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Kampong edge past Hermes to top the table

Rod Lyall 30/05/25

There were small but significant shifts at both the top and bottom of the Topklasse table after Thursday’s rain-affected Ascension Day round, tremors rather than earthquakes, but enough to cause alarm in at least some clubhouses two matches short of the halfway point.

Not the least meaningful outcome was in the Amsterdamse Bos, where not a ball was bowled, the effects of the morning’s rain leaving the pitch unplayable, frustrating VRA and Voorburg, and forcing them to settle for a point apiece.

This opened up a three-point gap between them and the two leaders, although the damage was curtailed to some extent by the news from Rotterdam’s Zomercomplex, where Hermes-DVS suffered their first defeat of the season, at the hands of defending champions Punjab-Ghausia.

Put in to bat in a match reduced to 40 overs a side and with opener Daniel Doyle-Calle on international duty with Spain, Hermes found runs elusive against a parsimonious Punjab attack, before Burhan Niaz grabbed four quick wickets at a cost of 38 runs to reduce them to 61 for four.

That brought together veteran Nick Statham and the club’s new recruit Mussayab Jamil, who proceeded to add 93 for the fifth wicket in just over 16 overs, Jamil’s 52 his second half-century in the top flight and Statham’s unbeaten 67 his 70th in 477 innings, seven of those converted into centuries.

Hermes closed on 184 for seven, and with half Punjab’s batters out and 101 still needed, the leaders seemed to have given themselves a chance of retaining their unbeaten record.

The defending champions, however, were rescued by Mohsin Riaz and Niaz, who put on 72 for the sixth wicket before Niaz was run out for 41.

Riaz continued in company with Fawad Shinwari, making 63 not out and steering the side to a four-wicket victory with 14 deliveries remaining.

Hermes’ place at the top of the table was taken, albeit only on net run rate, by Kampong, who eked out a three-wicket victory over HBS Craeyenhout in a match reduced to 45 overs.

On a day when most skippers chose to bowl, Tayo Walbrugh took the bold step of electing to bat, and it seemed to be paying off when his side had reached 161 for three with eight overs remaining, Walbrugh himself having contributed 40 of them before he was trapped in front by Pierre Jacod.

But then Akhil Gopinath bowled Lehan Botha, leaving Wesley Barresi to work with the lower middle order, and Lorenzo Ingram took over, removing first Barresi for 45 and then three more to finish with four for 38.

The last six HBS wickets fell for just 14 runs, and with the side all out for 197 the bowlers were left with the extremely difficult task of removing Kampong’s powerful top order.

This they did reasonably effectively, and when the home side were on 87 for five, with O’Dowd, Van den Berg, Berry, Ingram and Bangs all back in the dug-out, the Crows were in with a real chance.

This brought Jacod in to join Scott Edwards, and this pair swung the match back Kampong’s way with a 94-run stand for the sixth wicket, and although Julien de Mey had Edwards caught behind for 49, soon trapping Alex Roy leg-before as well, Jacod saw the side home, finishing with an unbeaten 67.

Barresi’s three for 28 were the best figures for HBS, 13 of the 17 wickets to fall in the match captured by the spinners.

Fielding no fewer than five overseas players, another escalation in the Topklasse Arms Race, Excelsior ‘20 proved too strong for Sparta 1888 at Thurlede, winning their 43-over match by 53 runs, but the Spartans lived up to their name by battling hard against the odds.

It took a 49-ball knock of 67, including five sixes, from New Zealander Brett Hampton to get Excelsior up to the day’s highest total of 234, but it was a Dutch-produced youngster, Karson Edward, who administered the final blows, taking three wickets in five balls to end Sparta’s chase on 181, finishing with five for 11.

Earlier, Raynard van Tonder had anchored the first part of the Excelsior innings with a steady 54, while Khalid Ahmadi delivered the season’s third hat-trick, removing Niels Etman, Jason Ralston and Edward with successive deliveries to finish with four for 29.

Promoted to three, Ahsan Malik contributed 33 to Sparta’s reply, but the best partnership of the innings was 65 for the fifth wicket between Lukas Boorer (32) and Juandre Scheepers, who remained not out on 54.

Sparta remain narrowly ahead of current wooden-spooners VOC Rotterdam, who also fought hard all the way but eventually lost to HCC by 24 runs in the only game where overs were not deducted.

HCC’s innings sputtered along to 211 all out, mostly thanks to a solid 60 from Oliver White and a valuable 29 from Hidde Overdijk, while for VOC Jelte Schoonheim claimed three for 43, including a fine reactive return catch to remove Mark Wolfe (24).

Bowling honours, though, went to Aaditt Jain, who after claiming the early wicket of Clayton Floyd came back to pick up three more, finishing with four for 44; his brother Arnav finished wicketless, but his ten overs conceded only 18 runs, a nagging stint which maintained the pressure on the Lions’ batters.

That VOC came so close to their target was due to an aggressive 71 in 60 deliveries from Jason van der Meulen, who shared half-century partnerships with Christiaan Oberholzer (21) and Tim de Kok (26), but HCC’s overseas pair of White and Josh Brown kepttaking wickets, finishing with four for 27 and three for 31 respectively, and keeper Wolfe helped out with two catches and two smart stumpings.

