day on Sunday, as they prevailed over the weather, the Punjab attack, and ultimately their opponents’ fearsome batting line-up to clinch the bragging rights, if not the club’s 46th national championship, with a 63-run victory over their nearest challengers at the Zomercomplex.

After several hours’ frustrating wait the most decisive match of this abbreviated season was reduced to a 35-over affair and, having been put in to bat, HCC faced the task of setting a target that might be beyond the reach of Stef Myburgh and Co.

Skipper Tonny Staal gave them a promising start with a run-a-ball 24 before falling to Mubashar Hussain, but it was Musa Nadeem Ahmad who created the platform for a sizeable total with a solid 62, sharing a stand of 67 in nine overs with a much more aggressive Hidde Overdijk.

Once Ahmad had gone Overdijk took over, and his 49-ball 83 not out, supported by 35 from 18 deliveries from Yash Patel as the pair added another 84 before Patel was run out off the final ball of the innings, enabled HCC to reach a very imposing 244 for six.

Overdijk’s knock included four fours and seven sixes, while Mubashar Hussain’s figures of three for 28 were outstanding in the midst of so much mayhem.

Faced with making seven an over against a testing HCC attack, Punjab were given a good start in their turn by Myburgh and Rehmat Zulfiqar, but the loss of three crucial wickets in the space of seven deliveries, the big guns of Myburgh, Rehmat and Teja Nidamanuru falling to Hidde Overdijk and his brother Jan Wieger, turned the game the Lions’ way.

The asking rate climbed as wickets continued to fall, Olivier Klaus chiming in with three for 16 in his seven overs, and at 90 for seven with only 13 overs left the Punjab challenge was over.

Then Jan Wieger Overdijk returned to claim two more, finishing with four for 37, but Sikander Zulfiqar was still at the crease, and together with Suleiman Tariq he added 79 for the last wicket in a defiant rearguard action.

Two successive sixes off Musa Ahmad took him to 99, but then he missed the next one and was bowled, having faced 79 deliveries and hit five fours and seven sixes, and Punjab were all out for 181.

Voorburg, the only other side to have beaten Punjab in the Topklasse this season, made the most of the opportunity to move level with them with an untroubled seven-wicket victory over wooden-spooners Dosti-United at Westvliet.

Dosti, after electing to bat, were dismissed for 127, only Sukumar Raji with 37 playing a subsgtntial innings, Viv Kingma the most successful of Voorburg’s bowlers with three for 23.

And then the home side needed just 24 of the 43 overs at their disposal to knock off the runs, skipper Ba de Leede again leading the way with an unbeaten 46 and Aryan Dutt contributing 35.

At the Bermweg Sparta 1888 had one of their better days, beating VRA Amsterdam by 29 runs to move into fifth place on the table.

The basis of their victory was a second-wicket partnership of 117 between Craig Ambrose (53) and Ali Raza (73), compiled after Lenert van Wyk had been dismissed by the first ball he received.

Two mini-collapses, one mid-innings and one towards the end, prevented the Capelle side from fully capitalising on this platform, but their 227 for nine was enough to put VRA under pressure as they replied.

Then Mudassar Bukhari struck two early blows, and the Amsterdammers never really recovered, although Peter Borren top-scored with 38, to add to the three for 40 he had taken in the Sparta innings, and Adeel Raja made 30 not out as he marshalled the tail and enabled his side to reach 198.

Usman Saleem did most of the damage for Sparta, working his way through the middle order and finishing with four for 47, while Bukhari had three for 24.

In another mid-table clash Julian de Mey was again in good form with the bat for HBS Craeyenhout, his 71 not out taking his side to a four-wicket home victory over ACC.

HBS were chasing the Amsterdammers’ 171 all out, in which Shreyas Potdar (47) and Aryan Kumar (36) put on 80 for the fourth wicket before Wessel Coster (four for 24) and Stephan Vink (three for 26) engineered a slump in which seven wickets fell for just 34 runs.

The Crows were in trouble themselves at 51 for four and 74 for five, but De Mey stood firm, supported by useful innings from Benno Boddendijk and Ferdi Vink, the latter remaining until the target was achieved with three overs to spare.

