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Rod Lyall 25/08/23

Back at the start of the season, much of the talk was about the formidable squad which Voorburg had assembled, and with just one defeat in 14 50-over matches last year’s beaten grand finalists have fully lived up to that billing.

For defending champions HCC, however, 2023 seemed likely to be a season of rebuilding, with half of their side from last year unavailable, and it is remarkable that after a shaky start to their campaign they have again reached the grand final, peaking at just the right time and giving themselves a real chance of winning the title from fourth position on the table.

The Lions have momentum on their side, but any grand final comes down to how the two sides perform on the day; how, then, do the squads stack up against one another?

The Voorburg pace attack against the HCC top order

With current internationals Viv Kingma and Ryan Klein, backed up by the up-and-coming Mees van Vliet and the steady medium pace of Karl Nieuwoudt – who often shares the new ball with Kingma – Voorburg have plenty of quicker options, none of the four having gone for more than five an over across the whole campaign.

Kingma may only have nine wickets so far, but he has the best strike rate of anyone in the side, and he has a proven ability to dismiss good batters inside the initial powerplay.

For HCC, the arrival of Ratha Alphonse has been a real bonus, his 386 runs at 32.17 having compensated to a considerable degree for the fact that Tonny Staal has had a relatively quiet season by his standards, averaging just 15.94.

In Alphonse’s absence in the play-off phase, however, the Lions have experimented with Jonathan Vandiar as an opening partner for Staal, Alphonse slotting in at three, and it will be interesting to see who opens on Saturday.

Vandiar’s innings against Punjab in the qualifying final was a model of restraint, but there is an argument that he is at his most effective at four or five, when his attacking instincts can be given full reign.

The top five is completed by captain Boris Gorlee and by sixteen-year-old Teun Kloppenburg, the latter having strung together three consecutive half-centuries in his first Topklasse season; if Vandiar does drop down the order, he and Kloppenburg have the potential to capitalise on any platform that Alphonse, Staal and Gorlee have been able to build.

The HCC pace attack against the Voorburg top order

Hidde Overdijk and Daniel Crowley have been in awesome form in their most recent games, reducing Sparta to 25 for four in the initial powerplay and putting Punjab under sustained pressure in the qualifier, and Overdijk’s 29 wickets at 20.07 puts him in equal third place among the leading wicket-takers.

There are, perhaps, more questions about the change bowling, with Henrico Venter and Patient Charumbira among the more expensive of the regular seam bowlers, although both have also been able to pick up valuable wickets; they have, though, been deployed later in the innings than Klein and Van Vliet have for Voorburg.

With a top five who all average 30 (or in Musa Ahmad’s case, just a tad short of it), Voorburg have a formidable line-up, but on closer inspection those stats are a little less encouraging: having made 456 runs at 57 in the first phase, Michael Levitt has added only 97 at 16.17 since the competition resumed and Noah Croes, too, has been less dominant in the back end.

Against that, Musa has made more runs in six innings since the break than he did in nine before it, and the transformation in skipper Sybrand Engelbrecht’s form has been even more dramatic: only Tayo Walbrugh made more runs in July and August than Engelbrecht’s 333.

All in all, then, the ability of Overdijk and Crowley to make early inroads into that imposing Voorburg top order may be one of the factors on which this year’s title depends.

Voorburg’s spinners against the HCC middle order

The most interesting battles of the day, however, may come when Engelbrecht and Gorlee turn to their slower bowlers.

With 45 wickets so far, Shariz Ahmad just needs what would be his fifth five-for of the season to become the first player since Chris Pringle in 1996 to take fifty wickets in a season, and it would come as little surprise if he did it; few batters have been able to get on top of him all year.

While his fellow wrist-spinner Philippe Boissevain has had a more modest return with 17 wickets at 21.59, he makes an outstanding foil for the young googly bowler, and they can be expected to cause plenty of problems in the middle overs.

Who’s at the crease when they come on will depend, of course, on how successful Voorburg’s quicker bowlers have been, and there could be a fascinating contest between their wiles and the aggression of Vandiar and Kloppenburg.

Beyond that, the HCC middle order of Clayton Floyd, Overdijk and Charumbira will need all their wits about them if they are to make a significant contribution to their side’s total.

HCC’s spinners against the Voorburg middle order

As against Voorburg’s wrist spinners, the Lions have two left-arm finger spinners, of whom late signing Daniel Doram has been distinctly the more effective with 27 wickets at 15.04 apiece.

