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Rod Lyall 04/07/24

And so we reach the first of two weekends in which the stagger will unwind, and by the end of it some teams will only have two first-phase matches left to play. With eight teams at least in with a shout of a top-six place – winless ACC are firmly rooted at the foot of the table and Hermes-DVS, though not yet arithmetically out of the running, have left themselves a huge amount to do – this week’s double-headers are certain to have a huge influence on the table. Not to mention the fact that Saturday brings us the first 50-over Schiedam derby for seven years. We can only hope that the threatened rain on Saturday doesn’t put a dampener on proceedings.

After two lethal performances with the ball in their last two games, Excelsior ’20 go into their meeting with neighbours Hermes-DVS at the latter’s Loopuyt Oval riding high, sitting in fourth spot and facing matches against the two bottom sides this weekend. But derbies like this have a way of bringing the unexpected, and Roel Verhagen’s side will be a lot less comfortable about the recent performances of their batting than those of the attack. Jason Ralston is the competition’s leading wicket-taker by a distance, while Lorenzo Ingram’s career-best effort against Sparta last Saturday should serve as a stark warning to opposing batters. With the Elenbaas brothers and Sebastiaan Braat, though, Hermes have a useful pace attack of their own, and a top order which certainly has the potential to blunt the edge of Excelsior’s bowling.

Having dealt with the local rivalry on Saturday, Hermes will then entertain VRA Amsterdam on Sunday in the game which should have been their season’s opener. They will go into the weekend knowing that they need to secure at least two points out of four if they are to have any chance of making the top six, although in truth their first priority is no doubt to stay well clear of relegation. The Amsterdammers were unable to defend 306 last week, though to be fair the Loopuyt Oval is unlikely to replicate the extreme batter-friendly conditions which saw Voorburg top order run riot. If Elijah Eales is back in the VRA side they will have an attack which will test the Hermes batting to the maximum, while their batting line-up is also full of menace.

Excelsior also have a double-weekend, returning to Thurlede on Sunday for their postponed match against ACC. With a batting side which has failed against less imposing attacks than the Schiedammers’, ACC have every reason to face Ralston, Blankestijn, Ingram and Co. with trepidation, and it will be vital for them to find a way of neutralising that threat if they are to have any chance of rehabilitating their season. Having been bowled out cheaply elsewhere in Schiedam last week, the Amsterdammers won’t relish a return visit to take on a rampant Excelsior, but if their own spearhead, Guy Sheena, is able to put the home side’s batting under pressure they might give themselves a chance of recording their first 50-over win of the season.

On Saturday, ACC will have faced a tough challenge, at home to a Voorburg side which is naturally looking a lot stronger with the return of its international stars. Admittedly their bowlers conceded a motza of runs against VRA last week, but that was attributable more to the nature of the pitch and outfield rather than to any deficiency in the attack, as Michael Levitt, Gavin Kaplan and Noah Croes went on to demonstrate as they guided their team to a seven-wicket victory. The difference between that experience in the Bos and playing at Het Loopveld is approximately comparable to that between a Ron Blauw meal and a plate of bitterballen, but this may give ACC their best chance of pulling off a shock victory. Failing that, you have to think that the sheer class of a team which includes four full internationals and four youth internationals is likely to prevail. After all, ACC have yet to pass 150 in four attempts, and they are in serious need of the order of partnership in which Voorburg have been specialising.

On the other side of Amstelveen on Saturday, VRA take on a VOC Rotterdam outfit who need to come back strongly after last Sunday’s defeat by HBS if they are to maintain their claim to a spot in the championship play-offs. The Bloodhounds have taken their matches down to the wire too often for their supporters’ comfort, but perhaps even more concerning with the lack of discipline with the bat as they fell away from a winning position at Craeyenhout. They were, of course, missing the injured Jock McKenzie, and they will have been heartened by Mussayab Jamil’s display of calculated aggression in the middle order. But they will need to be at their absolute best with both bat and ball if they are to get the better of a VRA side which combines quality, fast-scoring batters with an attack which has both effective pace and plenty of spin options.

Having reinforced their position near the top of the table against VOC, HBS Craeyenhout are again at home on Saturday, taking on Sparta 1888. With Tayo Walbrugh back to something like his best form with the bat, Matthew de Villiers providing allround value and pacemen Kyle Klein and Benno Boddendijk taking wickets, the Crows need a couple more wins to make absolutely sure of their place in the top six, but they, like their main rivals, will also be looking to take as many points as possible into the second phase. Sparta have an outside chance of squeezing into the championship pool as well, but they will need to win at least one of their two matches this weekend to keep those hopes alive, and they will be concerned about the inability of their top order to give the side a strong platform. Riley Mudford began the T20 campaign with a bang, but he has yet to make an impact on the 50-over competition, and no-one has shown much consistency – although the return of Will Clark gave some solidity against Excelsior until Ingram came on and Sparta’s wheels fell off.

