Category: Uncategorized

Rod Lyall 23/04/2023

What started out as the Match of the Day turned out to be the match of the day, as the repeat of last year’s Grand Final between Voorburg and HCC at Westvliet was the only game to get a result, the other four rained off at various points during a miserable opening afternoon.

That Voorburg were able to claim the points was in part a tribute to the efforts of the ground staff and the quality of the covers, not to mention the persistence of the umpires and captains, but the Voorburgers had laid the foundations of their victory during the 27 overs which could be bowled before the rain arrived.

The bowlers never let up from the moment Ratha Alphonse edged Viv Kingma to Michael Levitt at second slip, and only Jonathan Vandiar looked really comfortable against the pace of Kingma and Ryan Klein, the seam of Karl Nieuwoudt and Sajjid Kamal, and the spin of Shariz Ahmad and Philippe Boissevain.

Vandiar’s uncharacteristically patient 47, though punctuated by moments of blazing aggression, enabled his side to 107 for six, but Voorburg were solidly on top, reflected in the fact that when, after an interruption of several hours, the game could resume, the home side were given a target of 98 from 22 overs.

That never seemed like to be a problem, and although HCC managed to pick up two wickets, Noah Croes and Sybrand Engelbrecht saw their side home with four and a half overs to spare.

Generally bowlers were on top on a damp and overcast day, but there was an exception at Het Zomercomplex where VOC Rotterdam, put in to bat by Punjab captain Sulaiman Tariq, raced to 177 for one in just 28.4 overs.

Max O’Dowd hammered an 84-ball 91 not out which included ten fours and four sixes, sharing first a stand of 81 with Arnav Jain and then adding another 94 from 76 deliveries with VOC’s new overseas player Lane Berry, who marked his Topklasse debut with an unbeaten, 45-ball 59.

The only captain who took the risk of batting first on winning the toss was Salland’s Victor Lubbers, who saw his side reduced to 89 for seven by VRA Amsterdam in Amstelveen by the time they were rescued by the weather.

Ashir Abid started the rot by removing Piyaranga Ottachchige and Finn Raxworthy with consecutive balls in the first over, and although German international captain Venkat Ganesan and Lubbers himself put up some resistance, adding 69 for the third wicket, new VRA skipper Leon Turmaine’s three for 22 winkled out the middle order, Aryan Dutt finally dismissing Ganesan for a dogged 46.

On the other side of Amstelveen HBS Craeyenhout also struggled with the bat, reaching 148 for six against ACC at Het Loopveld before the rain intervened.

Tayo Walbrugh was trapped in front by Joseph Reddy in the second over, and despite a solid 60 from Swapnil Pote on his Topklasse debut with wickets falling regularly at the other end the HBS innings never really got going.

Off-spinner Mahesh Hans claimed three for 28 on his first outing with his new club, and with 44 overs bowled before the rain arrived ACC were clearly in the box seat when the game was called off.

The match at the Bermweg was a little more evenly poised, with home side Sparta 1888 on 143 for five against Excelsior ’20 Schiedam  in the 35^th over after a brief resumption between intervals of rain.

Niels Etman and Michael Hart had reduced them to 13 for three, but Mudassar Bukhari and Will Clark turned things round with a fourth-wicket partnership of 97, and there was time for Clark to reach a maiden Topklasse half-century and for Bukhari to pass fifty for the 37^th time before it was decided to call it a day.

So eight of the clubs will need to try again on 7 May, the first of the three dates allocated for replaying rained-off matches in the first phase of the competition.

Rod Lyall 18/04/2023

---

After the anticlimax of last season’s grand final defeat Voorburg go into the new season without their former captain Bas de Leede, but champions HCC face much bigger changes as they set about defending their title.

De Leede, of course, has moved to Durham to join Ryan Campbell’s squad, but his loss will be at least partially balanced by the advent of 19-year-old South African Michael Levitt, and the return of Noah Croes, not to mention the arrival of Ryan Klein from HBS.