And then there were two . . .

Rod Lyall 06/05/2025

It was by any standards a remarkable day’s cricket on Monday, as more than 2500 runs were scored across the five Liberation Day matches, with no fewer than 17 partnerships of 50 or more, three of them extending into three figures.

The bowlers, correspondingly, collectively had a day to forget: they went for over five an over, each wicket costing them an average of almost 34 runs.

The most remarkable runfest came at De Diepput, where HCC saw Voorburg run up 327 for seven, their second triple-century total in succession but, undaunted, chased that massive target down with 15 deliveries to spare.

The match featured two splendid centuries by Dutch-produced batters: Cedric de Lange, opening in the absence of Michael Levitt on national team duty, batted almost throughout the Voorburg innings to post a 122-ball 104, but he was more than matched by HCC captain Boris Gorlee, who followed up his 102 against Sparta on Saturday with an even more decisive 122.

He, too, batted almost to the end, falling to his old clubmate Patrick Charumbira when only two more runs were required for victory.

Supporting roles in Voorburg’s innings were played by three of the side’s four overseas, with Peter Hatzoglou hammering a 38-ball 59, Gavin Kaplan making 46 and Henry Melville 42, while Josh Brown took advantage of his opponents’ quest for quick runs at the death to finish with four for 76.

Tom de Leede removed both openers when HCC replied, Tonny Staal having smacked a 28-ball 46 to get them going, but then Gorlee took over, sharing a 95-run stand for the fourth wicket with Oliver White (39), and then an equally valuable partnership of 89 with Hidde Overdijk (38).

Yash Patel joined him for what was almost the winning stand, and there was time for him to reach his half-century before HCC completed the win.

Kampong matched Voorburg’s effort by running up 320 for six against Punjab-Ghausia at Maarschalkerweerd, but they were able to retain their unbeaten record as they dismissed the defending champions for 243 and won by 77 runs.

Missing Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards, the Utrecht side relied heavily on the mid-order engine-room of Lane Berry (53), Lachlan Bangs (85) and Lorenzo Ingram (68), although it was the locally-produced pair of Pierre Jacod and skipper Alex Roy who propelled the total past 300 with an unbroken stand of 56 in the final overs.

Roy then led the way in reducing Punjab to 62 for four, and even a blistering century from Jonathan Vandiar, whose 109 came from 93 balls and included no fewer than nine sixes, wasn’t enough to keep his side in the hunt.

It was Vandiar’s twelfth century and his fifth for Punjab, and while he and Sikander Zulfiqar were sharing a 128-run stand for the fifth wicket the champions were in with a chance, but once Ratha Alphonse had stumped Zulfiqar off Ingram’s bowling for 57 the writing was on the wall, and Roy picked up two more wickets to finish with five for 56, his second five-wicket haul in the top flight.

Kampong now share the lead with Hermes-DVS, who ended VRA Amsterdam’s unbeaten run at the Loopuyt Oval in the only game of the day in which the bowlers had the upper hand.

The Amsterdammers might have felt they had done well at the innings break, restricting Hermes to 219 for eight; Ben Fletcher, Peter Ruffell, Leon Turmaine and Darsh Abhinay all claimed two wickets, while Daniel Doyle-Calle was again the stand-out batter with a 75-ball 74.

Some of the limelight inevitably fell on Hermes veteran Nick Statham, who became only the second player in the 134-year history of the Dutch competition to play 500 matches in the top flight.

That resilience would have been welcome among the VRA batters, but without Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru and Shariz Ahmad the reply quickly fell apart, Ralph Elenbaas grabbing three early wickets and the rest of the bowlers working their way through the middle and lower order.

Opener Jack Cassidy made 27 and Abhinay showed some resistance before he was last out, but the side could only manage 116 as Hermes posted a 103-run victory.

At the other end of the table Excelsior ‘20 registered their first win of the season, their total of 320 for four proving enough to overcome VOC Rotterdam at the Hazelaarweg.

Batting with a hand injury he had sustained on Saturday, Raynard van Tonder was unfortunate to miss out on a maiden Topklasse century when he was bowled by Jelte Schoonheim for 97, but there was no such disappointment for Stan van Troost, whose 91-ball 107 not out was his first venture into three figures in the top flight.

He shared an unbroken stand of 120 with Sam Rahaley (43 not out) as Excelsior piled on the agony for VOC in the closing overs.

69 for three at one stage, the Bloodhounds put up a spirited battle, Monty Singh (87) and Arnav Jain (47) adding 129 for the fourth wicket, but the run rate was too great in the end, Antum Naqvi picking up three for 40 as VOC closed on 254 for nine.

Also winless after two rounds, HBS and Sparta 1888 duked it out at Craeyenhout, and it was the home side who eventually came out on top, Wesley Barresi’s 85 the key to their four-wicket victory.

Barresi had had an influential role with the ball as well, taking the new ball with fellow-spinner Jayden Rossouw and claiming three for 40; spinners bowled 34 of the 48 overs in Sparta’s innings, Tayo Walbrugh’s tactics paying off as the Capelle side were dismissed for 210.

Opener Jochem Steenbergen made 39 and Lukas Boorer top-scored with 51, but HBS maintained the pressure well to restrict their opponents to a relatively modest total.