At Hazelaarweg, VOC Rotterdam secured their second win of the season, beating Excelsior ‘20 by 22 runs, mainly thanks to a fourth-wicket stand of 106 between Arnav Jain (62), his maiden Topklasse half-century, and Ahsan Malik (53).

This enabled the home side to reach 160 all out despite Rens van Troost taking six for 42, and although Excelsior started steadily in reply they were unable to generate the momentum they needed or any substantial partnership as VOC chipped way at their line-up.

Opener Luuk Kroesen made a patient 30 and Lorenzo Ingram, batting at seven, equalled that score without being dismissed, but he received insufficient support and was left stranded as his side was dismissed for 138.

Jelte Schoonheim, playing his 500th senior game for the club, was the main wicket-taker with three for 23, while there were two apiece for the old stagers Ahsan Malik and Bobby Hanif.

Round 8 Preview

Rod Lyall and Bertus de Jong 20/08/20

It’s not difficult to spot the Match of the Day this week, with the top two sides meeting in what would effectively be the championship decider if there were a championship to decide. But there are some other tasty encounters on the agenda as well, if you’re a real cricket lover or – a more numerous species in the Netherlands – a passionate enthusiast for your club.

RL: Just one point ahead after last Sunday’s DLS tie, leaders HCC make the challenging trip to the Zomercomplex to take on Punjab Rotterdam. The game pits the best batting combination in the competition, which slaughtered the Sparta bowling last week, against the most effective attack, while the corresponding match-up between HCC’s top and middle order and Punjab’s bowlers is less imposing but nevertheless potentially decisive. Even the toss whets the appetite: if Suleiman Tariq wins if for the home side, should he opt for runs on the board or rely on his batters’ awesome chasing capacity; should Tonny Staal call correctly, would it be better to try to get amongst the Punjab top order early and risk a massive chase, or to look to set a target his bowlers can defend? Either way, I know where I would want to be on Sunday if it didn’t involve a 24-hour journey!

BdJ:HCC’s attack has unquestionably impressed thus far, but containing a rampant Myburgh, especially within the limited confines of the Zomercomplex, will prove a tougher task than they have faced thus far, and with an enviably deep batting order behind him avoiding a Myburgh onslaught will likely be necessary but not sufficient to keep Punjab to a manageable total. The point HCC took from Thurlede last week effectively overturned Punjab’s considerable net run rate advantage, however, and with the Rotterdammers facing the tougher final fixture away at VRA next week the hosts will arguably be under the greater pressure come Sunday.

RL: It’s a real test of character to come back from a mauling like the one Sparta 1888’s Bukhari-less attack was handed by Punjab last Sunday, although the batters will have been given heart by their display and especially by the century from Lenert van Wyk. They return to the Bermweg to entertain VRA Amsterdam, who fought all the way against Voorburg but whose batting had ultimately not given the bowlers enough to play with. Capelle a/d IJssel is never an easy place for visiting teams, but VRA will hope to get more from their top order against the Sparta attack, while the home side will be hoping that Ben Cooper doesn’t decide to cut loose in the way that Myburgh and Nidamanuru did for Punjab last week.

BdJ: With the weight of runs he’d accumulated in the T20 competition it seemed almost inevitable that van Wyk would start cashing in in the longer format soon enough, and there’s little reason to believe he’s run out of steam. Yet VRA’s chief strength has been the batting quality of some of their youngsters, and perhaps as much the adequacy of the rest, coupled with the fact that their Pros are both Dutch and Dutch-based. Thus even another ton from van Wyk may not be enough, though with weather expected to play a role VRA’s greater depth may not be as influential as they might hope.

RL: Voorburg had a couple of unquiet moments towards the end of their modest run chase in the Amsterdamse Bos but their attack proved its strength against Borren and Co. and will expect to find Dosti-United Amsterdam a considerably less menacing proposition. The Amsterdammers put up their best batting performance of the season against ACC, both Shahdab Ghori and Mahesh Hans making half-centuries, but the new-ball pairing of Kingma and Qasim, not to mention Philippe Boissevain’s leg spin, will give them plenty to think about as they try to consolidate the progress they have gradually made. The solidity of Voorburg’s batting, especially in the absence of Tom de Grooth, remains a cause for concern, but the question is whether Dosti have the bowlers to exploit that weakness.

