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Rod Lyall 28/05/2023

Defending champions HCC cemented their place in the championship pool on Saturday with a thrilling last-over victory over Sparta 1888 at Sportpark Bermweg, but even more satisfying for the Hagenaars’ support was the fact that it was based upon a maiden Topklasse century for captain Boris Gorlee.

Gorlee’s Topklasse form, like that of his predecessor Tonny Staal, had so far been disappointing this season, but the way in which he went about chasing down Sparta’s challenging total of 275 for eight showed great temperament, and even when his side were looking for ten an over he did not panic, relying on an acceleration in tandem with Hidde Overdijk in the final overs to reach the target with just one delivery to spare.

On a day when the batters were mostly in command, Sparta’s innings had been built around Garnett Tarr’s knock of 137, made from 138 balls with 18 fours and three sixes, helped by smaller but important contributions from Sam Ferguson, Will Clark and Mudassar Bukhari, while Overdijk (four for 47) and Daniel Doram (three for 45) were the most successful of HCC’s bowlers.

Staal again went early when HCC replied, but Ratha Alphonse (53) and Gorlee put on 135 for the second wicket, and although they were well behind the required rate for most of the innings, with wickets in hand and Gorlee standing firm they remained just about in contention until, having reached three figures for the first time, the skipper was able to go onto the attack.

He finished with an unbeaten 134, made from 151 deliveries with 14 fours and a six, while Overdijk’s 24 not out came from just nine deliveries; Malik took three for 65 for Sparta.

At the Hazelaarweg, VOC Rotterdam took advantage of Sparta’s defeat by posting an emphatic victory over HBS Craeyenhout, moving back into second place on the table and ensuring that HBS would be in the relegation pool when the competition resumes in July.

Arnav Jain’s 46 and Lane Berry’s 64-ball 82 meant that at one point VOC were within sight of a total well in excess of 300, but despite 84 from 73 deliveries from Scott Edwards the Rotterdammers were unable to capitalise fully on their great start, and with Nic Adendorff taking four for 52 and Julian de Mey and Lucas del Bianco picking up two wickets apiece, HBS were able to dismiss their hosts for 272, none of the middle and lower order reaching double figures.

Jain, though, struck three times with the ball when HBS replied, finishing with three for 41, Pierce Fletcher removed Wesley Barresi, and when Asief Hoseinbaks trapped Tayo Walbrugh in front for just 25 and did the same to Adendorff three balls later, the Crows had been reduced to 68 for seven.

Kyle Klein and De Mey held things up for a while, but Max Hoornweg cleaned up the tail for figures of three for 13, and HBS were all out for 127, a deficit of 145 runs.

In the tight battle for the final place in the championship pool, ACC gained a crucial advantage over rivals VRA Amsterdam with an equally comprehensive win over Salland at Het Loopveld.

Put in to bat, the Amsterdammers made 226 for nine thanks to 88 from opener Shreyas Potdar and 55 from Heino Kuhn, the pair adding 109 for the third wicket, and then Anis Raza again made a crucial contribution with an unbeaten 42 in the closing stages.

With Salland’s German internationals otherwise engaged skipper Victor Lubbers led the way himself with four for 31, but the Overijssel side never looked likely to challenge ACC’s total, subsiding to 102 all out in 28.5 overs.

Devanshu Arya claimed three for 29 for the home side, with two wickets apiece for Joseph Reddy, Aryan Kumar and Mahesh Hans.

Across Amstelveen in the Amsterdamse Bos, VRA slipped out of the top six by virtue of a 94-run defeat at the hands of leaders Voorburg.

Michael Levitt, this week named in the Dutch squad for the World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe, celebrated with 115, his third century of the Topklasse campaign, adding 104 for the second wicket with his new international colleague Noah Croes (40).

Then Shariz Ahmad and Logan van Beek, both also Zimbabwe-bound, chipped in with 41 each, and Voorburg set the highest total of the day with 285 for six.

It always looked likely to be beyond the reach of VRA, and when Ryan Klein, yet another member of the national squad, grabbed four early wickets to reduce them to 37 for four, a truly catastrophic defeat seemed possible.

Aryan Dutt partially restored their fortunes with a fighting 46, and deposed captain Leon Turmaine (37) and Eduard Visser (20) put up solid resistance towards the end, but eventually VRA were all out for 191, Klein finishing with five for 42.

The thrilling outcome at the Bermweg apart, the most competitive game of the day was at Het Zomercomplex, where Punjab Rotterdam were taken down to the last two overs by a determined Excelsior ‘20.

After a shaky start Excelsior reached 241 for nine thanks to a stand of 116 for the fourth wicket between Lorenzo Ingram (78) and Tom Heggelman (47) and a quick-fire, 40-ball 48 from wicketkeeper Stan van Troost, while seamers Sikander Zulfiqar and Sohail Bhatti were the most effective members of the Punjab attack with three for 50 and three for 32 respectively.

Pushed up to open the batting, Yasir Usman led the way with 46 when Punjab replied, but it was Mohsin Riaz who piloted them to victory with an unbeaten 115.

Ingram kept his side in the game with three for 50 and there were economical spells from Michael Hart and Heggelman, but the asking rate never climed appreciably above six an over and Punjab had wickets in hand, Riaz finishing it off with a six to reach his first Topklasse century, followed by another and the winning four.

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 26/05/23

It may seem like the season (and certainly the Summer) has only just begun, but already we’re at the business end of the first phase. Two rounds to go, and in four day’s time we’ll be into World Cup Qualifier/Topklasse T20 mode. Still plenty to play for, with only Voorburg assured of making the top six and nobody yet definitely doomed to the relegation pool.

BdJ: With points carried forward into Phase 2 not even frontrunners Voorburg can afford to coast as they head to the Bos to take on VRA. VRA need to win both of their remaining matches to be confident of a top six finish, a single win leaving them reliant on luck and net run rate to avoid the bottom four. Voorburg are well out of danger on that front, but will want to get a headstart for the second phase. In addition to form, the availability of Logan van Beek, stopping over en route to Zimbabwe, will further bolster their confidence. VCC will effectively be fielding the national team’s seam attack come Saturday, while van Beek also adds still greater depth to an intimidating batting card, with everyone down down to Vivian Kingma having made runs in one competition or another of late. In short a tough ask for a VRA side that has underperformed thus far, coming up just short against VOC last week thanks in large part to a rather sloppy effort with the ball and in the field. The form of Johan Smal and Tejan Nidamanuru with the bat is some consolation, but the hosts will want more from a line-up that in principle ought to bat down to at least eight, but in practice this season has looked a bat or two short.

RJL: VRA’s problems extend beyond the inconsistency of their batting: they had all but won their Ascension Day match at Sparta, only to see the then leaders expose the limitations of their bowling once Eduard Visser had completed his spell, and even his five-wicket haul against VOC could not prevent the Rotterdammers from posting the highest total of the day in the Bos last Saturday. Visser and Ashir Abid do have the ability to cause batting sides problems early, and they probably represent the home side’s best chance of getting on top of Voorburg. But Tyler van Luin’s six wickets in eight games is a disappointing return, and even Aryan Dutt has been less of a threat since his return from injury. Voorburg, on the other hand, are spoiled for choice in both batting and bowling, and they will go into this game strong favourites.