The Crows were in early trouble at 57 for three, but Barresi steadied the ship in partnership first with Reece Mason and then with Sellin de Beer, and only five more runs were required when the former international was bowled by Juandre Scheepers.

Punjab pull off a sensational victory

Rod Lyall 15/09/24

Exciting as the semi-final between Punjab-Ghausia and VRA Amsterdam a fortnight ago had been, it was surpassed by Saturday’s grand final between the same two teams, which not only went into the final over but which produced a stunning one-wicket victory for the Rotterdammers.

That had seemed very unlikely for much of the afternoon, as Punjab battled their way towards their challenging target of 271, well behind the required run-rate and losing wickets at inconvenient moments.

So it was, perhaps, unsurprising that when, with two deliveries to spare, Khurram Shahzad despatched Clayton Floyd over cover for the winning six, a substantial crowd of cheering Punjab supporters should have raced onto the field to salute their heroes.

What were deeply disappointing, however, were the scenes which followed, as VRA players were harassed and jostled before they could leave the ground.

Whatever the on-field background may have been and whoever might have initiated it, it was decidedly ugly, and it should have no place on a cricket field. The clubs and the KNCB need to make that clear, in both word and action, and they need to do so promptly.

An apology on the Punjab website and on social media would be a start, but after appropriate reflection there should also be tangible consequences from such unpleasant and unjustifiable scenes.

The cricket which preceded them, though, had certainly lived up to expectations.

Winning the toss, VRA began promisingly, Shirase Rasool immediately going onto the offensive and hitting Shahzad out of the attack with a succession of sixes.

Sulaiman Tariq, though, was as steady as ever at the other end, and he duly removed both openers, both caught by Saqib Zulfiqar, while Sajjad Kamal disposed of the dangerous Vikram Singh, who provided Saqib with yet another catch.

And when Johan Smal fell to Burhan Niaz in the next over VRA were suddenly 83 for four, and Punjab were threatening to take charge.

They were held up by a 97-run partnership between Elijah Eales and Shariz Ahmad, put on in 19 and a half overs, which brought their side back into the game, and after Eales was caught behind off Sikander Zulfiqar for a 61-ball 56, Shariz continued to the end, adding 61 for the eighth wicket in an unbroken stand with Luke Scully (25 not out) and finishing with 82 not out.

It was, potentially, a match-winning innings, since it set Punjab to make their highest total of the season if they were to chase successfully.

Then Ben Fletcher struck twice, dismissing first Jonathan Vandiar, brilliantly caught by Sharad Hake at short fine leg, and then his fellow-opener Shoaib Minhas by the time 21 runs were on the board, and, more worryingly for Punjab, only 23 came from the initial powerplay.

Hake replaced Eales in the attack, but after he had bowled five economical overs VRA literally suffered a damaging blow when Hake, fielding at point, was struck on the knee by a powerful cut from Musa Ahmad, and was forced to leave the field.

Almost immediately Mohsin Riaz, who had added 50 in company with Musa, fell to Hake’s successor in the attack, Vikram Singh, and although Musa and Saqib Zulfiqar were able to put on a further 83 for the fourth wicket, Punjab continued to fall behind the required rate.

With twenty overs left they needed more than seven an over, and when Saqib was caught by Smal of Shariz, departing for 39, the match was delicately poised.

Musa, who had anchored the innings since the third over, followed soon afterwards, caught behind by Scully off Shariz for 71, but Sikander Zulfiqar and Niaz contributed another half-century stand, this one coming at slightly better than a run a ball.

Even so, when Sikander was run out for 41 Punjab still required 47 from 42 deliveries, and that had become 19 from 15 when Niaz holed out to Prince at long off as he tried to hit Singh for six and departed for a vital 39.

Singh completed his over with another wicket, Fawad Shinwari magnificently caught by a diving Scully behind the stumps, and Punjab needed 11 from the last two overs.

Just four singles came from Eales’s penultimate over, so Floyd bowled the last with seven still required.

He yorked a flailing Kamal with his second ball, and so last man Tariq came to the crease with seven still needed and four deliveries to be bowled.

The next was a leg-side wide which escaped Scully’s gloves and allowed the batters to run, crucially giving Shahzad the strike.

He was content to push the next into the covers, but then he opened his shoulders to loft the ball over cover, and Punjab were champions for the second time.

Qualifying Finals Preview

Bertus de Jong and Rod Lyall 07/09/2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BdJ’s picks: VRA, Kampong

RL’s picks: Voorburg, Kampong.

Things get even tighter at the top

Rod Lyall 12/08/24

The battle for a spot in the top four tightened still further on Sunday, with just four points separating the top five teams and two games remaining.

Leaders Punjab-Ghausia missed an opportunity to go clear at the top when they collapsed against Hermes-DVS at the Loopuyt Oval, CP Klijnhans spinning them to a 50-run defeat with figures of six for 13.

Both sides wasted promising starts, Hermes, after being put in, reaching 198 for two thanks to Ash Ostling’s 79 and Daniel Doyle’s 41, but then adding only 55 more in the final twenty overs to finish on 243 for nine.

Sajjad Kamal was the most effective of Punjab’s bowlers with three for 32, while Khurram Shahzad was again economical with just 23 coming from his eight overs.