Levitt, who began his Dutch season with two centuries over the Easter weekend, made 795 runs for Stanmore in the Middlesex Premier League last year and, as a Dutch passport holder, may be of considerable interest to the national coaches.

As for Croes, he last played for Voorburg in 2019, when he made over 500 runs in the club’s first season back in the Topklasse, but since then he has become a regular in Melbourne University’s first-grade side as well as playing for Didsbury in the Cheshire Premier League in England.

Klein will join a pace attack which already includes fellow Dutch international Viv Kingma, although Logan van Beek will be resting in New Zealand for the first part of the season, perhaps creating room for another recruit, promising youngster Mees van Vliet, who has transferred from ACC, while Voorburg also have plenty of seam cover in their stalwarts Stef Mulder and Ali Ahmed Qasim.

The side will be captained by Sybrand Engelbrecht, who will be part of a batting line-up which includes another Dutch international in opener Musa Ahmad, as well as Levitt and fellow South African Karl Nieuwoudt, along with wicketkeeper Mohit Hingorani.

Having fallen at the final hurdle in each of the last two seasons – gallingly, after leading from gun almost to the tape last year – Voorburg will be hoping that this squad will be good enough to take them to their second championship, their first and only triumph to date having been in 2001.

---

A rather different dynamic is at work at De Diepput, where it is probable that fewer than half of last year’s championship team will represent the Lions this season: Reinier Bijloos and Olivier Klaus have retired, Damian Crowley and Yash Patel will be unavailable, Felix Bennett will be playing in England, and the club has recently been informed that Tim Pringle will be resting an injury for the whole of this New Zealand winter.

That being so, HCC will be enormously relieved that they have secured the return of Jonathan Vandiar, who demonstrated in his ten matches for Punjab last year that he has lost none of his destructive power: he averaged 83, and added three centuries to the five he scored during his spell at De Diepput in 2016-17, and he now has 2360 runs at an average of 67.43.

De Diepput’s proportions are even more bijou than those at ‘t Zomercomplex, especially square of the wicket, and Vandiar can be expected to take full advantage.

Patel’s absence will be covered by the arrival of Ratha Alphonse from relegated Kampong Utrecht, while Adriaan Verbeek will join HCC from ACC.

Also new to the defending champions will be South Africans Daniel Crowley, the younger brother of Damian, and 18-year-old Phillip Opperman.

But HCC are likely to rely even more than they have in the past on skipper Boris Gorlee, his predecessor in that role Tonny Staal, allrounder Hidde Overdijk, and left-arm spinner Clayton Floyd, all of whom have some experience in the national side.

Henrico Venter will doubtless support Overdijk in the seam attack, where he will need a new opening partner with the retiral of Bijloos, and Floris de Lange may get more opportunities in the first team with the changing of the guard.

The same goes for Overdijk’s younger brother Jan-Wieger, and a trio of Trijzelaars, Daniël, Justin and Piet-Jan, while there may be opportunities as well for young Teun Kloppenburg, son of former international Feiko.

But one more thing is certain: 2023 will be a season of rebuilding at De Diepput as the club celebrates 145 years of its existence.

Bowing to whelming popular demand, CricketXI and TKcricket are delighted to announce the return of Topklasse Fantasy Cricket for the 2023 season.

Pit your managerial wits against your friends and team-mates, test your Topklasse knowledge against the self-styled experts.

Submissions for teams and leagues are now open over at CricketXI. Entry is entirely free, the trophy for the global winner is a rather fancy hat. (Hat currently believed to be in the custody of Mr RC Campbell, county Durham)

Have we missed any signings, retirements or transfers? Get in touch and let us know.

Rod Lyall 13/04/2023

---

With nearly two-thirds of the national titles between them since the turn of the millennium, neither VRA Amsterdam nor Excelsior ’20 Schiedam will have been happy with their mid-table position last year; Excelsior last won the championship in 2019, while VRA have to track back to 2011 for their last victory.

And there will be a massive hole in this season’s Topklasse: the one left by Peter Borren’s return to New Zealand over the winter.