His figures in the last two games of 10 – 6 – 4 – 1 and 9.2 – 2 – 14 – 4 were truly remarkable, and if he can manage something of the same order on Saturday it could be a game-changer.

Floyd has had a less successful campaign, but like Boissevain he provides outstanding support for Doram when the two are bowling in tandem, and his reliability means that Gorlee can use seamers Venter and Charumbira more sparingly.

Their battle with the Voorburg middle order, again, will be a key feature of the game, and of the later batters only Shariz, with 261 runs, has a comparable record to that of Floyd, Overdijk and Charumbira, although it must be said that the dominance of the top five has given them relatively few opportunities.

It’s all shaping up for a memorable contest, one that is, as election-night commentators say, too close to call. All this, and a chance to see the World Cup trophy as well!

Rod Lyall 21/08/23

Defending champions HCC eased their way into next Saturday’s Topklasse grand final on Sunday with a 104-run victory over Punjab Rotterdam at Het Zomercomplex, setting up a repeat of last year’s final encounter with ‘minor premiers’ Voorburg.

If their start, having put in by Sulaiman Tariq, was not entirely convincing, Tonny Staal, Ratha Alphonse and Boris Gorlee all back in the dug-out by the time 69 runs were on the board, the Lions were well served by Jonathan Vandiar, who responded to his opening role with an uncharacteristically restrained 65.

Vandiar did hit three sixes and four fours in his 102-ball innings, but he combined these moments of aggression when opportunity offered with periods of long watchfulness, and it was his knock which paved the way for HCC’s eventual total of 244.

Teun Kloppenburg chipped in with a breezy 30-ball 36 which included four sixes, and then Hidde Overdijk (34) and Patient Charumbira (31) combined to ensure that their side gave Punjab, who had collapsed against Voorburg on Saturday, a significant total to chase.

Spinners Muhammad Shafiq and Saqib Zulfiqar had done the early damage for Punjab, but it was Sohail Bhatti, although he was rather expensive, who was the most successful of the home side’s bowlers with four for 64, including the vital wicket of Vandiar.

The Rotterdammers had brought in Steph Myburgh to play his first game of the season, compensating for the loss of Shoaib Minhas, and he showed glimpses of his old touch as the chase began.

Overdijk and Daniel Crowley, however, bowled with greater effect than Punjab’s pace attack had been able to manage, and Henrico Venter claimed the wicket of Saqib Zulfiqar just when it seemed that the innings might gain some momentum.

Thereafter it was the left-arm spinners, Clayton Floyd and Daniel Doram, who called the tune: Sikander Zulfiqar laboured for a solid 42, but he received little support, and with Doram taking four for 14 in another outstanding spell and Crowley returning to finish with four for 40 Punjab were all out for a disappointing 140.

VRA Amsterdam and Excelsior ’20 Schiedam completed their campaigns with home victories over HBS Craeyenhout and relegated Salland, but with all the issues in the lower part of the table already settled these games had an end-of-term feel about them.

Interest in the Amsterdamse Bos centred on whether Tayo Walbrugh, who has enjoyed another outstanding season, could get the 20 he needed to achieve 1000 runs in the 50-over competition, but he fell just short, making 8 before he was caught off the bowling of Udit Nashier.

Skipper Wesley Barresi’s 62 was the highlight of an HBS total of 169, Tyler van Luin the most successful of the VRA bowlers with three for 20, and then Van Luin and Shirase Rasool knocked off the runs in double-quick time, VRA winning by ten wickets with half their overs to spare.

Rasool ended on 81 not out and Van Luin on 82, and VRA had gone undefeated through their six-match programme in the Relegation pool.

Excelsior were given a great start by Luuk Kroesen (56) and Michael Hart (48), who put on their side’s best opening stand of the season with 107, and then former captain and Dutch international Tom Heggelman, playing his last game for the side, held the middle order together with 46 as they reached 253 for seven.

Salland put up a strong fight in response, Fraser Bartholomew making 44 in his unaccustomed opening role and Sahir Naqash contributing a run-a-ball 55, but there were four golden ducks in the innings, and although Gijs van der Molen made 28 and Victor Lubbers, batting at nine, made an undefeated 23, their efforts were not enough, and the side were all out for 205, 48 runs short.

Rod Lyall 20/08/23

If anyone had expected that the finals of this year’s Topklasse would produce tense matches filled with exciting performances they would have been disappointed by Saturday’s programme, which produced few fireworks and more than a few damp squibs.