The Punjab reply began haltingly, Ralph Elenbaas removing both Shoaib Minhas (from the first ball he received) and Mohsin Riaz by the time 46 runs were on the board, but then Jonathan Vandiar and Saqib Zulfiqar added 107 for the third wicket, and Punjab seemed to be on course for a fairly routine victory.

But then Klijnhans took the ball, and with his second delivery he had a tired Vandiar caught by Sebastiaan Braat for 69.

Saqib followed off the first ball of his second, departing for 58, and with the last he had skipper Sikander Zulfiqar before he had scored.

When he added the scalp of Burhan Niaz he had four for 7, and with the steady Murid Ekrami chipping in with two wickets at the other end, Punjab had lost six for 15 in 55 deliveries; Shahzad led some stubborn resistance, but then Klijnhans returned to claim the last two, and Punjab were all out for 193.

HBS Craeyenhout missed an opportunity to go top when they were comprehensively beaten at home by VRA Amsterdam.

Without Vikram Singh, spinners Shariz Ahmad and Clayton Floyd and the injured Teja Nidamanuru, VRA were arguably even more hampered than their hosts, who had lost Wesley Barresi and Kyle Klein to international duties and Lehaan Botha to demands back in South Africa, but they never took their foot from the pedal once Johan Smal had won the toss and put HBS in.

Playing his first first-team match of the season, opener Manjinder Singh made an aggressive 32, and Matt de Villiers held the middle order together for a time with 61, but left-arm paceman Ben Fletcher took three for 19 and off-spinner Leon Turmaine three for 35, and HBS were all out for 143.

Shirase Rasool and Demari Prince then smacked 52 off the first five overs of VRA’s reply, and although Julian de Mey eventually trapped Prince in front for 29, Rasool continued to a run-a-ball 59, while Smal hammered a not-out 50 to ensure VRA’s victory in just 20.3 overs, doing considerable damage to the HBS net run rate in the process.

It was more understandable that Voorburg, without four Dutch internationals and the departed Gavin Kaplan, should struggle against a near full-strength HCC, but in fact it was the season’s most outstanding allround performance so far to earn the Lions the points.

Coming in at 105 for four as Voorburg fought back from a shaky start in which Tonny Staal had struck a 25-ball 49, Daniel Crowley compiled a career-best 67, made from 56 deliveries and including ten fours and two sixes, guiding his side almost single-handed to a defendable 195 all out.

Ex-international Philippe Boissevain was the pick of Voorburg’s bowlers with three for 28.

Crowley then proceeded to rip through the comparatively inexperienced Voorburg top order, removing Nehaan Gigani with his fourth delivery and then claiming three more victims within his first three overs to reduce the defending champions to 9 for four.

Then he bowled Boissevain and Adam Leonard bowled Michael Molenaar, and at 27 for six Voorburg were in danger of a truly cataclysmic collapse.

They were to a degree rescued by a dogged knock from stand-in captain Floris de Lange, who top-scored with 28, but two run-outs brought the end at 114, Crowley finishing with five for 38.

In Saturday’s matches in the Relegation Pool, victories for Sparta 1888 over Excelsior ’20 and for VOC Rotterdam against ACC ensured that the Amsterdam club would be playing in the Hoofdklasse next season.

Izhaan Sayed again top-scored for ACC with 48, stands of 72 with Ben van der Merwe (26) and 56 with Guy Sheena (28) getting his side to 139 for five, skipper Anis Raza’s 39 enabling them to reach 184 for nine; Aaditt Jain took three for 36 for VOC.

Sayed had Ryan Schierhout caught behind with his second delivery, but any thought of an ACC victory was snuffed out by an unbroken third-wicket stand of 172 between Taylor Bettelheim and Jock McKenzie.

Bettelheim hit his first Topklasse century, his 108 not out coming from 112 deliveries with ten fours and two sixes, while McKenzie finished on 60 as VOC won by eight wickets.

The encounter between Excelsior and Sparta at Thurlede was a classic relegation battle, Sparta overhauling their hosts’ 185 for nine in the penultimate over with just two wickets in hand.

Stan van Troost’s 49 enabled Excelsior to recover somewhat after they slumped to 75 for six, Cameron Fraser again doing much of the damage with four for 28, and Sam Ferguson then made a solid 68 to bring Sparta close to their target.

Victor Lubbers kept Excelsior in the fight with four for 31, but it was Umar Baker, batting at nine against his old club, whose unbeaten 41 ensured that Sparta squeezed home with nine deliveries to spare.

VRA squeeze past ACC and into the top six

Rod Lyall 21/07/24

VRA Amsterdam took the two points they needed to make sure of a place in the top six when they secured a two-wicket victory at Het Loopveld on Saturday, but they had to battle to achieve it against an ACC side which was more competitive than it had been throughout the 50-over campaign so far.

Put in to bat, ACC had passed 150 for the first time this season, their innings given a promising start by an opening stand of 43 between Rahil Ahmad (32) and Chris Knoll (23), the latter making his first appearance of the year, and although the VRA attack worked their way steadily though the line-up Guy Sheena, Ben van der Merwe and Shreyas Potdar all chipped in, enabling them to reach 167.

Shariz Ahmad was the most successful of VRA’s bowlers with three for 35, Clayton Floyd and Elijah Eales picking up a couple apiece.