With 8786 runs at an average of 36.16, 348 wickets at 25.24 and 194 catches in his 315 matches for VRA, Borren is literally irreplaceable, but he has left behind a legacy of some young players who have already proved their worth in the top flight and who will now need to fill as much of that gap as they can.

Leon Turmaine will take over the captaincy (a fourth area in which Borren will be missed), and he will be looking to international stars Vikram Singh, Aryan Dutt and Teja Nidamanuru (transferred from Punjab) to form the core of the side.

The squad will also be strengthened by the arrival of 24-year-old Australian allrounder Tyler van Luin, a left-handed batter and right-arm fast medium bowler who is one of the key players in the Queanbeyan side in the ACT first-grade competition, and who has also played in the ACT representative side.

Turmaine will be hoping that Singh and Shirase Rasool are able to open together more regularly than was the case last season, but with Van Luin and Nidamanuru to follow, along with Luke Scully, Jack Balbirnie and Dutt, the top order has a more solid look than it did last year.

It will be interesting to see how Van Luin is able to team up with left-armer Ashir Abid, one of the crop of youngsters fostered by Borren over recent seasons.

Singh, too, demonstrated in Johannesburg that he is capable of developing into a serious allrounder, and with the spin options of Dutt, Turmaine himself, Balbirnie, Nidamanuru and the 17-year-old Udit Nashier, captain of the national Under-18 side, the skipper will have plenty of bowling resources at his disposal.

---

Excelsior’s young guns who won them that 2019 title now have several more years’ Topklasse experience behind them, Roel Verhagen, Tim Etman and Rens van Troost having played more than 130 top flight matches apiece.

So has long-serving overseas Lorenzo Ingram, who has made 4962 runs for the club at 47.26 and taken 136 wickets at 18.77; it’s a fair bet that he will complete the double of 5000 runs and 150 wickets before stumps are drawn for the last time in August.

Captain Tom Heggelman also has double milestones in his sights, with 2980 runs at 16.37 and 189 wickets at 21.45 from his 273 games, and Tim Etman too only needs 25 runs to reach 3000.

Excelsior have lost Joost Kroesen to Sparta, but his younger brothers Gijs and Luuk are still in the squad, and there are two more younger brothers in the mix as well: left-arm seamer Niels Etman proved a more than useful new-ball exponent last year, while Stan van Troost will be looking to cement his place in the middle order.

Also missing from this season’s line-up is overseas Brett Hampton, but the Schiedammers have found a very promising successor in Michael Hart, a 24-year-old Western Australian who is yet another from the state to come to Thurlede, following in the footsteps of Wayne Andrews, Tim Zoehrer, Murray Goodwin and several more.

Hart has taken 330 first-grade wickets for his Subiaco-Floreat club with a best of seven for 47, and compiled over 3700 runs, and he is likely to make a significant contribution to the side’s challenge for a top-six spot.

So with Tim Etman and Verhagen to start, Ingram, Hart, Heggelman and either Luuk Kroesen or Stan van Troost, Excelsior will have a pretty impressive top six, while the seam attack of Niels Etman, Hart and Rens van Troost, backed up by the spin of Ingram and Umar Baker, will cause plenty of problems for opposing batters.

Rod Lyall 08/04/2023

---

The two sides that finished closest to relegation last season, ACC and Sparta, have both had some significant gains over the winter, and will be hoping to stay well clear of the drop this time round.

Sparta will be without Samit Gohil, whose batting often seemed to the only thing standing between the Capelle side and relegation last season, but they will be delighted to see the return of South African Garnett Tarr, who made 632 runs at 39.91 in 2021 and may again be the mainstay of the top order.

Joost-Martijn Snoep’s side will also be reinforced by the arrival of two New Zealanders, both from Central Districts: William Clark, a former New Zealand Under-19 international is a right-handed batter and medium pace bowler, while opener Sam Ferguson reportedly combines seam bowling with leg breaks and googlies.