Without leading professionals Shoaib Minhas, Mohsin Riaz and Garnett Tarr, Punjab Rotterdam and Sparta 1888 proved poor opponents for championship favourites Voorburg and title-holders HCC respectively, although Sparta did fight their way back from a seemingly impossible position and battled hard against heavy odds before losing a low-scoring match by four wickets.

Punjab’s best moments were in the opening hour at Westvliet when, after Sybrand Engelbrecht had won the toss and elected to bat, Muhammad Shafiq grabbed the wickets of Nehaan Gigani, Michael Levitt and Noah Croes to reduced Voorburg to 46 for three.

But then Musa Ahmad and Engelbrecht himself took charge, putting together a fourth-wicket stand of 201 which batted Punjab out of the game.

Both made centuries: Musa’s 102 came from 134 deliveries and included eight fours, while Engelbrecht needed only 109 balls for his 115, hitting 13 fours and a six.

Mubashar Hussain claimed the wickets of internationals Shariz Ahmad and Ryan Klein, but still Voorburg were able to reach an imposing 303 for seven, and when Karl Nieuwoudt, Viv Kingma and Klein combined to leave Punjab on 35 for three, there was no-one to turn the innings around in the way Musa and Engelbrecht had for Voorburg.

Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar put up some resistance, but once they had gone the innings continued to decline, Mees van Vliet running through the middle order as he claimed three for 14 and Shariz finishing things off, bringing his season’s tally to 45 wickets with two for 4.

With skipper Sulaiman Tariq unable to bat, Punjab were all out for 89, and they have just 18 hours to gear themselves up for a last-ditch attempt to reach next Saturday’s grand final when they play HCC on Sunday.

The defending champions demonstrated that they would not surrender their title easily with a commanding performance by the bowlers at Sportpark Bermweg, where Sparta found themselves on 13 for four after six and a half overs, Daniel Crowley taking three for 12 in a devastating six-over opening spell.

He was backed up by spinners Clayton Floyd and Daniel Doram, the latter bowling two exemplary spells to finish with the remarkable figures of 10 – 6 – 4 – 1.

Sparta were 32 for six at one stage, but skipper Joost Martijn Snoep led a partial recovery, facing 105 deliveries in making 16, while Faizan Bashir (24), Prithvi Balwantsingh (10) and Sawan Sardha (21) managing to get the total up to 114.

Hidde Overdijk contributed a hostile ten-over spell, but the bulk of the wickets went to Floyd (three for 39) and to Crowley, who returned to finish off the innings and ended with four for 16.

Snoep then removed Jonathan Vandiar before he had scored, but Tonny Staal (33) and Ratha Alphonse (31) put on 61 for the second wicket, and although Sardha struck twice to dismiss Boris Gorlee and Teun Kloppenburg, first Floyd and then Patient Charumbira were able to steer their side home with almost twenty overs to spare.

Any remaining doubts about who would be relegated from the 50-over Topklasse were finally resolved at Het Schootsveld, where Salland’s 108-run defeat by HBS Craeyenhout.

A second-wicket stand of 139 between Kyle Klein (77) and Tayo Walbrugh (84) gave HBS a solid base, and although Akhil Gopinath struck back to remove both of them and finish with four for 41, the Crows were still able to reach 217 for six.

Walbrugh’s knock, the ninth time he had gone past fifty in the 50-over competition this season, took his aggregate to 990, and he will need just 10 runs in his side’s final match against VRA on Sunday to become the first player since Vandiar in 2017 to make 1000 runs in a Topklasse season.

Salland needed not only to win to keep their faint hopes of survival alive, but to do so quickly enough to eat away at their substantial net run rate deficit to rivals Excelsior, and Venkat Ganesan and Sahir Naqash set about the chase with some initial success.

Both were removed, however, by Nic Adendorff, and that was effectively the end of Salland’s hopes.

Elam Bharathi and Gopinath put up some resistance towards the end, but by then any realistic chance of victory had disappeared, and with an injured Finn Raxworthy unable to bat the innings closed on 109.

While Salland were slipping to defeat and relegation in Deventer Excelsior ‘20 were on the wrong end of a lack-lustre affair in the Amsterdamse Bos, where they battled their way to 169 for nine against VRA.

Michael Hart and Stan van Troost contributed 28 and 35 respectively, but it was former skipper Tom Heggelman, playing what is reportedly his penultimate game for the side, whose 56 negotiated them to at least a half-defendable total.

Leon Turmain took three for 28 for the home side, and Aryan Dutt two for 17.

Excelsior have in the past made something of a specialty of defending low totals, and with Jens Blankestijn confirming his promise with three for 23 they whittled away at VRA’s powerful but inconsistent batting line-up.

