TKcricket

Preview Round 2

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 30/04/26

And they’re away! The Topklasse 139th (-ish, depending on how you count) season is up and running, and so far the trimmed-down competition’s started similarly to last year with VRA the only one of the 2025 opening round winners missing from the top half of the table after the first weekend. Despite hopes that the reduction to eight teams would increase competitiveness, there’s already some substantial net run rate gaps opening, and a bold prognosticator might suggest that come the end of the season the table likely won’t look too different to how it looks now. That’s a long way off yet though, and Round 2 may yet shake things up.

BdJ: The top table clash between Hermes DVS and the re-dubbed Rotterdam CC at the Loopuyt will undoubtedly be the match of the day, featuring two genuine title contenders and two of last week’s three centurions. Hermes are again making the early running this season courtesy debutant David Rushmere’s dramatic entrance on Sunday, but their bowling unit especially will face a sterner test in containing a batting line up anchored by fellow centurion Musa Ahmad that put up a total of 338 against VRA last week. Hermes’ attack struggled somewhat for penetration until scoreboard pressure allowed the spinners to profit against VOC, and Rotterdam’s batting card looks both deeper and more pressure-resistant than that of the Bloodhounds. Rotterdam may be more worried about their own bowling however, their record total last week looking like it might not be enough for at least the first 20 overs of VRA’s chase. While the Ostling-Doyle partnership that carried Hermes through the early season failed last week, it’s hard to imagine DDC will be kept quiet for long and the addition of Rushmere means there’s now three must-get early wickets for Hermes’ opponents.

RL: Skippers Sebastiaan Braat and Sikander Zulfiqar are certainly going to face some challenges in the field as they seek to cut into their opponents’ imposing top orders, and as m’colleague observes, the Hermes captain is faced, at least on paper, with a rather bigger task. With Burhan Niaz batting at seven last week and keeper Fawad Shinwari at nine, Rotterdam’s resources with the bat look a good deal more substantial than Hermes’. Their attack, too, with Muhammad Shafiq sharing the new ball with Carl Mumba, followed by Suleiman Tariq and the brothers Zulfiqar, will have better days than they did against VRA, while Braat may hope that Olivier Elenbaas will be able to contribute more than the three overs he managed last week after his splendid efforts with the bat. With Sahil Kothari in such outstanding early-season form, Oliver Herrington only bowled four overs and Aryan Dutt five, so it could be said that the Sky Blues have plenty in reserve.

BdJ: It’s back-to-back home games to start the season at Westvliet, where Voorburg will welcome HBS on Saturday. VCC had their youngsters to thank for their hard-fought victory over HCC last week; Mees van Vliet’s five wicket haul, Cedric de Lange batting through for an unbeaten century, and Aarav Swaroop’s back end acceleration seeing them home. They’ll want more from their seniors on Saturday though, and while Ryan Klein’s ten over spell was admirably frugal there remain slow bowling concerns, at least so long as Michael Rippon remains in South Africa. The Crows’ worries run deeper though, Lucas Del Bianco’s continued improvement with the bat the only significant positive to take from their season opener. Swapping out 2025 lead wicket-taker Jayden Rossouw for German/South African batting allrounder Kent Goedeke was intended to shore up the batting, but HBS will need more substantial contributions from him, and indeed newly Dutch-eligible skipper Tayo Walbrugh if they’re to push up the table.

RL: The promotion of Julien de Mey to open was only partially succesful for HBS last week, but one might also ask whether the side’s batting issues, especially in the absence of Wes Barresi, are not weighing heavily on the shoulders of skipper Walbrugh. More than two-thirds of his 4000-plus Topklasse runs, after all, have been made at three, and the lack of a reliable opening partnership, as well as the fragility of the middle order, inevitably put more pressure on the captain. (That said, he still averages over 80 in the opening role.) With Cedric de Lange rapidly emerging as one of the competitions most encouraging talents, Voorburg have fewer problems at the top of the order, but they will be hoping that Michael Levitt and Noah Croes contribute plenty of runs in the weeks to come. On the bowling side, HBS did reasonably well in containing a powerful Kampong line-up last week, with Goedeke and Benno Boddendijk bowling unchanged through twenty of the middle overs and Lehan Botha cashing in towards the end, and they will need to maintain that level against an equally-menacing Voorburg. For whom the untried new-ball combination of Jaynul Islam and Don Glover will be aiming to cause more mayhem among the Crows’ top order than they were able to do against HCC last Saturday.

BdJ: One of the tougher games to call this round is HCC’s first home fixture against VRA, both sides went down fighting last weekend, and neither necessarily look destined to stay in the lower half of the table. The visitors’ chief concern, like most sides that give up 300+ runs in their first game, will be the bowling. The loss of both Peter Ruffel and Ben Fletcher has left the pace attack looking rather toothless, and the VRA seconds’ nine-wicket hammering at the hands of Rood & Wit at the Bos on Saturday suggests there’s no ready solutions to be found there either. The Amsterdammers managed to bag more wickets than HCC did last week though, with Teun Leijer’s 3-28 the only real bowling highlight for the Lions at Westvliet. It’s fair to say that neither side really played to their potential first up though, and it’s notable that the new or returning overseas didn’t quite come off for either team. Zach Worden has plenty of Topklasse pedigree, and Sam Cassidy was well on course for a pre-season ton when he was retired against Rotterdam a couple of weeks ago, so there’s a decent chance the outcome on Saturday will come down to which of the two is first to find their feet again.

RL: Though neither managed to bag the points, these sides lost in contrasting ways last week: chasing 338, VRA’s top order gave their opponents a scare, Teja Nidamanuru, Vikram Singh and Johan Smal all posting half-centuries, while HCC, batting first, never really got out of second gear and were reliant on some heroics from the tail to reach 230 for nine. On the other side of the ledger, the Lions’ attack had their moments, reducing Voorburg to 8 for two and 70 for four, while VRA were mercilessly put to the sword by a dominant Rotterdam. On their own bijou ground, Boris Gorlee’s side will fancy their chances with the bat against the Amsterdammers’ restructured – and depleted – bowling unit, while an attack which includes Hidde Overdijk, Daniel Crowley, Josh Brown, Clayton Floyd and Teun Leijer certainly cannot be underestimated. Whoever wins the toss at De Diepput will have an interesting choice to make.