Perhaps the most intriguing encounter of Saturday’s round is that between Punjab-Ghausia and HCC at Het Zomercomplex, and not only because it involves Jonathan Vandiar facing his former teammates. Back at the top of the table after their comprehensive dismissal of ACC last week, Punjab look like a very strong combination, the more so with Saqib Zulfiqar back from international duty, but the Lions, despite the absence of a couple of key players in Tonny Staal and Hidde Overdijk, showed against Hermes something like the form which took them to grand final in each of the last two seasons. Their bowling was particularly impressive, while the return of Teun Kloppenburg has clearly heightened the hitting power of the middle order. Punjab, though, have sufficient depth in both departments to see them through pretty much any crisis, and although the HCC overseas, Conor McInerney (newly confirmed in South Australia’s State squad), Jed Wiggins and especially Adam Leonard, have had their moments, they have not yet fired all together. When they do, there will be fireworks.

Sparta will again be in Residence City on Sunday, taking on HCC at De Diepput, and here most of the big guns will be on the Lions’ side. On the other hand, we should say a word in favour of Sparta’s bowling, which has so far performed far more creditably than their batting. Seamers Khalid Ahmadi, Martin Snoep and Cameron Fraser have all been among the wickets, with spin back-up from Umar Baker and Manminder Singh, and Sparta’s chances of taking something back to Capelle with them may depend on their ability to contain HCC’s powerful but not yet consistent batting. The big question, though, is whether Sparta’s top six can produce enough runs, whether setting or chasing, to give them an edge.

Just my picks this week, m’colleague being otherwise engaged:

Saturday: Excelsior, Voorburg, VRA, HBS, Punjab.

Sunday: VRA, Excelsior, HCC.

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 27/06/2024

Last week’s full round of Topklasse fixtures produced, at least for the present, a very crowded table, with seven teams clustered within two points of each other (although with varying numbers of games played), and two more just a point or two behind. Although this Saturday notionally sees round 6, some sides have only played three matches, so assessing the standings is a bit like trying to figure out who’s leading an 800 meter race before the stagger unwinds. And last week’s results didn’t help much, either, although they did confirm that ACC will have a big fight on their hands to climb out of the relegation zone.

RL: Unbeaten VRA Amsterdam, having demolished HCC last week, return to the Bos to take on defending champions Voorburg in what promises to be one of the most significant matches of the round. With returning internationals Teja Nidamanuru and Vikram Singh now combining with Johan Smal, the chief contributor to their decent total against HCC, the VRA batting line-up looks remarkably strong, as it will need to be against a varied Voorburg attack. Neither top order, in fact, has been as consistent as its credentials on paper might suggest, but it is the champions who have so far relied very heavily on a single big partnership to boost their total. Still and all, the emergence of Ryan Klein as a powerful No. 5 is a real bonus, as is the growing role of Michael Molenaar as an allrounder. That said, it’s VRA’s pace attack which, on present evidence, is the more menacing of the two, and after last week’s disappointment against Punjab, Voorburg will need to be at their best to get the better of their hosts.

BdJ: There’s plenty of open questions around what indeed looks a potentially key match for both sides at the Bos, not least what sort of surface they’ll be playing on given the transitional custodial situation at VRA this week. It looks an inopportune juncture for VCC’s troubled top order to play themselves into form however, with the host’s bowling attack, already looking in fine rhythm, currently honing their skills across the border in Germany. Despite the emergence of a slew of promising youngsters at Westvliet, VCC look aside that may need another season to recover from the recent winter exodus, while VRA’s new-look first team seem to be hitting their stride.

RL: Level on points with the leaders but having played two more games, Punjab-Ghausia are also at home this week, taking on current wooden-spooners ACC at the Zomercomplex. It’s imperative for the Amsterdammers that they don’t let the gap at the foot of the table grow any bigger, but Punjab at home are never an easy proposition, and with their home-grown crop yet to make a significant contribution ACC will need strong contributions from their overseas contingent, Van der Merwe, Sheena and Sayed, if they are to threaten Sikander Zulfiqar’s side. For them, a century by Mohsin Riaz, a near-miss by Saqib Zulfiqar on his return from World Cup duty, and fifties for Shoaib Minhas and Jonathan Vandiar demonstrate the power of their top order, only Musa Ahmad yet to get past fifty. Punjab’s attack, moreover, seems well suited to exploiting the fragility of the ACC’s top five, and it would be one of the biggest shocks of the season were the Amsterdammers to head back north with the points.

BdJ: While they may find themselves at opposite ends of the table for now, both ACC and Punjab will be looking in the same direction at this point – namely down. For ACC the looming threat of relegation will be the principle focus, while Punjab have two losses against them and can ill-afford another at home to the league’s whipping boys if they’re to mount a serious challenge this season. It would indeed be the upset of the round if not the whole summer should ACC take two points back North on Saturday. The ACC top-order looks particularly out of their depth thus far, especially in the absence of Heino Kuhn, and without Dosti castaways Rahil Ahmed and Mahesh Hans the Amsterdammers have simply looked out of place in the top flight this year.