Johan Smal, however, held things together with 50 and Udit Nashier made 26, and in the end it was Turmaine and Eduard Visser who guided the Amsterdammers to a three-wicket victory with almost ten overs to spare.

Rod Lyall 13/08/23

The battle for semi-final places extended into Sunday’s final round of matches in the Championship pool, but even victory over HCC was insufficient to carry ACC into the final four as the defending champions had the advantage of the single point they had gained from their tie with Sparta 1888 back in July.

The other side to miss out was VOC, who lost to Rotterdam rivals Punjab by seven wickets at the Hazelaarweg.

After winning the toss VOC were stunned by the loss to two wickets within the first four balls of the match, Muhammad Shafiq removing both Francois Fourie and Lane Berry without scoring, but a third-wicket stand of 135 between Max O’Dowd (79) and Scott Edwards (65) put their side back on top for a time.

Once Sulaiman Tariq had dismissed them both, however, the innings subsided, and with Sikander Zulfiqar claiming three for 29 the last six wickets fell for the addition of just 10 runs as the side was all out for 175.

Punjab were in trouble in their turn, Asief Hoseinbaks reducing them to 48 for three and taking three for 29 in an unbroken ten-over spell, but that brought Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar together, and they saw their side home with a stand of 129 to complete a seven-wicket victory with 70 balls to spare.

The win, together with results elsewhere, carried Punjab back into second spot and earned them a double chance of reaching the grand final – they will now play leaders Voorburg at Westvliet in the first semi-final.

HCC missed their chance to go second when they lost to ACC by 75 runs at Het Loopveld.

The basis of ACC’s total of 247 for seven, their second-highest of the season, was a fourth-wicket partnership of 141 between Thomas Hobson and Heino Kuhn, which rescued them from a perilous 48 for three.

Hobson was eventually dismissed for 79, but Kuhn remained unbeaten on 104, managing the tail and ensuring that momentum was maintained in the closing overs despite two run-outs.

HCC got off to a solid start when they replied, Tonny Staal making 57 before he was caught by Hobson off his own bowling, but with Mahesh Hans cutting through the top and middle order to claim three for 31 and two more run-outs, their challenge faltered, and they were all out for 172.

At Westvliet leaders Voorburg flirted with defeat by Sparta 1888, but were seen home by a dogged ninth-wicket stand of 42 between Philippe Boissevain and Mess van Vliet after Joost Martijn Snoep and Joost Kroesen appeared to have put the Spartans into a winning position.

They were defending a relatively modest 162, which was dominated by Garnett Tarr’s 93; he received too little support, however, and with Shariz Ahmad taking five for 32, his fourth five-wicket haul of the campaign, and bringing his season’s tally to 43 at an average of 11, Voorburg should have had a relatively easy chase.

But Snoep struck three times to reduce them to 47 for three, and when brothers Musa and Shariz Ahmad appeared to swung the game their side’s way Kroesen chimed in, removing first Musa for 53 and then Shariz for 42.

At 121 for eight Sparta were now on top, but Boissevain and Van Vliet, with plenty of overs in hand, were content to pick off the runs in ones and twos, their partnership not including a single boundary but moving swiftly enough to reach their target with seven and a half overs to spare.

Snoep finished with three for 38 and Kroesen with the day’s most popular figures, three for 29.

Despite this defeat Sparta stayed ahead of HCC on NRR, and will therefore enjoy home advantage in next Saturday’s second semi-final.

In the Relegation pool, HBS removed any lingering fears of the drop into the Hoofdklasse with a 140-run victory over Excelsior ‘20, who could still – at least in theory – be overtaken by bottom side Salland.

HBS set the highest total of the day, 270 for eight, thanks to another century by Tayo Walbrugh, his fifth of the season.

He shared in useful partnerships with Wesley Barresi (33) and then with Kyle Klein, and after he fell to Roel Verhagen for 104 Klein took over the baton, making an unbeaten 70 as the Crows piled on the runs.

Excelsior were soon in trouble, and although Stan van Troost made 36 and his brother Rens 31, they never looked likely to mount a serious challenge, Nic Adendorff claiming five for 51, including the vital wicket of Lorenzo Ingram, and they were eventually dismissed for 140.

The Schiedammers will now need to win one of their two remaining games next weekend, away to VRA on Saturday and at home to Salland on Sunday, or at the very least they will have to ensure that they do not lose heavily enough to eat away their very considerable net run rate advantage over their rivals.