It seemed unlikely to be enough, but when Izhaan Sayed, Sahil Kothari and Mahesh Hans combined to reduce VRA to 70 for four the home side sensed that they were in with a chance of a shock victory.

Eales steadied the ship with 40, but when he departed36 were still needed with only three wickets in hand, and it was left to Udit Nashier to steer his side home with an unbeaten 35, supported in the agonisingly slow closing stages by Ben Fletcher.

The VRA win was a disappointment for Hermes-DVS, who had done everything that might be asked of them as they chased the final top-six spot, beating defending champions Voorburg by 49 runs at Westvliet.

Defending a total of 193, in which Daniel Doyle had made 35 and CP Klijnhans 48, the five-man Hermes pace attack quickly had Voorburg in trouble, Olivier Elenbaas removing both openers, and Niels Woermeijer and Sam van Giezen claiming the prize wickets of Gavin Kaplan and Noah Croes respectively.

That made it 37 for four, and although Ryan Klein – who had earlier signalled his return to fitness by bowling a full 10-over stint for the first time this season – held things together with a fighting 35, Sebastiaan Braat eventually claimed his wicket along with two others to finish with three for 30, and Voorburg were all out for 144.

VOC Rotterdam’s last hopes of avoiding the relegation pool were meanwhile being extinguished by HCC at De Diepput, where the home side had a comfortable 80-run victory after setting the day’s highest total, 247 for seven.

HCC had themselves been in trouble at 110 for five, but they were rescued by two half-century partnerships, Daniel Crowley (27) and Hidde Overdijk adding 67 for the sixth wicket, and then Overdijk and Yash Patel putting on a further 55 for the seventh.

Overdijk was eventually bowled by Jock McKenzie for 58, but Patel remained not out on 44, made from 28 deliveries with three fours and two sixes.

HCC’s own seam attack soon bit back when VOC replied, Crowley, Adam Leonard, Overdijk and Teun Leijer reducing the visitors to 68 for four, and although Arnav Jain made 40 and Jason van der Meulen 32, the Rotterdammers were never really in the hunt, and the final wicket fell at 167.

The day’s results meant that the two pools for Phase Two were largely finalised, although Hermes-DVS still have a pathway into the top six should they beat Sparta at home on Sunday and Excelsior lose to Punjab-Ghausia.

With the NRR difference between the Schiedam sides currently just 0.058, there are many scenarios in which Hermes could squeeze ahead of their rivals.

And with only three points separating first and sixth, Sunday’s final round of first-phase matches will have also a great bearing on the coming battle for a spot in the semi-finals at the end of August.

Ralston grabs seven for Excelsior, but VRA go top

Rod Lyall 23/06/24

For the first time in this season’s 50-over Topklasse competition the weather relented sufficiently for a full round of fixtures to be played, complete and uninterrupted, added interest coming from the return of the Dutch international side from the Caribbean.

VRA Amsterdam took full advantage of the fact, retaining their unbeaten record by bowling HCC out for 72 at De Diepput to win by 134 runs and move back to the top of the table.

The home side, also previously unbeaten, had done well to restrict the Amsterdammers to 206 all out, 92 from Johan Smal, who shared a third-wicket stand of 107 with skipper Teja Nidamanuru (39), instrumental in VRA’s achieving that total.

Conor McInerney removed both batters, going on to take four for 24, while Andrew Leonard returned to clean up the tail and finish with three for 29.

But when HCC replied Ben Fletcher (three for 12 in seven overs) and Elijah Eales combined to rip the top off the batting, and at 43 for six the Lions were effectively out of the game.

Shariz Ahmad now took over, taking four for 24 as the slide continued, and no-one was able to make more than Teun Kloppenburg’s 13 in HCC’s disappointing total.

If VRA’s demolition of HCC was a team effort, at Thurlede it was Excelsior’s Australian paceman Jason Ralston who was almost single-handedly responsible for his side’s even more dramatic destruction of the HBS battiing.

His figures of seven for 11 were the best ever in the club’s limited-overs top-flight history, beating Jorg Henneke’s seven for 25 against Kampong Utrecht in 1997, and they saw the Crows slump to 66 all out as they chased Excelsior’s fairly modest 163.

Kyle Klein had done much of the damage after Wesley Barresi put Excelsior in, taking four for 36, but Lorenzo Ingram stood firm, holding the tail together and making 62 before he was the last man dismissed.

Excelsior could also thank Niels Etman, who made 32 in an eighth-wicket partnership of 46 with Ingram before he was run out by Klein.

Lehan Botha and Reece Mason got the HBS total to 21 before Ralston struck, but then six wickets fell in 35 deliveries for the addition of just six runs, and although Barresi and Julian de Mey delayed the procession for a time until Jens Blankestijn removed De Mey, Ralston then returned to have Barresi caught behind for 21, the last four wickets falling for one additional run.

There was drama of a different sort elsewhere, not least at Westvliet, where defending champions Voorburg staged a strong fightback before losing to Punjab-Ghausia by six runs.

The Rotterdam side had set a fairly stiff target, their 248 for seven dominated by an unbeaten 97 from returning international Saqib Zulfiqar, and they appeared to have occupied the box seat when they had their hosts on 43 for four, with Michael Levitt, Gavin Kaplan and Noah Croes all back in the team tent.