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BdJ: Second-placed Sparta 1888 had looked to be cruising into the top six before being utterly clotheslined by VCC last week, the insult of a 9-wicket loss compounded by injuries to several key players, including the stalwart Mudassar Bukhari, lead wicket-taker Ahsan Malik, and skipper Martijn Snoep. Whether any or all will be fit when they welcome HCC to Bermweg on Saturday remains to be seen. If they’re looking for instruction on bouncing back from defeat they could do worse than looking to their opponents, who have had had something of an up and down season thus far. Their fortunes have fluctuated rather with the form of Jonatahan Vandiar, who together with Ratha Alphonse has been the principal source of runs in the HCC top order. The efforts of quicks Hidde Overdijk and Henrico Venter with the ball, backed up by the left arm spin of Floyd and Doram, have covered somewhat for HCC’s homegrown batters’ slump in form so far, but even a weakened Sparta will be a tough test for the defending champions.

RJL: After a nightmare start to the season HCC have steadily climbed up the table, and a strong finish against Sparta here and then against VRA on Monday would likely see them ensconced, not only in the top six, but in its upper reaches when the competition resumes. To Overdijk and Venter we should add Daniel Crowley, who while short of wickets has been a steady force in the attack. Sparta need all hands on deck for the exacting final weekend of Phase 1, not only physically but also mentally, and an experience like last Saturday’s is bound to leave its scars. But they had thoroughly earned their spell at the top of the table, and if they can recover the spirit which saw them come back from the dead against VRA on Ascension Day rather than the batting form which got them into that mess in the first place (and which then caused their demolition by Voorbuirg two days later), they could still halt HCC’s progress.

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BdJ: Third-placed VOC Rotterdam could seal their place in the top six and end HBS Craeyenhout’s slim hopes with a win on Saturday, having closed out a narrow win over VRA last weekend. The most encouraging aspect of that win for VOC was the rally staged by the lower middle order after a rare failure from the top-order trio of O’Dowd, Berry and Edwards. If skipper Tim de Kok can regularly marshall such resistance down the card then VOC could stage a genuine challenge for the title this year, despite the questions that remain around the bowling. HBS have similar worries of course, with a green bowling attack and a continued reliance on Barresi and Walbrugh for runs. Both are in fine form however, and the young attack (with some help from Barresi’s offspin) managed to hold Excelsior to 200 last week despite Lorenzo Ingram’s first century of the season. With Kyle Klein in excellent rhythm one could imagine the requisite early wickets falling, though as VOC showed last week that may not always be enough.

RJL: Evergreen allrounder Jelte Schoonheim played a crucial role in squeezing out VOC’s two-run victory over VRA last Saturday, and with ten wickets apiece he and closed-season recruit Asief Hoseinbaks are the Rotterdammers’ leading wicket-takers. But they and the rest of the attack will need to be at their best if they are to contain Walbrugh and Barresi at the Hazelaarweg, while equally Barresi will need to figure out at way to get on top of the VOC batting line-up. As m’ colleague observes, Kyle Klein could well be the key, but he will need plenty of support from the likes of Swapnil Pote, Julian de Mey and Lucas del Bianco, now slotted into the side. Nic Adendorff has chipped in with both bat and ball in recent games, and no doubt VOC will be looking for something similar from Burhan Niaz, who shone brightly last season but who has contributed rather less this time round.

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BdJ: Ingram’s sudden return to form will be a worry for Punjab Rotterdam as they host Excelsior ‘20 Schiedam at the Zomercomplex, but it’s telling that his century immediately made him the Schiedammers’ top scorer for the season. Michael Hart and Roel Verhagen are the only other Excelsior bats to have managed more than 100 runs across the season, while Ingram’s also the only bowler averaging less than 20 with the ball. Conversely Punjab have five bats in three figures, with Shoaib Minhas averaging close to 100 and Saqib Zulfiqar in superb form with bat and ball. That Excelsior remain in contention despite the majority of their side underperforming is remarkable in itself, and of course the flip side is that they’re capable of dramatic imrovement if only a couple of the passengers start pulling their weight.

RJL: To be fair, Roel Verhagen has been pretty consistent with the bat since his return from injury, and Niels Etman has done well in support of Ingram with the ball. But Excelsior are clearly yet to settle on their best top order, and Punjab’s attack is very effective at exploiting their opponents’ weaknesses. Sulaiman Tariq’s side do, on the other hand, have problems of their own at the top of the batting, their opening partnership averaging only 16 across seven innings, and although in Mohsin Riaz, Minhas, and Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar they have plenty of fire-power to turn things round, Tim Etman will be looking to his bowlers to keep them under pressure. The unheralded appearance of Daan van Bunge last week had little direct effect on Excelsior’s fortunes, and while ‘passengers’ might be a little harsh, there’s no doubt that the Thurlede outfit will be hoping that new skipper Etman and his predecessor Tom Heggelman are able to make a bigger contribution in these last two crucial games.

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BdJ: Finally ACC and Salland face a do-or-die clash at ’t Loopveld. Salland’s situation is particularly desperate, bottom of the table of four points with a negative net run rate of over an run an over. Though ACC are currently two points clear of the bottom, their equally woeful NRR means they can ill afford another defeat. Having been held afloat by opener Venkat Ganesan and skipper Victor Lubbers with the bat through the season, Salland will take some encouragement from overseas Finn Raxworthy finally finding some form last week, together with Sahir Naqash. Kiwi quick Fraser Bartholomew has taken to Dutch conditions rather quicker, and backed up by a reliable spin section Salland may fancy their chances at ACC’s traditionally bat-hostile ground. Nonethless the hosts have also shown signs of a late rally, thanks in part to Heino Kuhn’s reacclimatising to the Topklasse’s unique challenges. With the exception of a remarkable demolition of local rivals VRA’s batting, however, the ACC attack has struggled to penetrate or contain. Though both sides could in theory still sneak into the top six, realistically this is a Phase 2 four-pointer, with distance from the wooden spoon the chief prize on offer.

RJL: ACC’s performance against Voorburg on Ascension Day and HCC two days later were both encouraging efforts, and although Kuhn’s side remains to a degree an assembly of bit-part players the same might be said of Lubbers’ squad as well. Shreyas Potdar, Ammar Zaidi and Anis Raza have all stepped up with the bat when needed, and while Rahil Ahmed and Mahesh Hans have yet to really impose themselves since their transfer from Dosti, their experience contributes positively to a side in which Aryan Kumar and Joseph Reddy have stepped effectively into the gap left by the departure of Mees van Vliet. Salland, on the other hand, have the core of a good side, but their performances have been a little hit-or-miss, their victories over VOC and Excelsior balanced by disappointing efforts against HCC and, especially, HBS. If they bring their A-game to ’t Loopveld they could prove too strong for ACC, but on recent evidence that’s a big if.

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BdJ’s picks: VCC, HCC, VOC, Punjab, ACC
RL’s picks: VCC, HCC, VOC, Punjab, ACC.

Rod Lyall 23/05/2023

The short answer to that question is: absolutely.

With two rounds of the first phase to go, three teams are level on eight points, with two on six and three on four. While at first glance it might appear that the battle for sixth place, and a spot in the championship pool when the 50-over competition resumes in July, is between VRA and ACC, the sides currently straddling the cut-off, in fact any or all of the three bottom teams have a chance of reaching eight points, and if other results go their way, that could be enough.

The remaining fixtures for the teams on four points are:
HBS: VOC (away), Punjab (home)
Excelsior: Punjab (away), ACC (home)
Salland: ACC (away), Sparta (home).