BdJ: Finally defending champs Kampong welcome VOC to Maarchalkerweerd for what ostensibly looks like the easiest game of the round to call. Indeed Kampong arguably have the advantage of a somewhat soft start to the season, and after their comfortable win over HBS will be keen to consolidate a place at the top end of the table again. VOC did show some admirable resolve in the face of Rushmere’s onslaught, but Tim de Kok cycling through eight bowling options to little effect does suggest the absence of the brothers Jain will be keenly felt this season. New overseas Ethan Price going wicketless is a particular concern, and it’s hard to see the Bloodhounds picking up points without the slow southpaw picking up some scalps. The top order at least all got to double figures, and keeper-bat Caleb Montague impressed, but the early evidence suggests a tough season ahead for the Rotterdammers. The title-holders’ season began inauspiciously with a first baller for senior international Max O’Dowd, but given that they’ll be without him and Scott Edwards for at least a few games this season it’s arguably a good sign that they’re not entirely reliant on contributions from the Netherlands’ ODI lead run-getter. Pierre Jacod and Alex Roy both look in particularly fine form, and if it stays that way Kampong’s prospects of doubling up look rosy.

RL: That’s a big call given some of the opposition, but it’s true that it would take a very significant reversal of form for VOC to head back to Rotterdam with the points on Saturday evening. A side which boasts Max O’Dowd, Scott Edwards and Lorenzo Ingram, all of whom average 42 or better across their Topklasse careers, backed up by the hitting power of Damien van den Berg and the skills of Jacod and Lachlan Bangs, demands nothing but respect, and this week O’Dowd and Edwards have the additional incentive of facing their former team-mates of VOC. None more so than the veteran Pierce Fletcher, who emerged from the seconds to spearhead the attack against Hermes last week. The Hazelaarweg pitch admittedly had some of the qualities of a road, but as concerning for the Bloodhounds as Price conceding seven an over and failing to take a wicket was the cavalier fashion with which Ostling and Rushmere treated Ahsan Malik, taking 32 off his initial four-over spell, including seven boundaries. Having survived a relegation play-off last season, VOC may be in for another tough campaign.

BdJ’s tips: Hermes, Voorburg, VRA, Kampong.
RL’s tips: Rotterdam, Voorburg, HCC, Kampong.

HBS vs Kampong at Crayenhout|Topklasse 50 overs|25.04.26

Hermes’ Rushmere rewrites the record book

Rod Lyall 27/04/26

A piece of Dutch cricket history was rewritten at the Hazelaarweg on Sunday, when David Rushmere, Hermes’ new overseas, posted the highest score ever by a player on debut, plundering 169 from a hard-working but ineffective VOC attack.

27-year-old Rushmere, who played a couple of List A matches for South African provincial side Boland half a dozen years ago, came to the crease at 9 for one, and was watchful at first but then hammered a series of boundaries, including three in one over from former Dutch international Ahsan Malik.

Joined by Olivier Elenbaas with the score at 71 for three, he reached his half-century from 48 deliveries, and his century, the 18th time a player had achieved this in his first top-flight innings in the Netherlands, from 101 balls, by which time he had struck 16 boundaries.

Batting with supreme assurance and well supported by Elenbaas, he now expanded his range of shots, surpassing Tim Zoehrer’s debut record of 153 as the Hermes total reached 250 with seven overs remaining.

A tired Rushmere eventually fell to Malik when he was on 169, made from 140 deliveries with 26 fours and two sixes; his partnership of 184 with Elenbaas was a club record for the fourth wicket.

Elenbaas’s role had up to this point largely been taking singles to get Rushmere back on strike, and he reached his fifty, from 83 deliveries, just before losing his partner.

Now, however, he went on the attack, so effectively that when the final over began he had gone on to 84; Nick Statham gave him the strike with five balls left, but he could only manage 12 from them, and was left stranded on 96 not out, facing just 24 deliveries after passing fifty.

Hermes’ total of 328 for five always seemed likely to be beyond VOC, and although their new overseas Caleb Montague made 59 and they reached 94 for one in the first 15 overs of their reply, thereafter their challenge subsided, and they were all out for 192.

The pick of the Hermes bowlers was Sahil Kothari, whose four for 41 accounted for almost the whole of the VOC middle order.

There had been plenty of interest as well, some of it statistical, in the three matches played on Saturday.

Transformed over the winter from Punjab to Rotterdam CC, Sikander Zulfiqar’s side ran up the third-highest total in the club’s Topklasse history, their 338 against VRA Amsterdam at the Zomercomplex built around opener Musa Ahmad’s composed knock of exactly 100.

While he anchored one end, a succession of partners hammered the Amsterdammers’ bowling: coming in at 44 for three, Saqib Zulfiqar plundered a 60-ball 90 which included nine fours and five sixes, his brother Sikander compiled a relatively quiet 37 (but with three fours and two sixes), and then Burhan Niaz topped it off with a 42-ball 77, hitting five fours and six sixes to add to VRA’s misery.

Vikram Singh and Viraj Thakur each claimed three wickets as Rotterdam were all out off the last ball of their 50 overs, but former international (and Musa’s brother) Shariz Ahmad went wicketless, conceding 60 off his seven overs.

VRA were certainly not intimidated by this big total: skipper Teja Nidamanuru (55) and Singh (70) put on 134 for the first wicket in 20 overs, Singh smacking six sixes as he answered the Rotterdammers’ aggression in kind, and Johan Smal kept up the momentum with a solid 46.

But 105 were still needed with ten overs remaining, and by this time six wickets had fallen; it was now up to Udit Nashier, back with his old club, to finish the job, but although he made 59 from 43 deliveries the Rotterdam attack was able to hang on, and VRA finished 29 runs short of their target with the last pair together.