Ahmad Shafiq had done much of that early damage, claiming three of the wickets at a cost of 10 runs, but then Ryan Klein, unable to bowl but undoubtedly fit enough to bat, and Michael Molenaar turned the game around with a fifth-wicket stand of 154.

This was another club record for the top flight, following Kaplan and Croes’s 202 for the third wicket three weeks ago, and it took Voorburg to within 52 runs of their target before Sajjad Kamal induced a false shot by Molenaar, who was well caught by Saqib at straightish deep mid-on.

Molenaar had made a 76-ball 72, but Klein was still there, and it was clear that much now depended on how effectively he was able to manage the lower order.

Together with Laurens Boissevain, Stijn de Leede and Floris de Lange he added another 32, but with 20 needed he pulled Kamal to Mohsin Riaz at backward square and departed for 92, made from 75 deliveries with six fours and three sixes.

De Lange and Viv Kingma reduced the deficit to single figures, but then Sikander Zulfiqar returned, producing a captain’s spell to have both De Lange and last man Mees de Vliet caught behind by Fawad Shinwari, and Punjab had squeezed home.

The drama was equally tense at the Hazelaarweg, where VOC Rotterdam, having conceded the largest total of the day when Hermes-DVS posted 261 for seven, won by one wicket with two deliveries to spare.

The VOC attack was depleted by the loss of Jock McKenzie who, in his third over of the day, deflected a powerful straight drive from Daniel Doyle into the stumps to run out Ashley Ostling, but in the process injured his right hand so severely that he was forced to leave the field.

Doyle went on to make 40, and with 50 from Aryan Dutt and 77 from Sebastiaan Braat Hermes had good reason to be happy with their batting effort.

Ralph Elenbaas then had Francois Fourie caught behind before he had scored, but Ryan Schierhout (74) and Taylor Bettelheim (69) added 125 for the second wicket, putting their side in a strong position until Braat returned to remove Bettelheim and run out Schierhout.

Tim de Kok and Jelte Schoonheim steadied the VOC ship, but Niels Woermeijer and Braat claimed their wickets, and effective resistance from the lower order again kept the Bloodhounds in touch with the required rate.

So effectively did they do so, indeed, that Roman Harhangi and Asief Hoseinbaks needed only ten off Woermeijer’s final over.

Harhangi was trapped in front by the first ball, and there was uncertainty on the field as to whether the injured McKenzie would come out to bat as last man.

He duly appeared, and proceeded to hit a four and a huge straight six to give his side the victory which had eluded them against Excelsior a week ago.

In the crucial relegation battle at the Bermweg Sparta 1888 reduced ACC to 24 for five before Guy Sheena’s 61, supported by lesser contributions from Anis Raza and Izhaan Sayed, enabled the visitors to muster 148, Sparta skipper Martijn Snoep taking three for 15 from ten overs with no fewer than six maidens.

Sam Ferguson led the way for Sparta with 59, but it was Shaquille Martina, in his first substantial innings for his new club, who saw the home side through to victory with an unbeaten 54, adding 55 with Cameron Fraser in an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership with gave Sparta their seven-wicket win.

Topklasse T20 | Round 6 Preview

Bertus de Jong 16/05/24

As the final round of T20 League matches approaches, the unseasonably wet weather has left us with a substantial backlog of catch-up games to get through at the back end too, with almost as many rain-repeats scheduled over the next few days as actual Round 6 games. Further complicating the schedule is of course the arrival of the international season, with Scotland and Ireland in town for a tri-series that will pull a number of players out of domestic cricket as the scramble for playoff spots comes to a head.

A total of ten matches remain, to be played over the course of the weekend and Easter Monday. One side has already booked their place for finals day, hosts Voorburg, two points clear at the top of the table, can no longer drop out of the top four. That’s perhaps fortunate for them as they may lose a number of players to international duty – Vivian Kingma, Sybrand Engelbrecht and Michael Levitt unlikely to be available for their catch-up against HBS on the eve of the international tri-series, and even less likely to feature against HCC the next day.

For HBS Craeyenhout, currently in second place but unbeaten and with three games in hand, only a catastrophic final stretch could see them miss out. While they likely lose Kyle Klein and skipper Wesley Barresi to national duty, they only need one win from their three matches against Voorburg, Punjab, or Excelsior to be sure of progressing, and perhaps not even that considering their robust net run rate advantage. While Barresi and Klien have been key to the Crows success thus far, it’s hard to see them missing out from here.

Similarly HCC, though they lose the services of Tim Pringle, have two games in hand to make sure of their spot in the top four, one against a likely weakened Voorburg and another against wooden-spooners Salland, who have not looked like winning a game all season. Though the Lions’ core trio of Staal, Gorlee and Overdijk looked a bit rusty early in the season, all three have started to fire, while young Teun Leijer continues to impress. Though their poor net run rate does mean they will almost certainly need some points to make the playoffs, they’re pretty well-placed to collect them.