It follows from this that ACC and Punjab will have a vital role in determining the final Phase 1 standings, and it’s likely that much will remain in doubt until the final games are played on Monday.

Of those just above them, one or other of which they will be looking to displace, ACC obviously have the more favourable draw, since both their remaining games are against teams currently below them; on the other hand, they have a poor net run rate, well below that of both HBS and Excelsior.

VRA face a much more difficult run-in, taking on leaders Voorburg at home on Saturday and HCC, who leap-frogged them last weekend, on Monday; their net run rate, though, is healthier than that of either HCC or ACC, which could be very useful if things get tight on Monday evening.

With their weak NRR situation, HCC will need to beat either Sparta on Saturday or VRA on Monday to put themselves out of reach of the three bottom sides, while ACC would probably need to win both their games to feel safe.

Even Punjab, currently fourth with a marginally positive NRR, will go into the weekend with plenty to play for: were they to lose to both Excelsior and HBS and other results go against them, they too could find themselves in danger of slipping out of the top six.

Of the three sides with which we began, Excelsior may feel that they are in the most favourable position, although a visit to Het Zomercomplex is never an easy proposition and the way in which Punjab saw off Salland on Saturday suggests that they may be finishing the first phase strongly.

Although VOC have been inconsistent the power of their top order is unquestionable, and HBS would need to be at their absolute best to beat them on Saturday and keep themselves in the hunt.

And whether Sparta, after their mauling by Voorburg at the weekend and with a crucial match for HCC at the Bermweg this Saturday, will be at anything like full strength for their visit to Deventer on Monday will be a question of intense interest for Salland.

All in all, we can look forward to a dramatic long weekend, and perhaps a table which looks rather different by Monday night.

Rod Lyall 19/05/2023

Voorburg returned to the top of the table on Saturday with a comprehensive win over Sparta 1888 at Westvliet, their nine-wicket victory speaheaded by leg-spinners Shariz Ahmad and Philippe Boissevain and completed by a whirlwind innings from opener Nehaan Gigani.

There was little hint of this outcome as Ali Raza and Sam Ferguson steered the total to 60 without loss after Joost-Martijn Snoep had won the toss, but once Shariz and Boissevain were introduced into the attack the Spartan batting fell comprehensively apart, Shariz taking five for 19 to take his season’s tally to 23 at an average cost of 8.78 and Boissevain claiming four for 35.

Once Raza and Ferguson had departed for 42 and 34 respectively only Mudassar Bukhari was able to reach double figures, and he also had Sparta’s only success with the ball, removing Michael Levitt before he developed a groin strain which forced him out of the attack.

With Sparta increasingly looking like a retreating army, Gigani took full advantage, hitting ten fours and three sixes in his unbeaten, 58-ball 81, and Noah Croes helped him see Voorburg home, the winning six coming at the beginning of the 22nd over.

There could scarcely have been a bigger contrast between this overwhelming victory and the match between VRA Amsterdam and VOC Rotterdam in the Amsterdamse Bos, which went down to the very last ball before VOC ran out winners by just two runs.

Eduard Visser led the way for VRA as VOC were reduced to 76 for five, picking up the crucial wickets of Max O’Dowd and Lane Berry as well as that of Francois Fourie, but the Rotterdammers were rescued by a sixth-wicket stand of 104 between skipper Tim de Kok, who made an aggressive 65, and Burhan Niaz (50), and although Visser returned to clean up the tail and finish with five for 34, VRA were left to chase a total of 244.

They were given a real chance by a partnership of 112 for the third wicket between Johan Smal and Teja Nidamanuru, but after Niaz had bowled Smal for 53 De Kok called on Scott Edwards for one of his rare spells with the ball, and he removed first Aryan Dutt and then Jack Balbirnie.

Nidamanuru was still there, but then, with 17 still needed, Jelte Schoonheim trapped him in front for 93, and when he bowled Visser shortly afterwards, VRA’s last pair of Leon Turmaine and Ashir Abid were left to complete the task.

Six were required off the final over, but Schoonheim bowled with exemplary control and they could only manage three, giving VOC the narrowest of victories.

The win made VOC almost certain of a place in the top six, and the same assurance was earned by Punjab Rotterdam, who had a six-wicket victory over Salland at Het Schootsveld.

Salland’s 201 for seven was built on a steady 60 from Finn Raxworthy and a run-a-ball 61 not out by Sahir Naqash, with Saqib Zulfiqar again the most successful of Punjab’s bowlers with three for 49.

But the Overijssel side’s bowlers could make little impression on a strong Punjab top order, despite a fine spell from Fraser Bartholomew, and with Mohsin Riaz making a steady 66, Saqib contributing 40 and Shoaib Minhas and Sikander Zulfiqar finishing things off, Punjab won with almost five overs to spare.

Minhas ended with a run-a-ball 47 not out, and Sikander with 19 not out.

At De Diepput HCC moved into the top six, level on points with VOC and Punjab but with an inferior net run rate, by beating ACC by four wickets.

Daniel Crowley and Henrico Venter did the early damage, and Daniel Doram then removed the middle order to finish with three for 30 from his ten overs, but Anis Raza held things together with 67, Heino Kuhn made 37, and Ammar Zaidi and Mark Wolfe combined to get the total past 200.

ACC were eventually dismissed in the last of their fifty overs for 224, and although Ratha Alphonse (46) and Tonny Staal (33) shared an opening stand of 70, HCC again made heavy weather of the chase, and when danger-man Jonathan Vandiar was rather bizarrely run out by a direct hit from the fine leg boundary attempting to run a second wide the home side were looking slightly precarious on 155 for five.

But HCC bat deep, and first Clayton Floyd and Hidde Overdijk, and after Floyd’s departure Doram, saw them to victory, Overdijk finishing on 38 not out.

The bottom-of-the-table clash between Excelsior ‘20 and HBS Craeyenhout at Thurlede was marked by the return to batting form of Lorenzo Ingram, who made 103 for the home side, and the continuation of Tayo Walbrugh’s remarkable run, his unbeaten 81 seeing HBS to a six-wicket win.

Lucas del Bianco and Wesley Barresi had picked up three wickets apiece, at a cost of 48 and 37 runs respectively, as Excelsior reached 200 for nine, and Barresi then continued his century-making form of Thursday with 52 in a third-wicket stand of 85 which laid the foundations of his side’s victory.

The win lifted HBS off the bottom of the table and into eighth place, leapfrogging both Excelsior and Salland on net run rate and setting up a fascinating battle for position with two Phase One matches remaining.

Rod Lyall 19/05/2023

One of the most extraordinary escape acts in the history of the Dutch competition and a record-breaking partnership which enabled bottom-placed HBS to claim their first points of the season enlivened an Ascension Day programme on Thursday which was never less than absorbing.

Chasing VRA’s 228 for eight at the Bermweg, leaders Sparta 1888 appeared to be down and out when Ashir Abid, Tyler van Luin and Eduard Visser had reduced them to 64 for six, but Joost Kroesen had other ideas.

Supported first by Ahsan Malik in a seventh-wicket stand of 76 and then by a hard-hitting cameo from Khalid Ahmadi, who belted four sixes in his 21-ball 36, Kroesen steadily turned the game around, and when Ahmadi fell to Visser only 31 runs were needed from from 39 deliveries.

Now it was captain Joost-Martijn Snoep’s job to help Kroesen see the side home, and so effectively did they tackle their task that Sparta completed their unlikely two-wicket victory with an over to spare.