The Spartans have further picked up Joost Kroesen from Excelsior, and his arrival at the Bermweg will add add extra substance to the middle order as well as providing another bowling option with his leg spin.

There were rumours towards the end of last season that Mudassar Bukhari might be thinking of calling a halt to his outstanding career, but with those four acquisitions he may feel that he will be able to play under less pressure than he has in the past couple of years, and there is no doubt that Snoep would welcome his aggressive batting and hostile bowling, both of which are still capable of turning games.

Wicketkeeper-batter Ali Raza is another who was below his best last year, and he too could bat with more freedom if the rest of the batting pulls its weight; no-one in the Topklasse can be more devastating when he is in the mood.

Khalid Ahmadi and former international Ahsan Malik both took 28 wickets last season, Malik’s average of 15.50 marginally better than Ahmadi’s 17.00, and both will be crucial to Sparta’s chances of moving up the table.

Add in Manminder Singh and Nasratullah Ibrahimkhil, together with Bukhari and the two New Zealanders, and Sparta will have an attack capable of putting most sides under pressure.

---

ACC, too, will welcome back a familiar face in Heino Kuhn, who played three seasons at Het Loopveld between 2011 and 2014, making 1547 runs at 61.88 in his 32 matches.

Now 39, Kuhn has made over 10,000 first-class runs for a variety of South African sides and for Kent, and he will bring massive experience to ACC’s young Topklasse outfit.

Thomas Hobson will be back, and the Amsterdammers have picked up two players from relegated side Dosti, in wicketkeeper and opening batter Rahil Ahmed and off-spinner Mahesh Hans; both have been among the better players of the long-struggling Drieburg club, and their experience will give ACC a welcome boost.

Other newcomers at Het Loopveld will be South African Pienaar Buys, until recently director of cricket at Grace College High School, and New Zealander Zac Konlechner.

The other overseas players from last year, Robin Smith and Robert Ackermann are not returning, but Kuhn, Hobson, Buys and Konlechner, not to mention Ahmed and Hans, will provide plenty of substance alongside Anis Raza, the reliable Devanshu Arya, and ACC’s crop of youngsters, Shreyas Potdar, Aryan Kumar, Ammar Zaidi and Zinesh Master.

In what is likely to be an intensely competitive Topklasse this season, both these clubs have put themselves in a position to earn themselves another year in the top flight.

Rod Lyall 11/09/2022

HCC held their nerve in another tense finish at Westvliet on Saturday, to beat Voorburg by 12 runs and claim their 47th national title, their first since 2008.

It was a bitter disappointment for Voorburg, who had led the competition throughout the season and who had beaten the same opponents by four wickets in last weekend’s semi-final, but HCC showed the same resilience and determination that had then taken them past HBS the following day and into the grand final.

Voorburg, it is true, missed Logan van Beek, called up by New Zealand A, but their squad had strength in depth, and they still went into this match clear favourites to take the second national championship in the club’s history.

It looked promising enough when, after a delayed start which led to the game being reduced to 46 overs a side, Viv Kingma bowled Damian Crowley with the very first ball, and when HCC were labouring their way to 79 for four after 27 overs.

Bas de Leede managed his attack effectively in the conditions, ensuring that runs were at a premium, and it took a fine stand of 108 for the fifth wicket between Tim Pringle and Hidde Overdijk to lift the tempo in the latter stages of the innings.

Overdijk was eventually bowled by Andre Malan for 52, but Pringle, who hit four sixes, stayed to the close, finishing with an unbeaten 64, and his side ended on 200 for five.

De Leede was the pick of the bowlers with one for 31 from nine overs, while Kingma had one for 35 and Malan two for 39.

Playing his final Topklasse match, Reinier Bijloos then gave HCC a great start, removing Malan and Mohit Hingorani in the third over of their reply and reducing them to 12 for two.

Musa Ahmad and De Leede rebuilt the innings with a partnership of 62, but after the Voorburg captain was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from Floyd as they attempted a second run, it was largely left to Musa to craft a victory.