All of which makes for a nervous few days on the sidelines for VRA, who have completed all their fixures with five wins from nine and a solid but not insurmountable NRR of +0.85. Hermes DVS could yet leapfrog them, though it would take an emphatic win in their final match – the Schiedam Derby against Excelsior– to the tune of about 60-65 runs or with about 8 overs to spare if chasing. That looks a tall order given that they’ll likely be without Aryan Dutt and just possibly Olivier Elenbaas if the latter’s called up as cover for absentees. Any win could still be enough for the Sky Blues, but it would take a lot of improbable results going their way, having frittered away an excellent start to the season. If Daniel Doyle Calle or CP Klijnhand recover some of their early form one could still envisage a last ditch recovery, but finals day looks a long shot for Hermes as it stands.

Excelsior ‘20 themselves could still sneak in too if they got on a run this weekend, with three games in hand and three wins probably enough. In addition to the derby, Excelsior face HBS and Salland in their final matches. Unlike HBS, Excelsior won’t lose any players to the national team, and if they can take the hnours against rivals Hermes they will feel they’re in with a real chance of a surge up the table.

Meanwhile defending champions VOC Rotterdam are slightly better-placed to storm into the top four, level with Excelsior on two wins and a no result for 5 points in the bank with three games to go. The Bloodhounds will be away for all three fixtures however, first heading to Bermweg to take on Sparta, then the Zomercomplex to face Punjab, and finally Craeyenhout against HBS for their final match. With both Sparta 1888 and Punjab-Ghausia already out of contention (as are Salland of course), a full-strength VOC probably pose the greatest threat to HCC and VRA’s position in the top four. By the time Monday roles around HBS may already be safe as well, meaning VOC would exclusively be playing opponents with nothing to gain or lose.

All told there’s plenty of possibilities and permutations still in play, and the final four may well not be decided before the final match on Monday.

Voorburg go top, but HBS stay unbeaten

Rod Lyall 13/05/24

Voorburg tmade sure on Sunday of a place at the T20 finals day they will be hosting on 26 May, when they saw off a spirited challenge from Excelsior ’20 at Westvliet and won by eight wickets.

Excelsior’s imposing total of 197 for three was set up skipper Roel Verhagen’s 39-ball 70, 47 from Stan van Troost, and a composed fourth-wicket stand of 51 in 27 deliveries between Lorenzo Ingram (37 not out) and Derek Mitchell (22 not out), although it could have been even higher but for effective spells from Voorburg’s Sybrand Engelbrecht and Michael Molenaar.

The Schiedammers threatened to take the upper hand when they removed both openers, but the game was taken away from them by an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 146 between Gavin Kaplan, whose 81 not out came from just 52 deliveries, and Engelbrecht (64 not out from 43), the winning run coming with just one ball to spare.

It was a disappointing end to the weekend for Excelsior, who had brought themselves back into contention for a semi-final spot with victories over Punjab-Ghausia on Friday evening and VRA the following day.

Not for the first time, Excelsior showed remarkable resilience in defending a low total against Punjab: Saqib Zulfiqar’s four for 27 had been instrumental in dismissing them for a disappointing 118, Mitchell top-scoring with 33, and at 84 for three in the 14^th over Punjab appeared to be cruising.

But then Jason Ralston bowled Jonathan Vandiar for 33 and a remarkable collapse ensued: five more wickets fell for the addition of just 16 runs, and even a late flurry from Sajjad Kamal left them nine runs short.

Ralston finished with three for 19, Niels Etman giving excellent support with two for 20.

A much more assured batting performance enabled Excelsior to take command of the game against VRA on Saturday: Tim Etman (53 from 34) and Verhagen (28 from 23) put on 86 for the first wicket, and then it was Ingram and Mitchell who closed out the innings, Ingram finishing with an unbeaten 32-ball 47.

VRA’s reply never really got out of first gear, the best partnership 31 for the second wicket between Vikram Singh and Abul Sheikh. The wickets were shared, Ingram, Ralston, Niels Etman, Lubbers and Luuk Kroesen picking up two apiece as VRA were all out for 111.

A wretched weekend for VRA continued into Sunday, when another batting collapse saw them slump to a 20-run defeat by HCC at De Diepput.

They had started brilliantly, Ben Fletcher removing Jed Wiggins with the first ball of the match and Bob Entrop, returning to first-team cricket after a 14-year absence, shortly afterwards, and although Tonny Staal contributed 31 and Conor McInerney 34 it took a defiant 31 not out from Patient Charumbira in the closing stages to get them up to 138 for eight, Fletcher finishing with three for 34.

Again VRA’s batting let them down: despite Singh’s 32, marked chiefly by three consecutive sixes off Hidde Overdijk, they were soon in desperate trouble at 54 for seven, the damage having been done by Daniel Crowley at the top of the innings and then by Adam Leonard (four for 11) and Wiggins (three for 20).

Elijah Eales (23) and Udit Nashier (29 not out) put up significant resistance towards the end, limiting the NRR damage somewhat, but the side was dismissed for 118, and VRA, having completed their programme, will now have to wait to see whether results elsewhere mean that their five earlier wins will be enough to see them to the finals day. It seems unlikely.

Also likely to miss out on a spot at Westvliet on 26 May are Hermes-DVS, whose nine-wicket defeat by VOC on Saturday was only partially offset by their subsequent 33-run victory over Punjab-Ghausia.