RL: Wins last week propelled both Excelsior ’20 and Sparta 1888 into the middle of the table, although the Schiedammers’ destruction of HBS was probably a more notable victory in the longer term than Sparta’s over ACC. Jason Ralston is unlikely to have many better days than he did against the Crows, but Niels Etman and Jens Blankestijn provide a useful foils, and the arrival of Victor Lubbers as a genuine allrounder gives skipper Roel Verhagen plenty of options. There are, perhaps, more questions about the Schiedammers’ batting, especially in the middle order, and in Cameron Fraser, Khalid Ahmadi and Martijn Snoep Sparta have a seam attack capable of causing their hosts some problems – if they can work their way through Excelsior’s solid-looking top four. Sparta’s own batting hasn’t really fired as yet, and one senses that that might be where this battle centres. But the winner of this encounter will stake a significant claim to a spot in the top six, while the loser may well find themselves dropping back into the relegation zone. So nowhere in this week’s games will the stakes be higher than at Thurlede.

BdJ: While back-to-back wins for both sides in the last couple of weeks may have put worries about relegation to rest for the time being at least, it still looks like the mid-table ain’t big enough for the both of them and which side gets to start setting their sights higher and which needs to start thinking about survival may well be decided at Thurlede on Saturday. For all the pedigree of their top order, Excelsior have had reason to be grateful for the depth that the arrival of Lubbers lends to the batting and a wagging tail of late, with only Tim Etman alone averaging over 30 and Niels Etman outscoring many recognised bats. Verhagen himself seems to have found some form in Germany however, and while Sparta’s seam attack has looked solid they still struggle to find fifty good overs in a game. The spartan trump card remains the destructive Riley Mudford of course, but the big-hitting keeper-bat has yet to replicate his short format form in the 50-over comp, and Sparta’s fans may be beginning to wonder how deep a hole that particular ace is hiding in.

RL: HBS Craeyenhout, back on their own astroturf to face VOC Rotterdam, will need to put last week’s remarkable collapse behind them quickly if they are to return to winning ways. Here, too, both sides need the points to stay with the clustering pack, and both will doubtless again be looking to their overseas contingent to provide a good deal of the muscle. Walbrugh, Botha and De Villiers all had off days for the Crows against Excelsior, leaving Wesley Barresi to fight a rearguard action in company with Julian de Mey, while Schiehout, Bettelheim and even the injured McKenzie proved their worth for VOC. The balance of the sides will be influenced by whether McKenzie is able to play this week, but it’s also significant that the Rotterdammers’ local brigade – especially Jelte Schoonheim and Asief Hoseinbaks – have been able to contribute more to their campaign than the Crows’ equivalents.

BdJ: A remarkable symmetry between the Crows and the Bloodhounds this season indeed, both mired in the mid-table and reliant on their overseas for most all of their runs and a good chunk of the wickets, albeit both boasting some promising youngsters that look at most a season away from being genuine assets. It would be nice to imagine that this weeks encounter will be decided by the efforts of a Boddendijk or a Jain, and indeed it may well be. More likely it’ll be down tom which side’s overseas have the best day out, and it’s a brave man who bets against Walbrugh at Craeyenhout.

RL: The same remark about a quick recovery applies to HCC, who this week face a potentially tricky visit to the Loopuyt Oval to take on Hermes-DVS. Sebastiaan Braat’s side gives the impression of having settled down as a unit more than the Lions, with Ostling, Doyle, Braat himself and the returning Aryan Dutt all weighing in with the bat and an attack spearheaded by the Elenbaas brothers, Braat and Niels Woermeijer, backed up by Murid Ekrami. HCC’s season, of course, has been badly disrupted by the weather, but they will be concerned that no-one has managed more than 36 with the bat in their three matches so far – and that came from bowling allrounder Daniel Crowley. So Boris Gorlee will be keen to step up himself and to get more from the rest of his top five. The bowling has been more effective, it is true, but whether setting or chasing the Lions will need a better start than they have so far been able to achieve.

BdJ: Survival was Hermes’ stated ambition at the start of the season, and despite having picked up just the one win thus far it could be argued they’ve set their sights a little low. While the bowling looked a little light ahead of the season, the efforts of Woermeijer, the brothers Elenbaas and reinforcements from south of the border have kept them competitive even in Dutt’s absence. HCC meanwhile have looked strangely out of sorts this season, for a side that’s maintained a core unit for a half-dozen summers now the Lions nonetheless look oddly incoherent and less than the sum of their parts. On paper the visitors’ extensive top-flight experience ought to make them heavy favourites against the newly-promoted Hermes, but it doesn’t really feel that way two days out.

RL’s picks: VRA, Punjab, Excelsior, VOC, Hermes.

BdJ’s picks: VRA, Punjab, Sparta, HBS, Hermes.