A fine all-round effort by Pierre Jacod, who made 52 and then claimed four for 30, was the key to Kampong’s successful start to the defence of their title, as they overcame HBS by 81 runs at Craeyenhout.

Young Joris van Oosterom had given the Crows a great start when he had international opener Max O’Dowd caught in the covers off the first ball he receeived, but a solid second-wicket stand of 72 between Damien van den Berg (42) and Scott Edwards (70) laid the foundations for a big total by Alex Roy’s Utrecht side.

Overseas Kent Goedeke and local seamer Benno Boddendijk bowled 20 overs on the trot as HBS skipper Tayo Walbrugh seemed content to let Kampong consolidate, only Van den Berg and Lorenzo Ingram falling during that passage of play, but once Julien de Mey had removed Edwards the middle order faltered, and it took Jacod’s half-century, his fourth in the Topklasse, and a run-a-ball 32 from skipper Roy, to get them to 256.

Lehan Botha took three for 54 for the Crows, while Van Oosterom returned to finish Jacod’s innings with a crushing yorker.

Roy started with the medium-pace of Shashank Kumar and Ingram’s left-arm spin, and although neither claimed a wicket they bowled tightly enough to have HBS already falling behind the asking rate.

Then Roy himself removed Goedeke and Walbrugh before running out danger-man Botha, and at 61 for four in the 21st over the home side’s challenge was starting to fade.

Keeper Lucas del Bianco did his best to hold things together with a defiant 65, but Jacod’s four-wicket haul ensured that there was no recovery, and when Del Bianco was the last man out the total was just 175.

The closest of Saturday’s matches was at Westvliet, where Voorburg, helped by an unbeaten century by opener Cedric de Lange, went into the final over before completing a four-wicket victory over HCC.

Put in to bat, HCC’s innings never really fired against a disciplined Voorburg attack, the star of which was Mees van Vliet with five for 53.

The Lions’ top and middle order got a series of starts, but only Shirsak Banerjee was able to build a substantial innings; he made 54 before he was freakishly run out, seamer Don Glover getting a boot to a powerful straight drive by Clayton Floyd and deflecting the ball onto the stumps with Banerjee stranded.

That was a key turning-point as HCC battled to recover from 140 for five, Ryan Klein having delayed their progress with an impeccable ten-over spell which conceded just 23 runs.

Josh Brown and Daniel Crowley chipped in with a 41-run ninth-wicket stand which helped their side to 230 for nine, and when Hidde Overdijk and Teun Kloppenburg reduced the home side to 70 for four it seemed as if HCC might be getting the upper hand.

De Lange, however, was still there, and although Voorburg were still in trouble at 150 for six with 14 overs remaining, that brought 17-year-old debutant Aarav Swaroop in to join the opener, just a year his senior.

The two teenagers proceeded to add 82 in an unbroken winning stand, De Lange finishing with 112 not out – his second Topklasse century – and Swaroop 43 not out.

Kloppenburg was the most successful of HCC’s bowlers with three for 28.

Vibe-Coding the Rules – a look at the Player Points System

Bertus de Jong | 23-04-2026

The KNCB’s new player-points system for the Topklasse, Hoofdklasse and Eersteklasse is a welcome and arguably overdue effort to address long-standing problems in Dutch club cricket and may yet prove a model going forward, but the slapdash formulations and nonsensical categorisations set out in the new rules risk rendering it unfit for purpose. The board will need to rely on the collaboration and indulgence of clubs to make the half-baked system work, and if it proves a source of rancour, the KNCB will have only themselves to blame.

The question of regulating the participation of overseas players in domestic competition has been a perennial source of controversy and contention in Dutch cricket over the past decade at least, with past efforts to place limits on squad or team composition foundering in the face of opposition, loopholing, and even legal challenge. The board’s new player-points based approach (modelled on systems used in Australian club cricket) has much to recommend it in principle, but the final language of the regulations, which were circulated to clubs two months ago, is so vague, contradictory or perverse as to risk generating still more controversy and conflict, such that it will require a concerted and collaborative effort from all parties to avoid their implementation derailing the coming season entirely.

The new system seeks to allocate each player a points-value dependent on their national origin and level of prior cricket experience, with progressive reductions based on length of service to their current club, and then places a cap on the total points-value of a side that may be fielded in any given match. In the manual for the new system, a first draft of which was circulated late last year, the KNCB lays out the main aims:

Local Player Development—Encouraging clubs to invest in homegrown players and provide them with opportunities at the highest level.
Reducing Dependence on Overseas Players—Balancing the use of international talent with the development of Dutch players, so clubs don’t rely solely on overseas signings.
In short, the system is designed to reward clubs that develop Dutch talent while still allowing space for international players to contribute to the competition.

There are reasonable arguments to be made against the system even in principle; implicit penalties for players transferring between clubs systemically weakens the hands of cricketers vis-a-vis clubs and militates against professionalisation. As written, the rules could be seen as exacerbating the particular problem of player retention after school age, when youngsters moving away from from their home towns (and clubs) for work or study often drop cricket altogether. The system also risks undermining the policy of encouraging Netherlands-eligible players who learned their cricket abroad to play in the Dutch competition if they wish to be considered for national selection, and arguably does too little to incentivise clubs to attract or develop players likely to be called up for national selection given the ever-increasing burden the international calendar places on player availability.

Yet these are ultimately trade-offs which must be made, and debates where reasonable disagreements are inevitable. In truth, there appears to be broad consensus that a system of this sort is needed, and the model which the board has adopted ought to be sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of the club competitions that have served as the game’s foundation in the Netherlands. The Topklasse has a history stretching back well over a century. By most metrics it is the oldest extant club cricket competition in the world, and indeed it predates the Netherlands’ participation in international cricket by almost half a century. Many in Dutch cricket (including this publication) consequently regard the integrity of the club competition per se as taking precedence over its role as a production line or feeder league for the national team, a role for which it is not necessarily well-suited, and which one might hope an expanded Pro-Series may one day fulfil (on which more another time).