Rod Lyall 12/08/23

Another blistering century from Vikram Singh was enough almost to put paid to Salland’s last remaining hope of remaining in next season’s Topklasse in the Amsterdamse Bos on Saturday, as VRA chased down their visitors’ 224 for eight in 23.3 overs.

Despite a reduction to 32 overs a side after heavy rain overnight and during the morning caused a delayed start, Salland set their highest total in their two years in the top flight, Piyaranga Ottachchige equalling his highest score of the season with 82, made from 80 deliveries, and skipper Victor Lubbers contributing 41.

But any thought that the Amsterdammers’ 455 in 47 overs at Craeyenhout a fortnight ago might have been a fluke, or solely a product of Craeyenhout’s batter-friendly conditions, was quickly dispelled as Singh again went onto the attack.

Salland managed to remove Shirase Rasool (33), Johan Smal (30) and Teja Nidamanuru (10) at the other end, but Singh was again completely dominant, reaching his third century of the campaign from just 57 deliveries with seven fours and six sixes.

By the time his side had completed their chase he had moved on to an unbeaten 133, made from 70 balls with ten fours and nine sixes, and he had brought his strike rate for the season to 110.48.

Although two wins in their final two matches could theoretically bring Salland level with either HBS or Excelsior ’20 – should either of them lose all three games they still have to play – their net run rate deficit is so great that it would take an extraordinary set of results to enable them to escape bottom spot on the table.

In the Championship pool, HCC, after an early collapse against VOC Rotterdam in their rained-off encounter last week, elected to field at a damp Diepput this time and quickly seized the initiative, Hidde Overdijk removing first Max O’Dowd and then Scott Edwards with successive deliveries in just the third over of the game.

VOC never really recovered from this double blow, and although Lane Berry made 24 and Mussayab Jamil 29, a fine spell from Daniel Doram, who bowled nine overs and took four for 14, prevented any recovery.

Overdijk picked up another wicket to finish with three for 14, and it took an enterprising 17 from Asief Hoseinbaks to get their total up to 110 before they were all out, almost ten of their 41 overs left unused.

A target of 111 caused the defending champions few problems, Ratha Alphonse leading the way with 40, and after he departed Patient Charumbira declined to live up to his given name, smacking two fours and two sixes as he raced to an unbeaten 22 from ten deliveries, HCC needing one ball more than half their allocated overs to complete a seven-wicket victory.

The victory enabled HCC to leapfrog Punjab Rotterdam, as did Sparta 1888 by virtue of their three-wicket win against ACC at the Bermweg.

ACC were again unable to take full advantage of a good start, which saw them reach 103 for two thanks to 36 from Rahil Ahmed and 26 from hius fellow-opener Shreyas Potdar.

But thereafter only Heino Kuhn was able to gain the upper hand against Sparta’s persistent attack, and no-one was able to stay with him for long; he was the ninth man out for exactly 50, and the innings ended on 195.

The Amsterdammers fought hard in the field, reducing Sparta to 73 for four at one stage, but a fifth-wicket partnership of 91 between Will Clark (75) and Joost Kroesen (45) turned the game around, and Sandeep Sardha saw them to victory with two balls to spare.

Saturday’s results ensure that Sparta and HCC will both play in the semi-finals, but VOC would squeeze into fourth place were they to beat Punjab at the Hazelaarweg on Sunday.

For ACC, even victory over HCC is unlikely to be enough: any result at the Hazelaarweg is likely to leave them outside the top four.

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 11/08/23

After a disappointingly wet weekend that saw just one match completed in Round 13, the back end of the Topklasse schedule has been thrown into a degree of disarray. Voorburg’s win over Punjab served only to tie a bow on their already-assured spot at the top of the table, and the rest of the matches will be replayed over the next couple of weekends. VOC vs HCC and Sparta vs ACC are both pencilled in for Saturday the 12th, and the remaining two matches a week later. For our thoughts on those games we refer you to our previous preview, but a full slate of round 14 matches are also coming up this weekend, with Salland taking on VRA in a must-win match at Amsterdamse Bos, and the rest of the round scheduled for Sunday.

BdJ: Defeat for Salland at VRA could all-but seal their fate, already trailing Excelsior and HBS by two wins and at a substantial net run rate disadvantage. The hosts will again be without Aaditt Jain and Udit Nashier, both still on under 19s duty, but remain heavy favourites even against a full-strength Salland side. The Amsterdammers looked well on top against Excelsior last week before the rain put a stop the the game, while Tim Drummond had Salland chasing leather. VRA are already well safe of course, while Salland realistically need three wins to have a hope of staying up. Whether motivation can trump momentum thus looks the key question on Saturday, but history favours the latter.