Despite Daniel Doyle’s 40 and 21 from Aryan Dutt, Hermes could only manage 118 in their first game, Jelte Schoonheim taking three for 27 for VOC and Arnav Jain and Asief Hoseinbaks picking up two wickets apiece.

It was never likely to be enough, and VOC rattled off the runs in 13.3 overs, thanks to an opening stand of 95 between Ryan Schierhout (37) and Francois Fourie (59 not out from 38).

But then Doyle produced the individual batting performance of the weekend, smashing his second century of the campaign with an unbeaten, 57-ball 101 which saw his side to 179 for four, Ashley Ostling contributing 38.

Olivier Elenbaas quickly struck twice when Punjab replied, and although Saqib Zulfiqar made a 47-ball 66 the visitors steadily fell behind the required rate and ended on 146 for six.

HBS, meanwhile, were maintaining their unbeaten record with a comfortable six-wicket victory over Sparta 1888 at the Bermweg.

An unrelenting Crows’ attack never let their hosts off the hook, and although Juandre Scheepers hit a defiant 45 which included four sixes, he received little support, and the innings closed on 123 for eight.

At 28 for three HBS wobbled slightly, but then Matthew de Villiers and Wesley Barresi steadied the reply, adding 73 for the fourth wicket before De Villiers fell to the admirable Ahsan Malik for a 22-ball 42.

Barresi continued in company with Kyle Klein, moving to 49 not out with the six which secured HBS the win.

Topklasse T20 | Round 4 Preview

Bertus de Jong 08/05/2024

With 15 games to be played over four days, the Ascension Day weekend looks set to be decisive for the Topklasse T20 season, at least in terms of who’s likely to feature in the play-offs. Two complete triple-headers and two teams trekking out East gives us eight Round 4 games on Thursday, plus an orphaned Round 1 catch-up match on Friday for nine games before Round 5 kicks off on Saturday.

VOC Rotterdam welcome current table-toppers VRA and third-placed Voorburg to Hazelaarweg for the first three-way, and will be hoping to make as good use of home advantage as their opponents have thus far. The Bloodhounds have only gotten two matches played so far, and lost one of those to HCC, so four points are basically a must for them on Thursday. Overseas bat Jock McKenzie and Ryan Schierhout have proved more than adequate replacements for the departed O’Dowd and Edwards, while Asief Hoseinbaks is having an exellent season with the ball. Nonetheless VRA’s hitting power will be cause for concern at Hazelaarweg, with Dutch internationals Vikram singh and Teja Nidamanuru both in the runs and (rumoured Dutch residancy aspirant) Elijah Eales has been a force down the order. VRA’s own bowling has struggled to stem the scoring this season though, and both the other sides at Hazelaarweg have the batting to take advantage. Voorburg’s top order hasn’t really fired in club cricket, though the club is the chief supplier of bats to the national side for good reason. Young Nehaan Gigani’s had a chance to steal the spotlight as his international team-mates have struggled, while Floris de Lange’s five-for last week suggests their slow-bowling worries may be overblown.

Meanwhile HCC host Punjab-Ghausia and Sparta 1888 in the day’s other full triple-header, in what’s most likely to be a decisive day’s play for the table. HCC and Sparta are both firmly mid-table on four points, while Punjab are two points behind with games in hand. HCC’s sixth-place position arguably flatters them, having struglled with both bat and ball this season. Not one HCC bat averages over 30 in their four matches, while young Teun Leijer’s outshone his more senior team-mates with the ball. The addition of Tim Pringle helps in both departments, but the Lions will look for greater contributions from Gorlee, Overdijk and Staal. Sparta meanwhile have had a profoundly up-and-down season, on the receiving end of two trouncings at the Amsterdamse Bos in Round 2 but bouncing back to best Excelsior fairly comfortably last weekend. Riley Mudford looks perhaps the most dangerous bat in the competiton, while Khalid Ahmadi has been in fine form with ball in hand, and so too has the veteran Ahsan Malik when he’s been available. There’s been little match-winning threat on show from the rest of the side yet though, and when things have gone badly for them they’ve gone very badly indeed.

Hermes DVS and HBS Craeyenhout make the trip to Deventer to take on last-placed Salland, though the two visiting sides won’t be playing each other. Salland’s season so far has seen them endure a series of drubbings, their net run rate of negative seven refelecting how they’ve been hopelessly outclassed. The absence of the German contingent owing to a national training camp robbed them of much of their side, but even at full strength they’ve looked far from competitive thus far. Hermes by contrast exploded out of the gate ton top-flight return, but stumbled last week when their top order twice misfired. Two round 3 defeats at the hands of Voorburg and HBS exposed a dependence on openers CP Klijnhans and Daniel Doyle Calle, though Salland hardly look in shape to take advantage of any vulnerability. HBS versus Salland is on paper the easiest match to call all season. Salland are still winless, HBS undefeated, and it would take a remarkable upset to change that tomorrow.

Excelsior have a bye for Round 4, but do have a catch-up Round 1 match against Punjab scheduled for Friday night at Thurlede. With just a single point from their double wash-out against VOC thus far the Schiedammers will be desperate to get a win on the board. They still have two games in hand over most of the field so their position is hardly irrecoverable, but another defeat would likely finish their play-off hopes.

Rod Lyall è in vacanza