There are clear upsides to limiting the number of overseas players in the Topklasse; not least lessening the financial burden on clubs imposed by the ballooning expense of maintaining a competitive squad in the upper divisions. The system also rewards sides whose youth systems develop young players, and to encourages them to blood such players in the top flight. The points-based approach also affords clubs a degree of flexibility in selection, while the option to introduce bonus points allocations in future seasons for clubs that provide umpires, field women’s and youth teams or the like might also allow the KNCB to incentivise such objectives in a more flexible manner than hard and fast regulation. The board is ultimately answerable to the clubs on such questions, and it’s excusable, given that the preponderance of input has come from club administrators rather than active players, that the basic framework of the rules favours the former over the latter. What less excusable, however, is just how incredibly sloppy the final document is in its definitions and categorisations.

The definitions and category descriptions provided, along with the pair of flow charts intended as guidance, make a series of assertions and implicit assumptions which are by turns contradictory, plainly mistaken, or nonsensical – and some of which would appear to mandate distinctions on the basis of nationality which serve no obvious developmental or competitive purpose and risk running afoul of Dutch anti-discrimination or privacy law.

The KNCB has to date provided no rationale for discriminating between EU passport-holders and players of other nationalities, a distinction which the provided flowcharts imply to be prior to any other question. There is of course a clear rationale for giving preference to players who are eligible for the Dutch national team, but no explanation is given as to why it is desirable to treat other European nationals differently to players from further afield. It cannot simply be deference to EU law, as Dutch (eligible) players are still being privileged over other EU citizens. And it’s worth remembering of course that it was not the application of EU law that saw the previous restrictions on overseas players tossed out, but rather the Dutch Algemene Wet Gelijke Behandeling, which precludes any discrimination on the basis of nationality whatsoever.

The inclusion of this EU/non-EU distinction thus seems to be not only confusing and pointless, but also prima facie illegal. In the wider cricket world the question of a player’s legal nationality is generally treated as secondary to their affiliation to (and eligibility to represent) a given ICC member board, the two obviously being not entirely unrelated but certainly not identical. The KNCB’s departure from this norm is both inexplicable and problematic – potentially legally and certainly practically.

The needless distinction on the basis of nationality rather than eligibility leads to a number of perverse or contradictory outcomes if one were to follow the plain meaning of the document. The most glaring of these stems from an apparent misunderstanding of ICC eligibility criteria, which leads the authors of the document to assume any Dutch-eligible player must also be in possession of an EU passport. This is not the case. Any player who has been resident in the country for three years is eligible to represent the Netherlands even if they hold no EU passport – a category which in fact covers a huge swathe of those playing in the Netherlands, including at least one current Dutch international – yet the rules (which incorrectly treat Dutch-eligible players as a subset of EU nationals) makes no provision for such players.

Other categorisations are equally slipshod. A brief mention is made of “Representative U19s Competitions” but no clarification is offered as to how these are to be defined. One might guess the intended meaning is international under 19s cricket, but it is unclear whether this is meant to include only Youth ODIs, Youth Tests and Youth T20I, or any Under 19 team representing an ICC member. The rules then state any foreign Under 19 player should be classified as “international,” a plain reading of which would mean that a player that’s turned out for, say, Namibia Under19s at an African regional qualifier would attract a higher points value than one who has played Country Cricket or even IPL – a decision which, if intentional, would bespeak a remarkable unfamiliarity with the actual standard of cricket of these competitions.

Conversely a careful definition of “Expat Payer” [sic] is laid out, complete with onerous requirements for proof of employment or study. Aside from the fact that, as one captain observed, “it’s a bit much to expect a casual cricketer to throw his whole employment contract on the table,” one imagines these requirements will run afoul of all manner of privacy laws. The rules governing “expats” moreover make no provision for players not in full time paid work or study, thus excluding asylees, care-givers, home-makers, dependent minors and such, again without explanation. Equally inexplicably, the category is seemingly applicable only to non-EU players, but then given the provision that non-homegrown players must always be placed in the category attracting the highest points allocation, a plain reading of the rules renders the entire class of “Expat” functionally redundant anyway, which is perhaps for the best.

The second-highest tier is titled “1st Class & List A”, but restricts that category to Full Members. Premier and franchise cricket outside of Test-playing countries thus fall outside either category, presumably meaning that Major League Cricket or the ILT20 (both of which have List A status) nonetheless fall into the same category as a pub league in the UK. The next tier down is something called “Provincial A team cricket” a term used throughout the document as if it were a globally recognised category of cricket, which it is not, an oversight which once again one can only assume is rooted in an extraordinarily broad ignorance of what the game outside of the Netherlands actually looks like. Whether, for example, National Counties cricket in the UK, or the Breakout League in the West Indies fall into this category cannot be discerned from the text other than by (ultimately subjective) reasoning by analogy.

It would have been comparatively trivial to supply category definitions which comported more closely with objective reality, ideally supported by a tiered list of foreign competitions ahead of time. Instead it seems likely that such questions will be left to the discretion of an ad-hoc arbitration committee. It is to be hoped said committee boasts greater expertise than apparently went into the creation of the regulations it is tasked with applying, and that clubs accept its rulings with equanimity. So far, at least, they appear to be doing so.

Yet relying on case-by-case committee decisions to flesh out the details that the rules fail to provide – a strategy which might be charitably labelled a “Common Law” (or less charitably a “vibes-based”) approach – will inevitably leave the KNCB open to allegations of bad faith or bias the moment a difficult dispute arises, as the slapdash manner in which the rules have been written all but guarantees, or lead to conflicting and contradictory standards should the committee’s rulings not be made with considerably more care and expertise than is evident in the authorship of the regulations themselves. To mangle the old adage, Bad Law makes Hard Cases, and Hard Cases make Bad Law.