Kroesen finished on 88 not out, the highest of his career, made from 120 balls with six fours and two sixes, ensuring that Sparta remained on top of the table with three Phase 1 matches remaining.

Earlier, Aryan Dutt’s 40-ball 55 on his return from injury had injected some much-needed urgency to a VRA innings which had never quite taken off against a steady Sparta attack, most of the top order getting a start but not really capitalising; Malik and Mudassar Bukhari had bowled effectively if without success with the new ball, and it was Ahmadi who did much of the damage, taking five for 47.

Level with Sparta on points but just behind them on net run rate, Voorburg largely owed their five-wicket victory over ACC at Het Loopveld to Shariz Ahmad’s googlies and Michael Levitt’s unbeaten, run-a-ball 105, which saw them home after Joseph Reddy and Mahesh Hans had reduced them to 58 for four.

Shariz had been instrumental in bowling ACC out for just 158, taking four for 36 to bring his season’s tally to 18 wickets at an average cost of 10.17, only Heino Kuhn playing a significant innings with 54.

Then Levitt and skipper Sybrand Engelbrecht dug the visitors out of trouble with a fifth-wicket stand of 94, of which Engelbrecht contributed 21, and Levitt finished it off with almost ten overs to spare.

At Craeyenhout, HBS had a nightmare start against Salland, losing two wickets by the time six runs were on the board, but they were rescued by a stand of 222 between Tayo Walbrugh and Wesley Barresi, the highest-ever for any wicket for the Crows.

Barresi was eventually dismissed for 115, made from 114 deliveries with 15 fours and a six, while Walbrugh completed his third century in four innings before departing for 103, from 111 balls with ten fours and one six.

Salland’s bowlers fought back well after they had gone, keeping the total to 293 for nine, but that was always like to be too many, even on Craeyenhout’s artificial outfield.

Swapnil Pote did the early damage, Kyle Klein picked up three for 48 and Julian de Mey cleaned up the middle and lower order as Salland were dismissed for 166, only skipper Victor Lubbers’ 47 offering any prolonged resistance.

Any relief that HBS might have felt at their first victory was somewhat mitigated by the fact that Excelsior ‘20, just above them at the foot of the table, also had a much-needed win, beating VOC Rotterdam by four wickets at the Hazelaarweg.

Max O’Dowd made 46 for the home side and Lane Berry a 56-ball 61, but Niels Etman struck back with four for 41, and VOC were all out for 217.

They might have hoped that that would be enough, but Excelsior went methodically about their chase, Luuk Kroesen, back in an opening role, laying the foundations with a patient 40.

Lorenzo Ingram contributed 37, his best score of the season so far, and then Michael Hart and Stan van Troost brought their side to the brink of victory before Van Troost was run out just 16 short of their target.

Hart, however, was still there, finishing on 62 not out as Excelsior won with 11 balls to spare.

At Het Zomercomplex, HCC did well to bowl Punjab out for 142, Hidde Overdijk taking three for 33 and Clayton Floyd and Patient Charumbira picking up two wickets apiece; a dogged not-out 26 from Sikander Zulfiqar was Punjab’s highest score in a disappointing effort.

But they struck back with the ball, only opener Ratha Alphonse looking at all comfortable with 32 as Saqib Zulfiqar worked his way through the middle order, no-one else making 20, but the defending champions eventually struggled over the line to win by three wickets.

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 17/05/23

The frenetic first phase of the 2023 season hurtles on apace, with an extra round scheduled to take advantage of the Ascension Day holiday on Thursday, then another on Saturday, by this time next week we’ll be seven rounds deep less than a month after the first ball was bowled. As it stands nothing is quite decided, though both Sparta and Voorburg could potentially seal their top six spots on Thursday, while winless HBS could see their hopes extinguished.

BdJ: Current table-toppers Sparta 1888, who will welcome fourth-placed VRA to Bermweg on Thursday, have an opportunity seal their place in the championship pool if they can turn over a VRA outfit that’s blown rather hot and cold so far. Sparta’s success thus far can be attributed in part to some judicious acquisitions in the returning Garnett Tarr, newcomers Sam Ferguson and Will Clark, along with Joost Kroesen who has thrived in his new role as spin all-rounder since moving from Excelsior. It was the veteran Ahsan Malik that shone for them last week though, his seam partenrship with Khalid Ahmadi currently the most effective in the league. VRA bounced back from a surprise defeat at the hands of ACC to see off Salland on Sunday, but remain plagued by inconsistency and injury. While Vikram Singh and Johan Smal reminded us how dangerous the VRA batting card remains with conditions in their favour, but despite their depth they remain vulnerable to collapse on slower tracks. Aryan Dutt’s fitness also remains in doubt for the game, and though Leon Turmaine’s bowling as well as he ever has VRA looked short a few overs of reliable spin in Dutt’s absence.

RL: Sparta have emerged as genuine championship contenders this season, not least because of Ahsan Malik’s partnership not only with Ahmadi but also with his old international mate Mudassar Bukhari. The Bermweg has not been a happy hunting-ground for VRA since Sparta moved there: the competition structure enabled them to avoid it last year, but before their 2021 victory (thanks to 99 from Jack Balbirnie and a 45-ball 100 from Marcus Andrew) they had lost on all three occasions they had played there. In Ashir Abid and Tyler van Luin they have a new-ball attack with the potential to exploit the conditions, but they will need to be at their best to unsettle the home side’s top order. As m’colleague points out, though, it’s the Amsterdammers’ batting which raises the big questions.

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BdJ: Also on 8 points at the top are Voorburg, who will head to ‘t Loopveld to take on ACC hoping to return with a place in the top six in the bag. The unfancied ACC are on a surprise winning streak, winning three on the bounce since their humiliation at the hands of VOC in Round 3. Most tellingly, they have done so largely on the back of their bowling, with only limited contrbutions from overseas Thomas Hobson and Heino Kuhn. If the latter come off with the bat they could well give VCC a run for their money, especially on home turf mat. Voorburg suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Punjab last week, though the simple strength of their roster means they remain strong favourites.

RL: The return of Hobson and Kuhn has created a framework in which ACC’s youngsters – and not-so-youngsters – are able to flourish, and the club will be delighted to see the likes of Shreyas Potdar emerge from a relatively long apprenticeship and begin to play significant innings. It was Ammar Zaidi, though, who dug them out of a hole against VRA, and if the win against HBS on Sunday was a more convincing team performance, they will need all guns firing if they are to sink a Voorburg side which remains powerful in all departments. Even when their top order was less than wholly convincing against Punjab last week Viv Kingma stepped up to get them past 200, and it took a Shoaib Minhas century and valuable knocks from a couple of Zulfiqars to end their winning run. Something of the same order will be needed from ACC on Thursday if they are to claim the points.

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BdJ: In a season of occasional surprises, VOC Rotterdam have been one of the few sides to conform to expectations, putting up serious scores when the “big three” come off but struggling when Berry, O’Dowd and Edwards all fail. With a bowling attack that’s proved more relible than match-winning, the Bloodhounds remain vulnerable to early wickets. If Excelsior are to take advantage they will need more from their seamers however, especially overseas quick Michael Hart who has looked more like a batting all-rounder in Dutch conditions. Conversely Lorenzo Ingram’s lean season with the bat so far has left a sizeable hole in the batting line-up, though his left arm spin has remained impeccable. On just two points from five matches, Excelsior are running out of road in the first phase, and while homegrown stalwarts Tom Heggelman, Roel Verhagen and Niels Etman have had solid enough seasons so far, the Schiedammers will need full value from their professionals from here if they’re to avoid spending phase two in the relegation pool.