Seamer Felix Bennett soon had Sybrand Engelbrecht caught behind, but it was now HCC’s spin trio of Floyd, Pringle and Crowley who steadily applied the pressure, and the asking rate began to inch its way upwards.

Tom de Grooth contributed 18 before he was well caught by Zac Worden at point off Floyd, but Voorburg were still in with a good chance as Shariz Ahmad settled in with his elder brother, who by now had gone past fifty for the sixth time this season.

The spinners had created the pressure, but it was the return of Hidde Overdijk which spelled the end for Musa, who holed out to Crowley at mid-off trying to hit him over the top; his patient 75 had come from 135 deliveries and included six boundaries.

Ali Ahmad Qasim made a rollicking 10-ball 17, hitting two fours and a six, but Voorburg needed 24 off the final two overs, and as he and Shariz tried to squeeze out every run he was, inevitably perhaps, the victim of a mid-pitch mix-up, and the home side were left to make 16 from the last.

Shariz had no option but to hit out, falling to a Pringle catch in the deep off Hidde Overdijk’s first ball and departing for 30, and when Stijn de Leede was bowled off the penultimate ball Kingma could only dig out a final yorker and HCC’s celebrations began.

They had gone into the second phase of the competition well off the pace, but they got steadily better as the play-offs approached, and showed great character in two very tense matches at the end.

Rod Lyall 05/09/2022

In an absorbing finals weekend in which three Topklasse matches had combined margins of no more than 27 runs, two of them going into the final over, the climax came on Sunday evening with HCC squeezing past HBS Craeyenhout at De Diepput and into next week’s grand final against Voorburg.

Three wickets fell in Hidde Overdijk’s final over with just five runs needed for an HBS victory, and a game which had started dramatically and which continued to twist and turn throughout the day ended in a three-run win for Boris Gorlee’s Lions.

It had begun with HCC, after winning the toss, on 6 for two after two overs, Damian Crowley brilliantly caught by Reece Mason at point off Ryan Klein’s bowling and then Zac Worden falling to Ferdi Vink without scoring.

A useful stand between Tonny Staal and Gorlee saw the total on to 65, but then a flurry of three wickets, two of them catches by Mason at point, left HCC again struggling at 73 for five.

This time the rescue came from Hidde Overdijk (31) and Yash Patel (40), who added 84 for the sixth wicket, and with Clayton Floyd contributing 20 before he was superbly caught by Ryan Klein off his own bowling, the home side managed to set a reasonably demanding total of 206.

Gavin Kaplan had bowled with his usual discipline for figures of three for 27, while Julian de Mey took three for 34.

Tayo Walbrugh, who made 35 without looking entirely comfortable, and Kaplan gave HBS a great start with an opening stand of 66 at six an over, but when Jan-Wieger Overdijk, in only his second Topklasse game of the season, removed Walbrugh and then Kaplan was the victim of a dreadful mid-pitch mix-up and departed for 29 HCC were suddenly back in the game.

Mason and Wesley Barresi steadily restored the Crows’ fortunes with a partnership worth 65 for the fourth wicket, but the turning point came when Barresi, having reached 50 with an innings which combined patience with moments of aggressive strokeplay, tried to hit Hidde Overdijk over midwicket and holed out to Felix Bennett on the boundary.

With HCC’s spinners, Floyd, Tim Pringle and Crowley, tightening the screw and the brothers Overdijk, along with Bennett, providing contrasting pace, HBS were hard-pressed to make the 63 they still needed, but De Mey, after looking all at sea when he first came to the crease, batted with increasing determination, and with the support of the lower order he whittled away at the deficit.

34 were still needed with five overs left, and now HBS had only three wickets in hand; only two came from Pringle’s final over, and now the ask was 32 from four.

A six by De Mey off Crowley in an over that yielded 12 runs eased the pressure considerably, and after ten came from Hidde Overdijk’s next HBS required ten from two.

Five were still needed as Overdijk began the last, but when De Mey, looking to find the boundary, was caught for 37 off the second delivery and Ferdi Vink fell off the next, five were still required as last man Stephan Vink, nursing a hamstring injury suffered during the HCC innings, joined young Martijn Scholte in the middle.