It is of course too late to change the rules at this stage, the KNCB having waved off the questions and concerns of informed third parties (including your correspondent) for some months. We thus left hoping that the community pulls together and muddles through, honouring the laudable aims or at least implied intent of the provisions rather than exploiting the ambiguous or nonsensical text. Past precedent unfortunately suggests that there are few clubs entirely above rules-lawyering on questions of player eligibility where it is to their clear advantage. We are consequently reduced to hoping that a spirit of collegiality prevails, at least until the rules can be clarified and rationalised next season, but in the meantime one can’t help but feel the KNCB has laid down a rake for its own face, so to speak.

The need for this new system has been a point of rare consensus among Dutch cricket clubs, and it would be a shame if it were to founder simply due to its initial drafters’ lack of attention to detail. The goals of the system are shared by most if not all in Dutch cricket, and fundamentally a points-based model is likely the best suited to the needs of the game in the Netherlands. For all its faults, even in its current sorry state the system is likely workable if all parties strive in good faith to make it work.

Lets hope they do.

Preview Round 1

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong | 22-04-2026

And so we start once more, this time with eight teams in the Topklasse. There are, of course a few other changes: the Player Points system will influence team selection (though probably not very much in practice, at least this year), and the European T20 Premier League is promised for later in the summer, although with the 50-over competition scheduled to conclude on 5 July it won’t be affected. There will again be no play-offs for the title, with the team at the top of the table after 14 rounds being declared the winner. There’s a good deal more guesswork than usual involved in this initial preview, since it’s not entirely clear who among the still numerous overseas contingents will arrive in time for the season’s opening encounters.

RL: Last year’s champions, Kampong Utrecht, start the defence of their title with a trip to Craeyenhout to take on HBS. With Lehan Botha back in the Crows’ ranks and Kent Goedeke replacing Jayden Rossouw, the South African component is still central to the plans at Craeyenhout, skipper Tayo Walbrugh, ex-international Wesley Barresi and current national squad member Kyle Klein all adding a hint of the braai to HBS’s fortunes. They will have their work cut out, though, against Alex Roy’s side, which will miss only Lane Berry from last year’s winning combination. That’s admittedly quite a gap in the top order, but with Lachlan Bangs returning and Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards available for much of the 50-over season, Kampong will still take some beating. The big question, perhaps, is whether Kampong’s attack will prove strong enough to restrict the Crows’ top order on what is frequently a runs-rich ground.

BdJ: The departure of last season’s lead wicket-taker Rossouw to Quick Haag is likely to mean there will be even more runs to be had at Craeyehout this time round, and the Crows will probably need early wickets from Klein or Botha if they’re to contain what remains an intimidating Kampong batting order. With Bangs and the ever-improving Jacod coming in as low as six and seven for the title-holders, simply looking to outscore them is a risky strategy.

RL: Runners-up VRA Amsterdam head even further south, travelling to the Zomercomplex to face the newly-renamed Rotterdam (né Punjab), who were themselves champions in 2024. The Rotterdam batting powerhouse of Musa Ahmad, Shoaib Minhas and the brothers Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar have started in menacing form, Sikander smacking a 54-ball, not-out 126 against VOC in the final of the Rijnmond Cup a fortnight ago. Their opponents are something of an unknown quantity, with a further influx of Antipodeans to augment Dutch internationals Teja Nidamanuru, Vikram Singh and Shariz Ahmad, all of whom have plenty to play for as they try to re-establish their positions in the national side. There are more questions about the respective attacks: again, Rotterdam have a tried-and-tested combination, but with Ben Fletcher and Peter Ruffel not reappearing VRA will need to find both a new new-ball pairing and an effective spin unit, which may include the returning Udit Nashier, hardy perennial Leon Turmaine, and Australian leggie Ivan Zmak.

BdJ: The rebranded Rotterdammers have certainly shown some impressive early form in pre-season, but it’s worth noting that VRA bested them fairly comfortably in Saturday’s warm-up fixture at the Bos. Vikram Singh and Johan Smal have looked in particularly fine form for the Amsterdammers, as has new arrival Sam Cassidy. It could well be a different outcome at the revamped Zomercomplex of course, and indeed the question of the make-up of VRA’s seam attack looms large, with much resting on the shoulders of Ashir Abid. Whoever takes the new ball for them will be happy not to have to bowl at Mohsin Riaz at least, Punjab’s stand out bat last season busy with commitments in Pakistan for now, but the Rotterdam batting card is plenty stacked without him.

RL: There have been many stirring contests between Voorburg and HCC in recent years, not least in the 2022 and 2023 grand finals (remember when we used to have grand finals?). Home side Voorburg will presumably be boosted by the return of Bas de Leede, whose spell at Durham has come to an end, and that will be significant compensation for the loss of De Leede’s fellow-international Viv Kingma, who has moved to VOC, and of young allrounder Udit Nashier, who has returned to VRA. So will the advent of promising youngster Aaditt Jain, whose path has crossed that of Kingma somewhere between the Hazelaarweg and Westvliet. We probably shouldn’t read too much into the ease of Voorburg’s victory in the final of last week’s Next Communications T20 Cup, but the Lions will need the returning Zac Worden to boost their largely home-grown top order if they are return to De Diepput with the points.

BdJ: De Leede, we understand, is likely to be used sparing if at all in the early season as he comes back from injury, but the addition of Jaynul Islam may go some way to compensate – Voorburg quick to snap up the recently-arrived Bangladeshi right arm seamer. Voorburg hardly lacked for pace options even before picking up Islam and Jain, though there’s a little less competition for slow-bowling spots at Westvliet now. One will certainly be taken by dual-international Michael Rippon when he lands back in the Netherlands, but the VCC bowling card does look a tad pace-heavy as it stands. The same is true of their opponents however, looking somewhat reliant on slow southpaw Clayton Floyd, whose ten overs could well prove crucial on Saturday.