RL: Against Sparta’s rise and Excelsior’s relative decline the departure of Joost Kroesen from Thurlede is beginning to look like a very significant factor, and although the Schiedammers have a greater degree of continuity in their side than most of their competitors, they seem to have lost their knack of eking out victories even when not playing at their best. With four games left they will need to recover it fast if they are to squeeze into the top six, and whereas VOC have plenty of potential match-winners, Excelsior seem, their demolition of HCC apart, more like a team of journeymen. The injury to Roel Verhagen has not helped their cause, and his form with the bat since slotting back into the side has been a positive, but the onus will clearly be on the bowlers to claim some of their opponents’ scalps in the initial powerplay. Failing that, Excelsior could be in for a tough day.

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BdJ: Potentially the most consequential game of the round will be at the Zomercomplex where fifth-placed Punjab Rotterdam take on seventh-placed HCC. Punjab’s victory over VCC has taken them to six points with a modest positive net run rate of 0.24, meaning one more win might well be enough to get them into the top six, but their position remains precarious. Nonethess they look in the ascendant with the bat at least, with returning pro Shoaib Minhas striking a century last week while Saqib Zulfiqar has been in the runs both in the Topklasse and Pro-Series. For HCC, who trail them by two points with a negative NRR of -0.77, another loss or two could see their title defence cut short half-way through the season. They’ll hope Jonathan Vandiar picks up where he left off on return to his old home ground, but above all will want more from the homegrown top order. While formerly peripheral players Henrico Venter and Jan-Wieger Overdijk have grown into their roles with the ball, both have been comparatively expensive and Punjab have the batting and short boundaries to take advantage.

RL: Henrico Venter’s maiden five-for against HBS last Saturday was a real bonus for HCC’s reconstructed attack, but it took a solid knock from Clayton Floyd, batting at six, to get them over the line. Ratha Alphonse and, on occasions, Vandiar aside, the top order has struggled for runs, especially away from De Diepput, and Punjab have the bowling resources to put them under pressure. But Vandiar knows very well where the Zomercomplex boundaries are, and if HCC are to come away with the points his contribution could be vital. Equally, it will be interesting to see how Punjab’s batting copes with the threat of Daniel Doram, another powerful weapon for the defending champions. That said, the form of Minhas and of Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar has generally been impressive, while Mohsin Riaz has done enough to show that he, too, can make opposing attacks suffer. A difficult one to pick, this, but it may be the home side which edges it.

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BdJ: Finally HBS Craeyenhout will be looking for their first win of the season when they welcome Salland to Craeyenhout. Victor Lubbers’ eclectic array of easterlings have given a decent account of themselves when conditions favoured them, Kiwi quick Fraser Bartholomew lending a cutting edge to the traditionally solid spin attack, but Salland’s chief trouble so far has been backing up their bowlers with the bat. Though against HBS’ inexperienced attack they will be hoping to at least pass 200 for the first time this season, at Craeyenhout that’s not always good enough. HBS, for their part, will be looking to Wesley Barresi to transfer some of his pro-series form, with Tayo Walbrugh currently rather starved of support with the bat.

RL: With the departure of Ryan Klein and the retirement of several key players HBS began the season severely depleted, particularly in the bowling, but it has indeed been the batting which has has seen them still winless after five games. There have, though, been signs of improvement recently, much of it coming from the form of Walbrugh, and with a bit more luck they might have broken their duck by now. Facing Salland at home on Thursday and Excelsior away on Saturday they will know that these are two games they have to win if they are to have any chance of redeeming their season, given that their last two first-phase matches are against VOC and Punjab. Salland, on the other hand, have given themselves a real possibility of making the top six, a prospect which would be greatly enhanced by two points here. It was largely the German contingent which saw off Excelsior last week, and as long as they are in the side Salland remain a tricky proposition. They will need to get Walbrugh early, though, if they are to drive back eastwards with the points.

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

Rod Lyall 15/05/2023

Sparta 1888 moved to the top of the Topklasse table on Saturday, their 6-wicket victory over VOC Rotterdam comfortable enough to enable them to take full advantage of Voorburg’s defeat at the hands of Punjab Rotterdam.

Their win was built on a five-wicket haul by former international Ahsan Malik, the fourth of his Topklasse career, and VOC were on the back foot from the start as he removed the big three of Max O’Dowd, Lane Berry and Scott Edwards, adding Tim de Kok to his tally to leave the Bloodhounds reeling at 38 for four.

They never really recovered, Francois Fourie top-scoring with 26, and were all out for 117, with Malik finishing with five for 30.

Sparta stuttered slightly when they replied, but Garnett Tarr’s aggressive 54-ball 57 set them back on course, and they needed only 18.5 overs to knock off the runs.

That margin of victory was sufficient to take them ahead of Voorburg on net run rate, after the previous leaders suffered their first loss of the season, to Punjab Rotterdam.

Put in to bat by Sulaiman Tariq, Voorburg’s innings was a stop-and-start affair, opener Nehaan Gigani’s 49 the best individual score and the highest partnership a fifth-wicket stand of 71 between Sybrand Engelbrecht and Shariz Ahmad, both of whom made 33.

That they eventually reached 216 for eight was due to Viv Kingma, who smacked an enterprising 39 not out in the closing overs, while Punjab’s most successful bowler was Saqib Zulfiqar with four for 37.

A Punjab victory seemed unlikely when Kingma and Karl Nieuwoudt combined to reduce them to 14 for three, but then Saqib and Shoaib Minhas put on 124 in a fourth-wicket partnership which turned the match around, and after Saqib’s departure for 43 his brother Sikander supported Minhas in adding the further 80 required for the win.

Minhas settled the issue with the winning six which took his own score to exactly 100, Sikander remaining not out on 38.

By Sunday night Punjab were in fifth place on the table, behind not only the two leaders and VOC but also VRA Amsterdam, whose mixed weekend included a low-scoring defeat at the hands of ACC on Saturday and a much more convincing victory over Salland the following day.

VRA’s innings against ACC never got going, and they were bowled out for a disappointing 95 after Devanshu Arya had run through the middle order to finish with figures of four for 8 from eight overs, Mahesh Hans finishing things off with two for 8 from five.

That total looked healthier, however, when Ashir Abid again grabbed early wickets, ACC collapsing to 7 for three inside 16 deliveries, and at 48 for six they seemed to be heading for an extraordinary defeat.

But VRA dropped vital catches, enabling Thomas Hobson to make 46, and then Ammar Zaidi led the crawl to victory, his unbeaten 23 coming from 62 deliveries as he and Arya gradually picked off the remaining 26 needed for the win.

Any questions about VRA’s batting, though, were answered on Sunday, when in their replayed Round 1 match against Salland Leon Turmaine’s side posted 284 for six, despite losing Shirase Rasool off the first ball of the game.

Vikram Singh and Johan Smal overcame that initial setback with a second-wicket stand of 152, and after Smal had departed for 78 Singh went on to his fourth Topklasse century, passing 2000 runs in the process – a notable achievement for a player who is still just 20.

Akhil Gopinath was the most successful of the Salland bowlers with three for 51, but 284 was always likely to prove too much for the Deventer team’s batting and they were dismissed for 164, their challenge not greatly helped by three run-outs.

Turmaine himself took three for 24 to reduce Salland to 106 for six, but there was a partial rally from Fraser Bartholomew (29) and Gijs van Molen (32) before Teja Nidamanuru finished off the innings.