BdJ: It would be easy to make too much of Dosti’s first serious total last week given that it came against and ACC side bowling to defend, and comfortably defending, a much higher target. But nonetheless the Amsterdammers showed a capacity to make runs even in the absence of skipper Vinoo Tewarie, and both Waheed Masood and Mahesh Hans continued to prove themselves capable of taking wickets. Dosti’s performances have been trending irregularly upwards since their admittedly abject start, having come close to finding their first points against VOC the week before. They remain underdogs against VCC of course, coming up against an attack that undid VRA’s much more resilient line-up last week, but at least don’t look like rolling over just yet.

RL: Both winners last week, HBS Craeyenhout and ACC meet in Den Haag with a chance of finishing in the right half of the table. ACC are currently fifth, but their margin over their hosts is just one win, and on paper they look pretty evenly matched. The fact that HBS got to 251 last Sunday despite the early loss of Tobias Visée should encourage them enormously, and it’s a good sign that Julian de Mey and Navjit Singh were able to bat with so much self-possession. ACC, on the other hand, saw Charles McInerney and Chris Knoll do the same job for them, while both sides have attacks which are hard-working rather than spectacular. Sander Geenevasen can scarcely expect ACC’s top order to thrash about as accommodatingly as VOC’s did last Sunday, but the combination of his seam bowling with that of Wessel Coster and Singh, along with the spin of De Mey and Adil Ahmed, may be enough to give HBS the edge.

BdJ: ACC have continued to outperform expectations through the season, most notably with the bat. The likes of Ramesh Babu, McInerney, Potdar, Kothari and now Knoll have all stepped up in turn to plug the holes left by the Zulfiqar exodus, but the bowling remains a vulnerability. Last week Dosti tripled their tally of half-centuries for the season against them, while Marcus Andrew and Stephan Myburgh have shown that a suitably aggressive bat, with good luck and a following wind, can take the ACC attack entirely apart. Such a one is Toby Visee, and with the rest of the HBS line up looking somewhat less vulnerable the skipper may allow himself a measure of freedom come Sunday. “Gotta get Visee early” is such a Topklasse truism at this point that it’s scarcely worth saying, but one feels it is doubly true for ACC.

RL: Both VOC Rotterdam and Excelsior ’20 Schiedam were chasing hard last Sunday when the weather closed in, but the Rotterdammers had to leave Craeyenhout empty- handed while Excelsior were able to escape with a point from their tie at De Diepput. Last season’s encounter between these sides at Hazelaarweg was a hard-fought, ill-tempered affair, and it is to be hoped that the atmosphere is a little more congenial this time. Excelsior owed their point last week to Lorenzo Ingram’s mastery in a tight situation, and they will be hoping he can continue in that vein against VOC, for whom Corey Rutgers’ contributions with the bat are scarcely less crucial. But Ahsan Malik was also impressive against HBS in the unfamiliar role of middle-order batter, while Jelte Schoonheim has been bowling as well as ever. The Schiedammers, of course, are a very young side, but their bowling unit maintained the pressure well against HCC, and if the batters are still gaining experience they have done enough to show that they will eventually blend into a significant line-up.

BdJ: Coming into the season missing the majority of their first team, VOC were keen to downplay their ambitions for the Summer, and fair to say they have lived down to those low expectations. That said, on return from semi-retirement, Rutgers has done a decent job of marshaling the resources available to him. Even if their sole points thus far have come against Dosti, the Belgium head coach has stepped up admirably in the absence of Pieter Seelaar and with Hanif and Malik back for the tail end of the season the Rotterdammers no longer look like walkovers. That said, Seelaar’s absence does rather undermine VOC’s traditional home advantage at the spin-friendly Hazelaarweg, and with Inrgam and Umar Baker (who has plenty of experience at his former home ground) the visitors arguably have an attack better suited to the conditions.

Rod Lyall’s tips: Punjab, Sparta, Voorburg, HBS, Excelsior.
Bertus de Jong’s tips: Punjab, VRA, Voorburg, HBS, Excelsior.