RL: Ground constraints mean that the final match of the opening round will take place on Sunday, when Hermes-DVS will make the short trek to the Hazelaarweg to take on VOC Rotterdam. They will be facing a pace attack featuring the returning former international Ahsan Malik and his erstwhile international colleague Viv Kingma, who has stepped over from Voorburg, as well as the steadily-improving Roman Harhangi. The Bloodhounds will again be looking to a useful group of overseas players, including New Zealanders Caleb Montague and Ethan Price. Such resources have not been able to disguise the fragility of their batting in recent seasons, but the early-season form of Francois Fourie may hint at better prospects this time round. With the run-getting power of Daniel Doyle Calle and Ash Ostling reinforced by that of South African David Rushmere, the Sky Blues have the potential to test VOC’s new-look pace attack to the full, while an experienced, well-balanced attack will be looking to exploit any cracks in the home side’s top order.

BdJ: Word is Kingma’s role at VOC will be focused more on coaching this coming season, though we’re also told Pierce Fletcher may be playing a more prominent on-field part for the Bloodhounds this summer. Harhangi will be the principle purveyor of youthful zip with the new ball though, and will be crucial in VOC are to find inroads into Hermes’ reinforced batting order. Breaking the prolific Ostling-DDC partnership at the top now looks like a still-necessary but perhaps no-long-sufficient condition to containing Hermes, and with several key components of VOC’s new batting card boasting overseas pedigree but little Topklasse experience, the hosts may still be unsure of what a chaseable total looks like.

RL’s tips: HBS, Rotterdam, Voorburg, Hermes.
BdJ’s tips: Kampong, VRA, Voorburg, Hermes

Topklasse Fantasy Cricket Returns

Bowing to whelming popular demand, CricketXI and TKcricket are delighted to announce the return of Topklasse Fantasy Cricket for the 2026 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 still believed to be in the custody of Mr RC Campbell, county Durham)

2026 Preview | Voorburg & VOC

Bertus de Jong | 19-04-2026

2023 Champions Voorburg CC had a surprisingly poor 50-over season last year, but are widely-tipped as potential challengers again this time round. There’s been a fair reshuffle at Westvliet over the winter, especially in the seam bowling department, the headline-grabber of course being the return of favourite son Bas de Leede from England.

Injury may limit the role de Leede’s able to play early in the season though, and with Carl Mumba off to the newly-renamed Rotterdam CC (formerly Punjab-Ghausia) and the long-serving Vivian Kingma departing for VOC, young left arm quick Aaditt Jain, making the opposite switch, may slot straight into the role of pace spearhead. Also likely to feature in the first-team seam attack is new arrival Jaynul Islam, a right arm quick with List A experience in Bangladesh, alongside Mees van Vliet in an enviable stable of front line pace bowlers, backed up by part timers Michael Levitt and Ryan Klein.

The other big name arrival at Westvliet is sometime Dutch international and occasional blackcap Michael Rippon, the left arm wrist spinner “bringing not only a wealth of experience but also a much needed spin option and a very important part of our batting line up.” as skipper Noah Croes remarked to Tkcricket. Rippon will thus fill the role of lead spinner vacated by southpaw Udit Nashier, who returns to VRA, as well as bolstering an already intimidating batting card.

Young Cedric de Lange has established himself in the opening slot alongside Michael Levitt, while the middle and lower order boasts further national team talent in the form of Croes himself as well as Ryan Klein. That line-up does leave VCC particularly vulnerable to the predations of national selectors however, with de Leede, Rippon, Levitt, Klein and Croes all potential picks, while Lange is already on the Oranje’s radar too.

Voorburg are somewhat insulated from that risk by their depth of youth talent; de Lange, Alejo Nota and Tom de Leede increasingly impressive, while Luuk Kroesen also comes over from Excelsior. A deep roster was not enough for Voorburg to challenge the top last season though, in part perhaps because constantly rotating selection prevented the team from really settling. They are likely to face similar challenges this season, even if they are arguably better equipped to handle them.

Croes himself was upbeat, telling TKcricket “here at the Westvliet we’re happy with the way we are tracking … the guys are well prepared to have an impact and continue to push at the top end of the table. I think the development of our young players is going to be really exciting and hoping to see some new guys step up.”

It’s been almost a decade since VOC Rotterdam last added to their tally of Topklasse titles, most recently finishing top of the log back in 2018 – notably the freshman year of this very masthead. The Bloodhounds have spent the seven seasons since largely in the bottom half of the table, narrowly escaping relegation on a couple of occasions, including last season when they saw off ACC in the relegation play-off. Survival will be the first target this time around, though in a smaller and more competitive field dodging the drop again will be a tougher ask this season.

The Rotterdammers will have to reckon with the loss of both Jain brothers – young Aaditt switching to Voorburg and Arnav emigrating to Spain. The pair accounted for 40 wickets between them last season as well as occasional but sometimes crucial lower order runs, and leave a substantial hole to fill. Likewise the departure of overseas Scott Jannet and Christiaan Oberholzer, who along with Danish international Monty Singh provided the bulk of VOC’s runs last summer, will put pressure on the rest of the VOC line-up to deliver with the bat.

On the other side of the ledger, veteran former Netherlands international Ahsan Malik returns from Sparta, providing some welcome stability in the middle order as well as control with the ball. The indefatigable Jelte Schoonheim also signs on for another season, ensuring the seam attack certainly will not want for experience, though doubtless the hope is that young Roman Harhangi, VOC’s lead wicket-taker last season, continues to shoulder increasing responsibility as spearhead.

By way of slow-bowling additions Hazelaarweg welcomes Ethan Price, a left arm spinner recently turning out for Northern Districts A, who joins the ever-promising Siebe van Wingerden and the returning Asif Hoseinbaks in the spin section. The otherwise somewhat threadbare batting card is shored up by keeper-bat by Caleb Montague, also of New Zealand, but long-serving skipper Tim de Kok will certainly hope to contribute more with the bat personally this season. The arrival of Samir Butt from Punjab Rotterdam does take some of the pressure off the captain however, as does the pre-season form of Francoise Fourie, who missed much of last season through injury.

De Kok’s principal task will remain getting the best out of an overhauled side, and group cohesion is indeed his top priority. “Above all we’re looking to rely on players that fit well within the club and subscribe to the philosophy and overarching narrative we’re trying to build here at VOC. It’s crucial to keep working on the ethos and atmosphere within the club. So we’re also really happy to have Stephan Myburgh back as head coach, along with club legend [and former Netherlands international] Rob Vos who have both been working hard over the winter to build our programme and training philosophy. There’s a lot of people in the background who have contributed enormously to our goal of being the most welcoming family club with the stand-out development program in the top flight.”