A single left Vink needing to find the boundary off the final delivery, but he could only find Pringle at long off, and HCC were able to celebrate an epic victory.

Hidde Overdijk finished with four for 42 and Jan-Wieger with two for 35, but it was arguably the spinners who had set up the win with their steadiness in the middle overs.

They had very nearly gone directly into the final by beating Voorburg at Westvliet on Saturday, when Staal (77) and Worden (80) had produced a second-wicket stand of 146 as HCC chased Voorburg’s total of 234 for six, but a collapse by the middle order, only Bennett reaching double figures, saw them dismissed for 220.

Here it was the seamers who kept them in the game, Reinier Bijloos taking two for 24 and Hidde Overdijk and Bennett each two for 44, but a fourth-wicket partnership of 112 between Bas de Leede (86) and Sybrand Engelbrecht (61) provided the basis of Voorburg’s score.

Shariz Ahmad struck early when HCC replied, and after Staal and Worden’s long partnership, Philippe Boissevain, Andre Malan and Shariz combined to reduce the Lions from 148 for one to 194 for eight before De Leede and Viv Kingma returned to finish things off and take Voorburg straight into the grand final.

It was even closer at Thurlede, where Excelsior ’20 failed by just 10 runs to match the HBS total of 261 for eight.

After Walbrugh fell to a stunning return catch by Niels Etman off the very first ball of the match Kaplan and Barresi put on 188 for the second wicket, Barresi making 86 and Kaplan going on to a 114-ball 107.

Although Etman (three for 51) and Tom Heggelman (three for 46) pegged the later batting back the Crows still managed to set an imposing total, but Heggelman and Tim Etman responded with an opening stand of 105, Etman hitting a 50-ball 78 which included 11 fours and four sixes.

It looked as if Excelsior were on course for victory as Stan van Troost, promoted to three, made a 50-ball 52, but three wickets by Ryan Klein saw them subside from 186 for two to 218 for five, and now it was up to Lorenzo Ingram to see his side home.

With wickets falling at the other end he brought the total to 242, but once he had gone, caught by Scholte off Navjit Singh for 33, it was only a matter of time, and the innings ended on 251, Klein finishing with three for 29 and Navjit three for 35.

In the finals of the Hoofdklasse competition Hermes-DVS, who had seen off Bloemendaal on Saturday to set up a rematch with Quick Haag in the grand final, dismissed their opponents for just 88 after making 193 for nine, winning by 105 runs and setting up a play-off against Sparta 1888 next week to decide which of the sides will play in next season’s Topklasse.

Rod Lyall 29/08/2022

A splendid century from wicketkeeper Ali Raza fired Sparta 1888 to their highest total of the season in the showdown match against Dosti Amsterdam at Sportpark Bermweg on Sunday, paving the way to a 152-run victory and a play-off against the Hoofdklasse champions to determine who will play in the Topklasse next season.

Raza came in after Asief Hoseinbaks had trapped Craig Ambrose in front with the first ball of the match and proceeded to hit 122, from 126 deliveries with seven fours and five sixes, sharing a third-wicket stand of 115 with Mudassar Bukhari.

In what was rumoured to be his final Topklasse match Bukhari, knowing how vital the game was for his club, made an a-typically cautious 42, and his partnership with Raza, and a lightning 17-ball 39 from Khalid Ahmadi in the closing stages, saw Sparta to 253 for seven.

Dosti, who had staged a semi-miraculous recovery in recent weeks to give themselves a chance of staying in the top flight, had no answer to this, former international Ahsan Malik (three for 22 in ten overs), Joost Martijn Snoep (two for 21) and Ahmadi (two for 23, including the vital wicket of Amitoze Singh) combining to dismiss the Amsterdammers for 101.

Only Rahil Ahmed (32) and Kuldeep Diwan (22) reached double figures, and it was appropriately Bukhari who returned to claim the final wicket.