It was a big contrast with Salland’s effort the previous day, when they had overpowered Excelsior ‘20 at Het Schootsveld.

Salland’s German internationals Venkat Ganesan (four for 21), Talha Khan (three for 16) and Elam Bharathi (two for 31) claimed nine wickets between them as Excelsior were dismissed for 126 in a match reduced to 40 overs after a wet pitch delayed the start, and Ganesan then completed a fine double with an unbeaten 54 to steer his side to an eight-wicket victory.

He shared an opening stand of 80 with Piyaranga Ottachchige (44), and Salland needed only 26 overs to complete the win.

They were pushed out of the top six, however, by Sunday’s events, their defeat by VRA combining with ACC’s second win off the weekend, this time over HBS.

In conditions at Het Loopveld which strongly favoured the bowlers ACC did well to reach 203 for six, built on opener Shreyas Potdar’s patient 50 and Anis Raza’s unbeaten 44.

Then Aryan Kumar and Zinesh Master, with four for 39 and three for 20 respectively, combined to remove the HBS top and middle order, and although Tayo Walbrugh did his best to hold the innings together with 33 and Nic Adendorff resisted to the end with 47 not out, the Crows finished on 167, still 36 runs short.

It was a frustrating weekend for HBS, still looking for their first win of the season, as on Saturday they lost to HCC at De Diepput, despite a fine 103 from Walbrugh which enabled them to reach 231 for nine, Kyle Klein chipping in with 39.

Walbrugh’s knock rescued them from a perilous 91 for five, Henrico Venter taking five for 42 and Hidde Overdijk picking up three for 43 towards the close, and they seemed to have a real chance when Manjinder Singh removed danger-man Jonathan Vandiar and HCC were on 146 for five in reply.

But Clayton Floyd stood firm, sharing a stand of 72 with Overdijk, and his 55 not out saw HCC to a four-wicket win with nine balls remaining, the nearest thing to a close finish we have so far seen this season.

All ten teams will be in action again on Thursday, the Ascension Day public holiday, and then again on Saturday as the first phase of the Topklasse competition moves towards its denouement.

[This article was modified on 16 May 2023 to remove the claim that Sparta’s position at the top of the table was the first time they had achieved this.]

Rod Lyall 08/05/2023

Just when it seemed that this season’s Topklasse might break into a dominant five or six teams and a perpetually dominated lower group, two of the latter upset the form book with surprise victories against more favoured opponents.

The biggest reversal perhaps came at the Hazelaarweg, where Salland repeated a trick they performed last year and beat VOC Rotterdam by seven wickets.

Key to their success was an early onslaught by Reinder Lubbers and Fraser Bartholomew, which saw Max O’Dowd, Arnav Jain and Lane Berry all returned to the dugout with just 14 runs on the board, and although Scott Edwards and Tim de Kok (29) shared a half-century partnership and Pieter Seelaar contributed 26, by the time Edwards was the last man out for a fighting 75 he had only managed to negotiate the total to 159.

Bartholomew returned to dismiss him and finish with three for 23, while Shair Naqash took three for 24.

Burhan Niaz grabbed two quick wickets when Salland replied, but Venkat Ganesan’s 53 laid the foundations for a comfortable victory, completed by an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 82 between Finn Raxworthy (46 not out) and Naqash (40 not out).

Another early leader to lose their unbeaten record was Sparta 1888, who succumbed to a greatly-improved ACC by six wickets at Het Loopveld.

Half-centuries by Sam Ferguson and Joost Kroesen and a mercurial 48 not out from 30 deliveries by Khalid Ahmadi enabled Sparta to reach a solid 222 for eight, with Aryan Kumar and Joseph Reddy taking three for 49 and three for 32 respectively for the home side.

But Shreyas Potdar’s 89 laid the foundation of ACC’s victory, supported by Thomas Hobson’s 42 in a second-wicket stand of 91; Joost-Martijn Snoep tried eight bowlers in an attempt to remove a much more resilient batting line-up, but the winning runs came with four and a half overs to spare.

If the outcome of the match between Excelsior ‘20 and HCC at Thurlede could not be termed a shock on this scale, the manner of it certainly was: after making their way to 55 for one the HCC batting disintegrated completely, and the last nine wickets fell for the addition of just eight runs as the left-arm combination of pace man Niels Etman and spinner Lorenzo Ingram created total mayhem.

Both finished with their best-ever Topklasse figures, Ingram taking five for 11 and Etman four for 11, and HCC were all out for just 63.

Excelsior were far from comfortable in chasing down this small target, Daniel Doram picking up three for 19 for the defending champions, but Ingram and Stan van Troost ultimately saw them to a six-wicket victory.

At Het Zomercomplex Punjab Rotterdam consolidated their claim to a top-six place with a victory, also by six wickets, over rivals VRA Amsterdam.

Punjab’s persistent attack was able to restrict the Amsterdammers to 157, the top-scorers Shirase Rasool and Tyler van Luin with 38 apiece and Leon Turmaine managing 27 as he batted with the tail, while Sulaiman Tariq took three for 37 for the home side and Saqib Zulfiqar and Mubashar Hussain each took two.

Ashir Abid claimed three quick wickets at the start of the Punjab reply, finishing with three for 24 from his ten overs, but Asad Zulfiqar anchored the innings with 46, and once he had gone Shoaib Minhas took over, his unbeaten 80 seeing his side to victory with ten overs remaining.

Leaders Voorburg maintained their unbeaten record, now the only one in the competition, by beating HBS at Craeyenhout, but their margin of 40 runs was a lot smaller than might have been anticipated.

Opener Michael Levitt posted a maiden Topklasse century, making 104 from 103 deliveries and putting on 139 for the second wicket with Noah Croes (80), and with Musa Ahmad contributing 53 Voorburg reached 324 for eight, although Swapnil Pote pulled them back from an even higher total by taking five for 46 for HBS.

It seemed likely to be much too big a challenge for Wesley Barresi’s side, but an aggressive 40-ball 68 in the initial powerplay from Reece Mason and a fighting 109 from Taya Walbrugh, who had dropped down to bat at six, kept them in the hunt, and at 260 for seven and Walbrugh well set another upset was on the cards.

But then Walbrugh was run out, Mees van Vliet took the final wicket and finish with three for 51, and HBS were all out for 284.

After the disappointments of Saturday, VOC and Sparta used their Sunday replay games to return to winning ways.

Saqib Zulfiqar’s 94 helped Punjab to reach 244 after Jelte Schoonheim (three for 34) had caused them early problems; Ramdas Upadhyaya also took four for 58 for the Bloodhounds, while Muhammad Shafiq’s 33 got his side from 170 for seven to their much more challenging final total.

At 113 for seven VOC appeared to be heading for their second defeat of the weekend, but Lane Berry was now joined by Scott Edwards, who had earlier retired hurt with a hand injury, and in a remarkable turnaround they proceeded to add the 132 needed for victory.

Berry was especially dominant, his 150 not out coming from 133 deliveries with 13 fours and eight sixes, and with Edwards’s unbeaten 37 giving him the necessary support, VOC won with nearly ten overs to spare, despite Tariq’s four for 45 for the home side.

Sparta completed a much less dramatic victory over Excelsior at the Bermweg, chasing down the Schiedammers’ 221 for nine, in which Roel Verhagen made 70 and Michael Hart 44; Ahmadi and Will Clark were Sparta’s most successful bowlers with three for 35 and three for 57 respectively.