While the on-field focus for the back end of the summer will be regaining a place in the T20 top division, consolidation is the order of the day in the fifty-over competition. “In the Topklasse the goal is to show that we can compete with a solid core of local VOC talent, and demonstrate the importance of a strong foundation for the club.”

2026 Preview | HBS & Hermes

Bertus de Jong | 19-04-2026

If survival was the first goal last season then HBS Craeyenhout had a moderately successful 2025; relegated from the T20 top flight but finishing in the top half of the fifty over table. One imagines survival will again be priority one in the one-day competition, though that assignment will arguably be even tougher this time around.

The Crows local roster is reportedly similar to that of last season, but there are some substantial changes to the overseas section, most significantly the departure of last season’s lead wicket-taker Jayden Rossouw, who has switched to local rivals Quick Haag. German-South African bat Kent Goedeke comes in to replace Selin de Beer, with HBS looking to rely more on their homegrown bowling stocks. All-rounder Lehan Botha is back however, while skipper Tayo Walbrugh is now settled in the Netherlands, and indeed becomes eligible for the Oranje this year.

Botha and Walbrugh, along with veteran Wesley Barresi, were responsible for the bulk of HBS’ runs last season, though young Lucas del Bianco also passed 400 for the season and along with Navjit Singh will likely have a key role to play in the middle order. On the bowling side, the irrepressible Mudassar Bukhari returns for a third stint at Craeyenhout, lending a couple of decades worth of experience to an otherwise youthful seam attack spearheaded by Dutch international Kyle Klein.

On the spin-bowling side the departure of Rossouw means much will depend on southpaw Julian de Mey. together with the veteran Barresi’s offspin. With Rossouw contributing 38 wickets at 19 last season there’s a substantial gap to fill though, and the slow-bowling department is arguably one of the bigger questions around the balance of the HBS side for the coming season.

Hermes DVS had an excellent start to the season last summer, making the early running in the fifty over competition before tailing off somewhat toward the end, eventually settling into a comfortable mid-table finish. Overseas opening pair Daniel Doyle Calle and Ashley Ostling were key to that early run, and both are back for 2026. Some middle-order reinforcement also arrives at Harga this season in the form of Dutch/South African bat David Rushmere, who will likely also take the gloves for the early season with Asad Zulfiqar’s availability limited to the shorter format this year.

Seam all-rounders Olivier Elenbaas and Sebastiaan Braat will still have an important supporting role to play with the bat however, as will the evergreen Nick Statham, who finished third in the Topklasse run tallies for Hermes last year. Aryan Dutt and Sahil Kothari will again provide an enviable left-right spin combination, though Belgian leggie Hikmatullah Jabarkhail isn’t expected to be up north of the border as regularly as last season. His compatriot Oliver Harrington has signed on with the sky blues for the summer however, the imposing pace all-rounder bringing hitting power down the order as well as a useful option first change.

Skipper Braat is bullish about his side’s prospects, telling Tkcricket “With Rushmere joining we’ve a much strengthened middle order – too often when we lost last season it was down to a lack of runs on the board, and if Olivier and myself can bat well around them we should be finishing top four at least.”

With the new acquisitions the ingredients are certainly there to improve on last year’s performance, and if the Schiedammers can find some consistency a title challenge could well be on the cards.

2026 Preview | Rotterdam & HCC

Bertus de Jong | 18-04-2026

Following a creditable podium finish last year, 2024 champions Punjab-Ghausia return under a new name this season, turning the page on 30 years of tradition to rebrand as Rotterdam CC, the new name reflective of the growing club’s more expansive and inclusive ambitions. The biggest changes at the club are off field though (not least some substantial upgrades to the Zomercomplex itself) with comparatively few comings and goings among the first team at least. Former Zimbabwe quick Carl Mumba comes over from Voorburg and Samir Butt departs for VOC, but otherwise the 2026 Rotterdam squad looks much like the Punjab-Ghausia one of last year.

The core of the side is still built around two thirds of the Zulfiqar triplets, legspinning all-rounder Saqib lining up behind seam-bowling skipper Sikander, who again takes the armband this season. The pair will play a crucial role in the middle order, especially with big name bats Jonatahn Vandiar and Mohsin Riaz expected to miss much of the early season. Their absence will place greater responsibility for Musa Ahmad and Shoaib Minhas at the top of the order, with keeper-bat Fawad Shinwari perhaps pushed up the order too.

The Rotterdammers will also be hoping for more consistent contributions with the bat from Belgian seam all-rounder Burhan Niaz, who notably played as a dedicated number four in their victorious pre-season Rijmond Cup campaign. Veteran former captain Sulaiman Tariq is also game for another season, and will likely share the new ball with Mumba. Offspin all-rounder and former Pakistan youth international Aaliyan Mahmood returns, as does veteran South African bat Rushdi Jappie, though both are expected to play more of a role in the seconds. Asif Gondal is expected to be a more regular feature in the first again however, and if Ahmad and Minhas can replicate their form with the ball from last season Zulafiqar should not be short of slow bowling options.

All told despite the infrastructural and nominative transformations at the Zomercomplex, it’s more continuity than change for the first XI, a wealth of capable all-rounders still the Rotterdammers’ key strength, coupled with an admirably consistent ambition. When asked about his ambitions and expectations for the coming season, captain Sikander Zulfiqar supplied the laconic response; “Kampioenschap.”

Continuity seems to be the keyword at de Diepput too, Haagsche CC similarly sticking with a well-tested formula that delivered a solid fourth-place finish last season. The sole significant change to the side is the return of Australian Zac Worden, who was key to HCC’s championship run did well four seasons ago. Worden relieves Oli White as batting overseas, but last season’s lead wicket-taker Josh Brown returns for another season. Skipper Boris Gorlee remarked “we’re sticking with just the two [overseas] as usual, and it’s good to have a couple of lads that know the club and what we’re about.”