In the Championship Pool the most significant match was at Thurlede, where HCC made sure of second place and a double opportunity of reaching the grand final on 10 September with a 5-wicket victory over Excelsior ’20.

Electing to bat first, Excelsior struggled for runs throughout their innings, Lorenzo Ingram top-scoring with a patient 43 and Tim Etman making 33, with left-arm spinners Tim Pringle (three for 18) and Clayton Floyd (three for 20) again dominant.

HCC’s strong top order then seemed comparatively untroubled in knocking off the runs, Tonny Staal making 47, Zac Worden 43 and skipper Boris Gorlee 67 as the side reached their target with eleven and a half overs to spare.

One bright spot for Excelsior was the bowling of Luuk Kroesen, who again contributed a fine spell, claiming two for 41 from his ten overs.

HCC’s main rivals for the second spot, HBS Craeyenhout, were meanwhile losing to leaders Voorburg at Westvliet, being dismissed for 143 in pursuit of their hosts’ 236 for five.

Andre Malan again led the way for Voorburg with 52, following up his unbeaten century on Saturday, but the key to their total was a run-a-ball 69 not out from Sybrand Engelbrecht, who shared an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 74 with Shariz Ahmad (33 not out).

Shariz then went on to break the back of the HBS reply, removing both openers and finishing with four for 40, while his fellow wrist-spinner Philippe Boissevain took three for 27.

Tobias Visée, back in the HBS side after a six-match absence, made 35, Wesley Barresi 36 and Julian de Mey 29, but they were the only batters to reach double figures as Voorburg comtinued their apparently irresistible march towards the title.

An opening stand of 166 between Shirase Rasool and Luke Scully set VRA Amsterdam on course to the highest total of the day against Punjab Rotterdam in the Amsterdamse Bos, Scully making 79 and Rasool going on to 108.

The Punjab bowlers worked their way through the middle order in the latter part of the innings, but after that great start the home side still finished with 282 for seven, Teja Nidamanuru the most economical of the Rotterdammers’ attack with just 37 coming from his ten overs.

Half-centuries from Rushdie Jappie (53) and Jonathan Vandiar (57) gave Punjab an outside chance of chasing down their massive target, but both were dismissed by Peter Borren, and after they had gone Udit Nashier ran through the later batters, completing his best-ever Topklasse haul with five for 46.

Punjab fought all the way to the end, but they were finally dismissed for 243, a result which enabled VRA to leapfrog over them and finish in fifth position on the table.

Kampong Utrecht, in many ways the most unfortunate team in this year’s competition, completed their programme with a 3-wicket win over VOC Rotterdam at the Hazelaarweg, but they will nevertheless be playing in the Hoofdklasse next season.

Kertan Nana set them on the way by removing both Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards by the time 48 runs were on the board, and at 149 for nine, Tushar Sharma having claimed three of the wickets, VOC seemed doomed to post a very modest target.

But last man Pieter Seelaar, doubtless hampered by the back injury which has ended his international career, now joined Pierce Fletcher, and the pair proceeded to add 78 for the tenth wicket, 44 of them coming from Seelaar’s bat in just 27 deliveries.

Ratha Alphonse blasted a 60-ball 77, including 11 fours and a six, when Kampong replied, Cole Briggs contributing a run-a-ball 40, but once they had gone the innings threatened to subside until a determined 28 from Alex Roy and an unbroken stand between Nana and skipper Usman Malik saw the Utrechters home.

The closest match of the day was at Het Schootsveld, where Salland Deventer hung on to beat ACC by one wicket with three overs to spare.

ACC’s total of 175 was largely due to captain Anis Raza, who top-scored with 60, while Elam Bharathi claimed three for 24 for Salland.

Mees van Vliet took three for 40 when Salland replied, bringing his tally for the season to 31, but Bharathi’s 48 was the basis of the home side’s response, and in a tense conclusion with the last pair together the win came most unfortunately for ACC from five wides.