RL: The task for Salland remains daunting, and there’s little sign that the return of their German contingent will bring about a change in their fortunes. For VRA, on the other hand, the presence of Singh, Rasool and Co. in the top order offers the prospect of plenty of runs, while even without Nashier and Jain the attack has both variety and incisiveness. Salland escaped by the skin of their teeth from relegation in the T20 Cup; it would be a huge surprise were they to repeat the trick in the 50-over competition, and Saturday in the Bos might well seal their fate.

BdJ: The weekend’s other relegation pool fixture effectively sees HBS: and Excelsior: competing for safety, with the winner assured of top-flight survival. Despite a less than successful season the hosts will start as favourites at Craeyenhout, Tim Drummond’s maiden century last week adding another name to the now-complete list of centurions in the HBS top five. The bowling remains a worry, but given the form of Excelsior’s top-order probably not one that’s keeping the Crows up at night. The Schiedammers’ reliance on Lorenzo Ingram and Michael Hart for runs has been particularly pronounced this season, and were it not for Salland’s woes they might well have been headed for the Hoofdklasse.

RL: The HBS attack has looked more convincing with the return, at least on a part-time basis, of the Fabulous Vink Brothers, and although Tobias Visée’s occasional appearances have so far been limited to cameos at best, his role has to some extent been taken over by Reece Mason. With Drummond now established in the top order and Nic Adendorff ditto as a useful all-rounder HBS look a more solid outfit, and they will trouble an Excelsior side which, although the squad list has changed relatively little, has been well short of their form of recent seasons. Ingram leads the wicket-takers and well as the run-scorers by a country mile, and if HBS can neutralise his threat they should make sure of the points they need to guarantee survival.

BdJ: At the other end of the table Voorburg have already secured the top spot, but will be keen to maintain their winning streak when they head to Bermweg to take on Sparta 1888. The hosts will be gunning to join VCC in the preliminary final, and currently third behind Punjab but with a game in hand the Spartans are well-placed to bag that double-shot at the final. Having bowled ACC out for 128 last week before the rain came the bowling looks to be on-song, and Voorburg may be without Ryan Klein, who is nursing a bruised foot, but Vivian Kingma will be back from coaching duties and there’s a fair few in the VCC ranks, not least their newly-eligible skipper, who will be looking to bolster their case for inclusion in the World Cup travelling party.

RL: Sparta were the unluckiest team last weekend, well on their way to victory over ACC when the rain brought a premature end, and the way in which they fought back after an indifferent start suggested that they will maintain their challenge for a semi-final place to the bitter end. They do miss Ahsan Malik with the new ball, but their workmanlike attack, especially when Mudassar Bukhari is at anything like his best, is capable of causing most sides problems. Whether that includes Voorburg’s star-studded line-up remains doubtful, however, and it would be one of the bigger surprises of the season were they to take the points back to Capelle.

BdJ: Also jostling for position at the top end are ACC: and HCC:, who meet at ‘t Loopveld on Saturday. On paper HCC should be favourites, but they were on the ropes against VOC last week before the rain came. The top order’s form has been shaky at best, while the season’s stand-out Hidde Overdijk may be in doubt for the weekend. The all-rounder looked rather under the weather at the pro-series game at VRA on Thursday, managing just two balls before heading to the latrines – suspicion falling on a dodgy plate of ribs the night before. ACC skipper Heino Kuhn is also understood to be planning to hit 200 runs this weekend, though it’s not clear how he plans to divide them between the two matches.

RL: Reaching the top six, surprising as it was, seems likely to prove the height of ACC’s achievements this season, and with their title at stake last year’s champions will have every reason to turn it on in Amstelveen and make almost sure of a semi-final place. Doubts about Overdijk and last week’s batting collapse notwithstanding, HCC look a much more complete side than their hosts, and the lurking threat of Jonathan Vandiar is always there. The head-to-head between the two South Africans will be an extremely interesting aspect of this encounter, but with Teun Kloppenburg back from Under-19 duty the Lions’ batting overall looks a good deal stronger than ACC’s, and the attack also has greater edge.

BdJ: Finally VOC take on Punjab at Hazelaarweg, in what could well prove a crucial match-up in the context of play-off positioning. The hosts are likely to welcome back Edwards and O’Dowd, but may not be at full strength across a double weekend. Punjab meanwhile have been without Riaz and Minhas for the back end of the season, though with a full complement of Zulfiqars and the benefit of a single game to focus on this weekend they remain entirely in contention for both the win and a top two spot if other results fall their way. VOC have the benefit of a substantial net run rate advantage over the field, but whether the T20 champions have the hunger to chase the double is another question.