HCC’s perennial senior trio of Gorlee, Tonny Staal and Hidde Overdijk remain the foundation of the side, but there’s been plenty of youth pushing through at de Diepput too of late. Teuns Kloppenburg and Leijer will likely play a larger bigger role this season, the former back for a full season this time round while the latter has been opening the bowling with Daniel Crowley in pre-season. Likewise Shirshak Banerjeee has established a strong claim on a regular top-order spot, Mark Wolfe has looked settled behind the stumps since taking over the gloves from Yash Patel, and young Justin Trijzelaar has also been knocking on the door.

In the absence of White the slow bowling does look somewhat dependent the prodigal Clayton Floyd’s left arm spin, but the Haagsche’s seam-heavy approach could serve them well in the front-loaded fifty over season. Gorlee was somewhat circumspect in assessing their chances, telling Tkcricket “with the talent we have we know we can beat any team in the competition, though, well, we can certainly lose to anyone too. But if we’re at our best we should be mixing it in the top three.” Though not short of experience, this relatively young HCC side is probably still a few seasons away from their best, and if they can manage a podium finish this year then another title likely won’t be far away.

2026 Preview | Kampong & VRA

Bertus de Jong | 17-04-2026

Newly-promoted Kampong Utrecht made history last season by becoming the first clubs since Prinses Wilhelmina Enchede in 1939 to win the top division immediately upon their return, clinching the Topklasse title with two games to spare. The defending champions don’t look to be changing a winning formula, and the 2026 squad looks broadly similar to last season.

Kampong’s success in recent years has been in part based on shrewd past acquisitions, tempting Dutch international duo Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards over from VOC and the veteran Lorenzo Ingram from Excelsior, and the trio are expected to play a substantial role in Kampong’s title defence again. Edwards in particular was imperious when available last year, and though O’Dowd had a comparatively quiet season, Kampong will hope a comparatively light international schedule will mean the pair will be around a bit more.

The absence of last season’s top-scorer Lane Berry, who remains in Australia means the title-holders will be likely need a few more runs from their Dutch international pair, While the returning Lachlan Bangs along with Damien van den Berg ensure Kampong will not be short of hitting power, the Kampong top order may be left looking like something of a glass cannon if and when O’Dowd and Edwards are called away on national duty. That said, Pierre Jacod comes into the season in fine form, having followed up an excellent 2025 Topklasse season with an impressive winter in Australia, and combined with the evergreen Ingram provides not only an enviable left-right spin combination but also a degree of depth to the batting card.

The bowling attack likewise looks much the same as last season, though Kirtan Nana is understood to be taking a summer off, with young Gert Swanepoel expected to get a few more chances in the senior side, joining skipper and spearhead Alex Roy in an otherwise comparatively callow pace attack. The spin trio of Ingram, Jacod and Akhil Gopinath will likely bowl the bulk of the overs again this season, while Dutch prospect Zach Lion-Cachet is also on the Kampong list, the young offie will likely be available only when in the country with the national squad.

Roy is somewhat phlegmatic about the prospect of Kampong defending their title,
“winning was great but of course this year we’ll have a bit of a target on our backs important thing is consistency, it would be great to go back to back but really we just want to show we can keep competing at the top level. We’ll be aiming first to keep pace in the top four, but of course if we can push on for the title again then great.”

While the competition may be somewhat fiercer this season as talent concentrates into the newly streamlined top division, the defending champions established a working blueprint for success in their first season back last year, and taking the title off them will doubtless take some doing.

T20 champions and runners up in the fifty-over competition last year, VRA Amsterdam will be looking to add to their silverware collection again this time around, albeit with a somewhat reshuffled squad. The local core of the side remains largely unchanged under captain-manager Teja Nidamanuru, but the overseas section looks markedly different for the coming season.

Among the more significant personnel changes is the departure of pace pair Ben Fletcher and Peter Ruffel, who accounted for some fifty wickets between them last season, with Jersey international Patrick Gouge another notable absence from the 2026 roster. New arrivals include Kiwi bats Sam Cassidy (cousin of current keeper Jack) and Lovepreet Padda, along with seam all-rounder Devin Wilke and legspinner Ivan Zmak.

While most if not all of the newcomers will be in contention for first team spots, VRA’s fortunes will likely hinge on their trio of sometime Dutch internationals, Vikram Singh, Shariz Ahmad and skipper Nidamanuru, who collectively had a somewhat modest season last year. Singh and Nidamanuru’s limited returns with the bat left VRA rather dependent on vice captain Johan Smal, who’ ha’s looked in fine form in pre-season after an excellent 2025, and may himself may push for Dutch selection when he becomes eligible in a few weeks’ time, potentially leaving VRA vulnerable to something of an exodus when the selectors come calling.

The top order looks solid on paper though, and the Amsterdammers are confident in their local bowling depth. While Shariz Ahmad has not hit the heights of past seasons, the return of left armer Udit Nashier, backed up by the veteran Leon Turmaine (VRA’s stand-out slow bowler last season) together with Nidamanuru’s own improving offspin ensures they won’t be short of spin options. The loss of Fletcher and Ruffel means responsibility for leading the seam attack will fall to left arm quick Ashir Abid, backed up by Singh’s medium pace and potentially opening up more space for youth and second-team prospects to push for more regular opportunities in the top flight.

Nidamanuru struck an upbeat tone ahead of the season on that front, telling TKcricket “We’ve some local talent coming through for sure. We’re very happy with the new guys coming in from overseas of course, but partially we’ll be looking to a couple of them to bring some stability in the seconds rather than coming straight into the first team … we’re relying on our local bowling especially this season, and I do think we’ve got the depth to go one better this year.”

The fact that VRA finished runners-up last time round despite several senior players having sub-par personal seasons does suggest there’s potential for the squad to break the silver-medal ceiling that they’ve bumped against on occassion since their last fifty-over title in 2011, if they can get a few more cylinders firing on full.