Sparta’s top order then picked off the runs in a solid collective effort, Ferguson making 37, Garnett Tarr 45, Mudassar Bukhari 47, Clark 31 and Kroesen 25 not out, and although Ingram claimed three wickets to bring his tally for the weekend to eight for 27, the home side won by three wickets.

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 05/05/23

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We’re just two weeks into the season but already the table looks to be splitting in half, with the top and bottom ends of the table separated by a huge gulf in net run rate, if not yet points. While Voorburg are clear at the top thanks only to having got an extra game in, the gap between them and ACC at the bottom already looks nigh-insurmountable. With a couple of catch-up games from Round 1 this Sunday giving up seven games total this weekend, there’s a every chance we’ll have a good idea who’ll be challenging for the title and who’s headed to the relegation battle barely a fortnight after the first ball was bowled.

BdJ: When frontrunners Voorburg head over to Craeyenhout to take on the beleaguered HBS they’ll have a decent chance at extending their lead at the top. As expected, the Crows’ batting has looked reliant on Walbrugh and Barresi, and the bowling has lacked for any real penetration. Voorburg meanwhile brushed aside Salland and then Excelsior for their second and third emphatic wins last week, Shariz Ahmad has been making hay, taking eleven wickets over the weekend. The showing of seamer Sajjad Kamal, up from the twos, suggests there’s plenty of depth in the VCC ranks, while Mees van Vliet also looks to have found some rhythm for his new club. VCC don’t quite have the batting depth or pace menace of previous seasons, but have looked arguably a stronger side. There’s been signs of promise in the new crop of youngsters at HBS, Swapnil Patel’s debut fifty in their opener stands out, but it would take something remarkable for them to deny Voorburg a fourth consecutive win.

RL: Barresi looked in really good nick during the Pro Series match on Wednesday, and HBS will need him and Walbrugh to be firing on all cylinders if they are to have a realistic chance of upsetting rampant Voorburg. But Michael Levitt and Noah Croes have done enough already to show that they are major assets in the Westvliet club’s top order, and the hard-pressed HBS attack will need to find additional incisiveness if they are to put their visitors under pressure. Voorburg are already looking like nailed-on top-six candidates, while HBS will need to raise their game considerably if they are to have any chance of avoiding a place in the bottom four.

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BdJ: Similarly VOC Rotterdam will start as overwhelming favourites when they welcome Salland to Hazelaarweg. To say the VOC top order is in form would be an grotesque understatement. In their last three innings, one of which was cut short by rain, VOC have piled on north of 750 runs for the loss of just 14 wickets. Salland, meanwhile, have lost twice as many wickets for half as many runs so far this season. Fair to say we’ve not yet seen the best of their two new overseas, batter Finn Raxworthy and seamer Fraser Bartholomew, and if the pair find their feet Salland shouldn’t be total pushovers, especially at Hazelaarweg where their array of spinners may find assistance. VOC’s middle order may also be vulnerable if they Salland can get into them, but getting past the top three looks a challenge.

RL: It was Salland’s victory at the Hazelaarweg last season which was crucial to VOC missing out on the top half of their group table, and neither side will have forgotten that in the end the Deventer side finished four points ahead of their hosts. The advent of Lane Berry has given extra power to the Rotterdammers’ top order, though, and that in turn lightens the pressure on players like Tim de Kok and Burhan Niaz. And the way Arnav Jain and Max Hoornweg hot-knifed their way through the ACC batting last Sunday suggests that the Salland top five will need to be at their best to give their side any chance. Even when Piyarange Ottachchige and Venkat Ganesan put on 90 against Voorburg on Saturday, however, the batting collapse which followed reinforced the sense that Victor Lubbers’s team may struggle to reproduce last year’s relegation-avoiding performances.

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BdJ: A third such fixture sees unbeaten Sparta 1888 take on winless ACC at ’t Loopveld, and again there’s been little to suggest an impending reversal of fortunes. ACC were abject last week against both Punjab and VOC, especially the latter. At the very least they’ll need more consistent contributions from their two South African pros, Thomas Hobson and Heino Kuhn (and ideally from Dosti refugees Ahmed and Hans) if they’re to avoid a similar outcome against Sparta, who look genuine top-table contenders this year. An experienced and in-form seam attack in Malik, Ahmadi and Bukhari, all of whom are also capable of contributing with the bat, lend the Spartans a look of stability they previously lacked. With the addition of Ferguson and Clark alongside the reutrning Garnett Tarr, who was in the runs against Punjab last week, Sparta have a deep batting line-up that looks capable of putting up serious totals, and it would take a whiplash-inducing turnaround at ’t Loopveld to deny them the points on Saturday.

RL: What the man said. Sparta are quite literally a different team this year, albeit still built around the familiar ex-international pairing of Ahsan Malik and Mudassar Bukhari, and while ACC were somewhat unfortunate on Sunday to come up against O’Dowd and Edwards in full cry, the have done little to suggest that they aren’t heading towards a battle to avoid relegation. Het Loopveld is a ground which traditionally favours the bowlers, but Sparta’s powerful batting line-up could nevertheless prosper there, and the home side’s attack, which did well against HBS in the rained-off opening-day fixture, will need to reproduce that form if they are to keep Sparta’s total within bounds. But it’s the Amsterdammers’ batting which gives greatest cause for concern, and skipper Kuhn will be looking for much more solid performances from his top six to make the side more competitive.

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BdJ: VRA will also be looking to preserve an unbeaten record when they head down to Rotterdam to take on Punjab. The Amsterdammers have generally enjoyed their trips to the Zomercomplex, winning their previous three encounters there convincingly. They are, of course, now without long-serving skipper Peter Borren, who particularly enjoyed Punjab’s short boundaries. But successor Leon Turmaine has impressed in the role thus far, and has been known to cash in with the bat at the Zomercomplex himself. Likwise Johan Smal and Vikram Singh have gone well there recently, though the latter has picked up another injury in Wednesday’s Pro Series match and is unlikely to feature, Teja Nidamanuru will doubtless be looking forward to a return to his old home ground. That said, while Punjab’s 1-1 record this season arguably flatters their actual performance (their one win has come against ACC and they looked in trouble against VOC before the rain came) it perhaps also undersells their potential. Despite the loss of Vandiar, Myburgh and Nidamanuru Punjab had looked menancing in pre-season, and the performance of Mohammad Riaz last week at least suggests there’s more to the club than just Zulfiqars.

RL: The return of Shoaib Minhas and the arrival of Aaliyan Mahmood, Mohsin Riaz and Muhammad Shafiq has added a good deal to Punjab’s resources, and once they have settled into the side they seem likely to be a force in the top half of the table. But then so do VRA, whose cohort of younger players is well balanced by the experience of Turmaine, Johan Smal and Jack Balbirnie. It would not be a surprise, then, if these teams were to remain in contention all the way to August, and Saturday has the hallmarks of a genuine four-pointer. Defeat by Sparta on Sunday showed that Punjab are some way short of their title-winning form of two years ago, while VRA have looked much more convincing in their two-and-a-half games so far. Even without Vikram Singh the Amsterdammers will go into this important encounter as favourites.