RL: The loss of Minhas and Riaz has hurt Punjab, and they will not only need the Zulfiqars to be at their best with both bat and ball but will be looking to the Yasir Usmans and Mubashar Hussains to chip in as well if they are to upset a VOC side who, along with HCC, look to be the strongest candidates to get between Voorburg and their seemingly-inevitable title. The return of O’Dowd would be a huge boost for the Bloodhounds, who looked very sharp indeed in cutting through HCC’s top order last week and who will hope that Lane Berry can play some imposing innings as the season reaches its business end.

BdJ’s picks: VRA, HBS, Voorburg, HCC, VOC
RL: VRA, HBS, Voorburg, HCC, VOC.

Rod Lyall 06/08/23

On a weekend dominated by poor weather, Punjab Rotterdam’s prospects of making the final four took a hit at Het Zomercomplex on Saturday, when they lost a rain-affected match to leaders Voorburg by 40 runs.

After electing to bat Voorburg lost both openers early to the combination of seamer Mubashar Hussain and fielder Mohammad Shafiq, but they were rescued by a captain’s innings from Sybrand Engelbrecht, who made an unbeaten 112 and steered them to a respectable 249 for nine.

He received useful support from Noah Croes (33) and the brothers Boissevain, Laurens making 31 and Philippe 19; Sohail Bhatti was the most successful of the Punjab bowlers with three for 41.

The Punjab response was delayed by rain, so they started chasing a revised target of 231 from 42 overs, and by the time another shower held up proceedings again they had already lost openers Asif Khan and Yasir Usman.

The task was now to make 212 in 35 overs, but Voorburg’s bowlers steadily worked their way through the middle order, and at 103 for seven the home side’s challenge appeared to have faded, despite Shafiq’s 30 and 33 from Sikander Zulfiqar.

Bhatti smacked a defiant 34-ball 52, including six sixes, but when he became Shariz Ahmad’s fourth victim, bringing the leg-spinner’s tally for the season to 38, the innings ended on 171.

No result was possible in the Amsterdamse Bos, where Excelsior ‘20 had battled their way to 167 for eight in 43 overs against VRA Amsterdam before the rain ended the action for the day.

Michael Hart had led the way with 77, a season’s best effort with the bat, but he eventually fell to Aryan Dutt, the most successful of VRA’s bowlers with three for 22.

And the news was even worse on Sunday, when all three Topklasse matches – along with most of the rest of the programme – fell victim to persistent rain.

The greatest frustration was perhaps at the Bermweg, where Sparta 1888 had bowled themselves into a winning position against ACC, only to see their hopes dissolved as the rain set in.

A solid third-wicket stand of 75 between Shreyas Potdar (41) and Thomas Hobson (34) had taken the Amsterdammers to 98 for two, but once Faizan Bashir had removed Hobson the innings fell apart, the last eight wickets falling for 30 runs and the last five for just five.

Bashir finished with three for 23 and Joost-Martijn Snoep three for 21, and Sam Ferguson and Gagandeep Singh had negotiated their side to 19 without loss before the weather intervened.

Every effort was made to get the sides back onto the field, but in the end Pluvius had the last word.

The rain did not reach Deventer until later in the afternoon, by which time HBS Craeyenhout had posted 239 for six against the <bSalland attack and opener Tim Drummond had made his first Topklasse century, a 135-ball 123.

He shared a second-wicket stand of 110 with Tayo Walbrugh, whose 56 took him past 800 runs for the season – or brought him to 1139 if we include the T20 Cup.

But no further play was possible, and with Salland still having a mathematical chance of avoiding relegation the teams will have to try again next weekend to reach a result.

Another side with a legitimate grievance against the weather gods were VOC Rotterdam, who had reduced HCC to 36 for five in a match already cut to 37 overs before the players were driven from the field.

Arnav Jain and Burhan Niaz picked up two wickets apiece, while only Boris Gorlee with 21 was able to reach double figures with the bat.

Rod Lyall 31/07/23

In one of the most extraordinary matches ever played in the Netherlands VRA Amsterdam beat HBS Craeyenhout by 57 runs on Sunday, although that bald statement gives no hint of the frenetic pace at which the game was played.

No fewer than 853 runs were scored from just 85.5 overs, by far the highest aggregate score in any one-day top flight game, the average of ten an over being maintained from the moment Vikram Singh launched a devastating assault on the home side’s bowling.