Rod Lyall 28/08/2022

Victories for second-placed HCC and for Excelsior ’20 on Saturday set up a final-round clash which would determine which of the two sides would join Voorburg in next week’s first semi-final, with a double chance of reaching the grand final on 10 September.

HCC had to battle all the way to overcome VRA Amsterdam at De Diepput, a defeat for the Amsterdam side which ended their already slim hopes of squeezing into the semi-finals.

After winning the toss and electing to bat HCC were soon reduced to 38 for four, including a bizarre first wicket when opener Joost Kooistra instinctively used his hand to deflect the ball away from his stumps and was given out Obstructing the field, the first such dismissal in the Topklasse since 2015.

It made a memorable debut over for VRA left-armer Aaditt Jain, who went on to remove Tonny Staal in more conventional fashion, while Vikram Singh accounted for Boris Gorlee and Damian Crowley.

The Lions were rescued by half-centuries from their two overseas players, Zac Worden (54) and Tim Pringle (51), and with Hidde Overdijk contributing 35 and a cameo 5-ball 15 not out from Felix Bennett they were able to get the total up to 184 for eight.

Singh finished with four for 43, while Jain had a promising debut with two for 36, including the prized wicket of Worden.

Shirase Rasool and Singh got VRA’s chase off to a decent start, and even after Overdijk had removed Rasool and Bennett had claimed the wickets of Udit Nashier and Luke Scully they reached 95 for three and seemed well-placed to knock off the runs.

But then HCC’s three-man spin attack of Clayton Floyd, Pringle and Crowley regained control, and once Overdijk had returned to remove Singh, caught behind by Staal for 48, wickets began to tumble.

Jack Balbirnie made 37, but with two wickets apiece for the three spinners VRA were eventually dismissed for 162, losing by 22 runs.

Excelsior had to overcome a fine double from Gavin Kaplan, who took five for 43 and made 93, before completing a gripping 13-run victory over HBS at Craeyenhout.

After Tom Heggelman made a patient 46 at the top of Excelsior’s innings Lorenzo Ingram (86) and Stan van Troost (50) shared a fourth-wicket stand of 94 to take their side to 234 for three, but then in a dramatic end to the innings six wickets fell in the space of just nine deliveries for the addition of seven runs as the Schiedammers subsided to 250 all out.

Kaplan was the chief agent of the collapse, also adding a run-out to his tally, while Ryan Klein chipped in with three for 43.

Heggelman struck an early blow when HBS replied, removing the dangerous Tayo Walbrugh before he had scored, but a stand of 97 between Kaplan and Barresi set the home side on course for the win.

Ingram broke the partnership, Barresi holing out to Heggelman at long on when he had made 38, and Excelsior gradually took control through a fine spell of spin bowling from young Luuk Kroesen, enjoying his most extended bowl in the Topklasse and conceding just 21 runs from his ten overs.

The crucial moment came when Kaplan was smartly run out attempting to get back for a second run, and thereafter the asking rate began to climb, some quick thinking by Roel Verhagen behind the stumps producing two more dismissals.

Niels Etman claimed three for 49 as HBS tried to force the pace, and with 21 needed off his final over even a six by last man Stephan Vink wasn’t enough, HBS closing on 237 for nine.

Leaders Voorburg, meanwhile, cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Punjab Rotterdam at Westvliet, an unbeaten 103 from Andre Malan and a half-century by Musa Ahmad enabling them to pass the defending champions’ total of 171 in 26.2 overs.

After winning the toss Punjab collapsed to 53 for six, Karl Nieuwoudt taking three wickets and Bas de Leede two, before Teja Nidamanuru (43) and Sikander Zulfiqar (57 not out) achieved a partial rescue with a seventh-wicket stand of 84.

Nieuwoudt finished with three for 26 and Shariz Ahmad removed the middle order for figures of three for 37, De Leede taking two for 28.

Malan and Musa then put up another century opening stand for Voorburg, leaving Punjab with a tricky visit to the Amsterdamse Bos on Sunday where even a win might not be enough to see them squeeze into the semi-finals.