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BdJ: Excelsior will need to bounce back quickly from their loss to VRA and shellacking at the hands of VCC last weekend, as a home defeat to HCC would leave them in a near-inescapable hole. Certainly HCC look eminently beatable, despite cruising to victory over Salland last week they’ve not looked the part of defending champions thus far. Rather, HCC this season are something of a rarity – a side that looks like it could end up in either half of the table come the cut-off. Three new acquisitions have nonetheless impressed, Ratha Alphonse slotted in nicely at top of the order since moving from Kampong, behind only the prolific Vandiar in the runs for his new club. Daniel Doram also looks a more-than-useful replacement for the injured Tim Pringle. Having gathered substantial first class experience with Leeward Islands since he was last in the Netherlands a decade ago, the tall left-arm spinner is already back on the national selectors’ radar. Doram’s return to these shores means that, together with Clayton Floyd, HCC can still count on 20 overs of quality left-arm spin. Excelsior of course have ten of their own thanks to the stalwart Lorenzo Ingram, but the veteran will need more support from the rest of the side both with bat and ball if Excelsior are to turn their season around.

RL: Early-season form suggests that there will be room for one of these two sides in the top six but possibly not both, and this is accordingly the most significant match of the round – and the most difficult to predict. Key factors may be how the HCC top order cope with Excelsior overseas player Michael Hart, who bowled very well against VRA, and correspondingly how Excelsior deal with Doram, who bowled very well indeed in Wednesday’s Pro Series game. With 32 runs in six innings between them Tonny Staal and Boris Gorlee have had a rough start to their campaign for the defending champions, and they will be hoping to do much better here. But Excelsior remain a better side than they have been able to show until now, and with Tom Heggelman now the most experienced captain in the competition it would be unwise to write them off just yet. We’ve been desperately short of tight matches so far, but we might just get one here.

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BdJ: Finally a couple of do-overs from Round 1 are on the schedule for Sunday, though VRA and HBS have both apparently managed to push back their catch-up games by a week owing to the departure of Netherlands A for England depriving them of a player or two. Punjab vs VOC and Sparta vs Excelsior will be going ahead though, and VOC and Sparta both look in good shape for a four-point weekend. While VOC were starting cold in their opener two weeks ago they’re quite the opposite now, and Sparta’s overseas have likewise had time to settle in. That said you’d expect at least an upset or two at some point. The season sure could use some.

RL: The form book certainly indicates that VOC and Sparta will start as strong favourites in these replays, assuming that this time the weather allows a result, although the Sparta-Excelsior game was the most evenly-poised when it was abandoned a fortnight ago. The Schiedammers’ attack would need to reproduce that effort to give their side a chance here, while Sulaiman Tariq will know that his bowlers will need to do much better against O’Dowd and Co. than they were able to achieve first time round. If there is a surprise on Sunday it seems more likely to be at the Bermweg, but then, the essence of a surprise is that it comes when you’re not looking for it.

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BdJ’s picks: Voorburg, VOC, Sparta, VRA, HCC; VOC, Sparta.
RL’s picks: Voorburg, VOC, Sparta, VRA, Excelsior; VOC, Sparta.

Rod Lyall 01/05/2023

The weekend’s feast of near-walkovers continued on a sunny Sunday as several sides powerfully asserted their claims to be front-runners for slots among the Topklasse top six, if not for the play-offs in August and a possible title.

The most decisive victory of the day came at Het Loopveld, where VOC Rotterdam hammered hapless ACC to the tune of 260 runs.

Much of the mayhem was caused by Dutch international opener Max O’Dowd, who clubbed a career-best 186, made from just 157 deliveries and including eight fours and eleven sixes; after taking a relatively sedate 52 balls to reach fifty, and bringing up his century from 116, he needed only another 41 to add the final 85, repeatedly bombarding the pavilion with powerfully-struck sixes.

He was ably assisted by Lane Berry, who contributed a stylish 35 before holing out to long off off the bowling of the hard-working Aryan Kumar, and then by Scott Edwards in a third-wicket stand of 205 which only ended with O’Dowd’s dismissal just two balls from the conclusion of the innings.

Edwards’s 74 not out, which displayed his full range of audacious shot-making and some very enterprising running, came from 60 deliveries with five fours and two sixes.

VOC’s other Max, pace bowler Hoornweg, now proceeded to rip through the top of the ACC batting order, claiming three for 14 from five overs, while Arnav Jain took two for 19 at the other end and the home side subsided to 26 for five.

Only Ammar Zaidi, batting at nine, was able to achieve double figures, and with Asief Hoseinbaks taking three for 9 and Burhan Niaz and Jelte Schoonheim picking up one apiece ACC were all out for 61 in just 22.5 overs.

The other outstanding individual effort of the day was at Westvliet, where Shariz Ahmad took five for 17, bringing his figures for the weekend to eleven for 30 in 17.4 overs and enabling Voorburg to dismiss Excelsior ’20 for just 90.

Lorenzo Ingram top-scored for the Schiedammers with 20, and although he removed Musa Ahmad when Voorburg replied, Noah Croes (47 not out) and Sybrand Engelbrecht (19 not out) saw their side to an eight-wicket victory with more than 27 overs to spare.

The most significant result was perhaps Sparta 1888’s 59-run defeat of Punjab Rotterdam at Sportpark Bermweg, an outcome which signalled strongly that this Sparta side is capable of mounting a serious challenge for the play-offs.

Sulaiman Tariq took two early wickets after Sparta won the toss and batted, but then Garnett Tarr’s 41 and 72 from Mudassar Bukhari laid the foundation for their total of 211 for eight; Khalid Ahmadi’s 26-ball cameo for 34, 24 of them from sixes, kept the momentum going, and only Sikander Zulfiqar’s three for 8 in three overs prevented the target from being even greater.

It proved to be big enough, however, as Ahsan Malik’s four for 35 and Ahmadi’s four for 42 cut through the Punjab batting, only an unbeaten 91 from Mohsin Riaz, batting at three, enabling his side to reach 152 before he ran out of partners; there were four ducks among the top and middle order, two of them golden.

Joining VOC and Sparta on two wins out of two – and two points behind Voorburg who have played a game more – were VRA Amsterdam, who secured a seven-wicket victory over HBS Craeyenhout in the Amsterdamse Bos.

Put in by Leon Turmaine, HBS owed their total of 203 for seven very largely to a fourth-wicket stand of 86 between Tayo Walbrugh (42) and Wesley Barresi (47); both were eventually removed by Turmaine himself, who finished with two for 39.

Without openers Shirase Rasool and Vikram Singh, both of whom were carrying injuries, VRA might have been in trouble when Swapnil Pote removed Jack Balbirnie early, but Aryan Dutt (59) and Johan Smal (72) put the home side back in control and Teja Nidamanuru and Tyler van Luin completed the job.

At De Diepput HCC posted their first win of the season, beating Salland by 124 runs.

Opener Ratha Alphonse, who had fought a lone battle against VOC on Saturday, enjoyed the support of Jonathan Vandiar this time, as the pair put on 161 for the second wicket.

Alphonse made 57, and after he had departed Vandiar went on to complete his ninth Topklasse century and his sixth for HCC, finishing with a 114-ball 109 which included eight fours and six sixes.

Hidde Overdijk struck four sixes in a brisk 33, but Fraser Bartholomew hit back for Salland, taking four for 43 as the home side reached 278 for eight.

Overdijk then removed both openers to put Salland on the back foot, and although most of the top order got a start only skipper Victor Lubbers with 46 was able to resist for a prolonged period and with spinners Clayton Floyd and Daniel Doram collecting two wickets apiece and Overdijk finishing with three for 34 Lubbers’ side were all out for 154.