Singh brought up his century off just 43 deliveries, including 17 fours and four sixes, and went on to make a 71-ball 155, sharing a second-wicket stand of 185 with Johan Smal.

It brought the Dutch international’s tally in his last two innings at Craeyenhout to 316 from 135 deliveries, at a strike rate of 234.

Smal hammered 170 from 95 balls with 13 fours and as many sixes, and although wickets began to fall in the closing stages, Julian de Mey claiming three for 62, VRA closed on 455 for eight in 47 overs, eclipsing Quick Haag’s legendary 428 without loss as the highest innings total in a limited overs match in the Dutch top flight, and the third highest in any format in the competition’s 133-year history.

HBS, though, showed no sign of being intimidated by this formidable target, Reece Mason (112 from 84 deliveries), his maiden Topklasse century, and Tayo Walbrugh (111 from 61) putting on 214 for the second wicket, and the Crows were ahead of the asking rate for much of their reply.

Once Walbrugh and Mason had gone, however, and Wesley Barresi had followed with a 37-ball 72, the challenge fell away, and with Singh taking four for 81 and Eduard Visser four for 96, HBS were all out for 398.

It was VRA’s second victory of the weekend, since they had made short work of beating Salland in the Amsterdamse Bos on Saturday, dismissing them for 118 despite Victor Lubbers’s 48 and then knocking off the runs in 24.3 overs; Zamaan Khan saw them to the win with an unbeaten 61.

Excelsior ’20 also eased any worries about relegation with two wins over the weekend, following up a six-wicket win over HBS on Saturday with a rather tighter three-wicket defeat of Salland in Deventer the following day.

Lorenzo Ingram took four for 19 and three for 10 across the two games, as well as making a decisive 41 against Salland, while it was opener Luuk Kroesen’s unbeaten 56 which ensured victory over HBS.

The two defeats leave Salland four points adrift at the foot of the table, and they will have to win all three of their remaining matches if they are to give themselves any chance of staying up.

The weekend’s results in the Championship pool left all five of the six contenders to join leaders Voorburg in the play-offs separated by just two points, and with two games remaining none of the five has any room for complacency.

The most exciting match of the two rounds was Sparta 1888’s tie with HCC at De Diepput on Saturday.

Garnett Tarr made 143 not out in the Spartans’ 273 for six, and Jonathan Vandiar responded with 117 at almost a run a ball for the Lions.

Teun Kloppenburg gave him good support with 64, but with three overs remaining 34 were still required with just two wickets in hand; Daniel Doram hit three sixes off the penultimate over, but in the last Mudassar Bukhari dismissed first Hidde Overdijk and then, with the scores level, Doram, and the points were shared.

Bukhari finished with three for 43 and Joost-Martijn Snoep three for 32.

HCC made it three points out of four on Sunday with a surprisingly comfortable 113-run victory over Punjab Rotterdam, moving to within a single point of their second-placed opponents.

Kloppenburg hit his second half-century of the weekend in HCC’s total of 233 for nine in 40 overs as the weather bit into the programme, and although Saqib Zulfiqar made 52 in Punjab’s reply they were all out for 120.

The Rotterdammers’ encounter with ACC on Saturday had been almost as exciting as the game at De Diepput: triplets Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar had shared a fourth-wicket stand of 187, helping their side recover from a perilous 26 for three to 227 all out, and with Thomas Hobson, who had taken five for 21 in the Punjab innings, making an unbeaten 130 ACC came close.

But although they were well-placed on 160 for three at one stage, Hobson found himself watching a succession of dismissals at the other end, and the Amsterdammers were all out for 221.

Voorburg, meanwhile, seemingly march on towards the grand final on 26 August.

On Saturday they recovered from 66 for five to 204 all out against VOC Rotterdam, thanks to 42 from Viv Kingma, batting at nine, and then dismissed the Bloodhounds for 150, Karl Nieuwoudt and Shariz Ahmad taking three for 14 and three for 49 respectively; Mussayib Jamil top-scored for VOC with 57.

The Voorburgers then extended their winning sequence with a 68-run victory over ACC on Sunday; this time most of the damage with the ball was done by Kingma (three for 21) and Philippe Boissevain (three for 14), as ACC could only manage 153 in reply to Voorburg’s 221 for eight.

VOC salvaged something from their weekend with a 94-run win against Sparta, Roman Harhangi producing career-best figures of six for 17 as Sparta were all out for 129 in reply to VOC’s total of 223 in a match reduced to 42 overs; Lane Berry made 55 for the Bloodhounds, while Snoep was again among the wickets with four for 43.