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Rod Lyall 31/07/23

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bertus de Jong 21/07/23

As we enter the final furlong of the 2023 season there’s still plenty of jockeying for position to be done at the top of the table, while the lower four scrabble for safety. A potentially decisive double weekend looms, with all six sides in the Championship pool still in contention for a berth in the finals, and indeed the inside track of a top two finish. At the other end nobody’s quite safe yet either, though that could all look different by Monday morning.

Frontrunners Voorburg are all but assured of a place in the final four, and three points clear of their nearest rivals could seal a double shot at the grand final this weekend. Unbeaten since May, they take on a depleted VOC Rotterdam in their first fixture at Westvliet on Saturday. Mees van Vleit and the wrist-spin pair Shariz Ahmad and Flip Boissevain secured them the win over HCC last week, and with Viv Kingma likely returning to action the Voorburgers will be close to full strength for the weekend. Not so their opponents, who have lost Max O’Dowd to the GT20 and will be without last week’s centurion Francoise Fourie for the weekend too. Scott Edwards is expected to play on Saturday at least, but despite their short-format success of late the Bloodhounds look a long shot to derail the Voorburg procession. Likewise Voorburg will start as favourites on Sunday against round 12 opponents ACC, again at Westvliet. The Amsterdammers bested VOC last week thanks to half centuries from Ali Raza and the returning Heino Kuhn, while Potdar has again been in the runs for the Dutch under 23s, which often presages Topklasse scores. Nonetheless the smart money is on VCC going two from two at the weekend and sealing their place in the preliminary final.

Second-place Sparta 1888 likewise have a date with the Bloodhounds this weekend, though first they will travel to de Diepput to take on HCC. Both teams suffered setbacks at the start of League 2, though HCC failed to knock VCC of course last week they did look dominant in phases despite the limited contribution of a still-recuperating Jonathan Vandiar. Sparta meanwhile look outclassed by Punjab, and missing all three of their first choice seam attack rather bereft of firepower with the ball. Though in overseas Clark, Tarr and Ferguson, along with the astutely-acquired Joost Kroesen the Spartans have a solid batting card, even a depleted VOC may fancy their chances of knocking off any runs they can post at the weekend if Sparta can’t retrieve or replace their pace attack.

Third-placed Punjab Rotterdam meanwhile look to be hitting their stride at just the right time, with Saqib Zulfiqar returning from national duty brimming with confidence, while his two brothers Asad and Rehmat have shaken off a poor first phase to find form of their own in his absence. Sikander meanwhile has performed solidly all season, and with all four Zulfiqars firing Punjab just don’t lose. Add to that Mubashar Hussain looking in decent rhythm with the new ball and Shoaib Minhas still making rapid runs and it’s easy to see the Rotterdammers staging another come-from-behind run to the title. Certainly they’ll start as favourites in their fixtures against ACC and HCC this weekend.

Down in the relegation scrap VRA are the closest team to clawing their way to safety, and though the two points they took home from Schiedam last week will have calmed some nerves in Amstelveen the manner of getting them will not. A scratchy win over Excelsior is still a win though, and VRA probably only need one more to be safe. They have every chance of getting one when they head to Deventer take on a Salland side as short of wins this season as they are Germans this weekend, which is to say at the very least three less than they’d like. With Ganesan, Barathi and Naqash all on national duty here in Edinburgh Salland look still more dependent on their misfiring overseas and long-suffering skipper Victor Lubbers. Even without the now injured Aadit Jain and the reportedly bedridden Teja Nidamanu who seems to have left his health with his hair in Zimbabwe, the Amsterdammers ought to be confident in taking two points back from the orient. They’ll likely have a tougher task awaiting them at Craeyenhout the next day when they take on HBS, though it’s not yet clear to us here whether Toby Visée, Navjit Singh and Ferdi Vink will be turning out for the Crows on Saturday or Sunday, if either.

From the perspective of HBS’ survival the bigger game of the two will be Saturday’s game against Excelsior ‘20, currently two wins adrift of the Crows level with Salland at the bottom of the table. Besting Excelsior would put more distance between HBS and the relegation slot, though for the Schiedammers the real four-pointer is their game against Salland on Sunday – the Easterlings being their closest rivals at the bottom of the pile as it stands. Excelsior’s continued reliance on the indefatigable Lorenzo Ingram for wickets and runs is becoming ever more glaring, though so long as he continues to delivery there’s enough occasional contributors about to likely ensure their survival for another year. A bad day against Salland on Sunday though, and the Thurlede faithful may start to get nervous…

(in Rod’s absence we’ve pressed a mystery predictor into service this week, we can assure you his or her expertise is at least equal to our own -ed)

Round 11

BB’s picks: Sparta, Punjab, VCC, Excelsior, VRA

BdJ’s picks: HCC, Punjab, VCC, HBS, VRA

Round 12

BB’s picks: VOC, VCC, Punjab, Excelsior, HBS

BdJ’s picks: VOC, VCC, Punjab, Salland, VRA

Rod Lyall 17/07/23

A maiden Topklasse century by opener Francois Fourie was insufficient to earn VOC Rotterdam the points at the Hazelaarweg on Sunday, as Heino Kuhn’s ACC side dismissed their hosts for 210 and went on to win by five wickets.

The defeat was a blow to VOC’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals, but with four rounds of the second phase still to be played and little separating five of the top six sides, there is still plenty of time for the Rotterdammers to turn things around.

Matters looked even worse for VOC at one stage, when after Fourie and Arnav Jain had given the side a solid start with an opening stand of 52 Anis Raza (three for 54) and Devanshu Arya (three for 34) ran through the middle order, reducing them to 106 for seven.

With Fourie holding things together, though, the last three wickets almost doubled the score, and when the opener was ninth man out for a 102-ball 103 Max Hoornweg and Pierce Fletcher added another precious 21 runs.

Then the home side hit back, and at 45 for four ACC were in trouble in their turn.

They were rescued by Kuhn and Raza, who added exactly 100 for the fifth wicket, and after Kuhn had been dismissed for 55 Raza (57 not out) and Fergus Wegener (39 not out) knocked off the 69 that were still required.

At Westvliet runaway leaders Voorburg reinforced their position with a 23-run victory over HCC, but they had to work hard to see off the Lion’s robust challenge.

They could thank opener Nehaan Gigani (76) and captain Sybrand Engelbrecht (49) for their total of 231, Hidde Overdijk taking three for 42, but although Patient Charumbira, promoted to open, and Tonny Staal gave them a good start and Teun Kloppenburg made 59, HCC were eventually dismissed for 208.

Mees van Vliet claimed three for 35 for Voorburg and Shariz Ahmad three for 50, with Philippe Boissevain taking three for 15.

Punjab Rotterdam improved their chances of gaining a semi-final spot with a comprehensive win against Sparta 1888 at the Zomercomplex, dismissing their visitors for 157 and taking only 27.4 overs to complete an eight-wicket victory.

Saqib Zulfiqar celebrated his return from international duty with four for 34, and then made an unbeaten 31 to secure the points, assisting his brother Asad, who was also not out on 62.

In the relegation battle VRA Amsterdam and HBS Craeyenhout took significant steps towards survival with low-scoring wins against Excelsior ‘20 and Salland respectively.

At Thurlede Aryan Duty, another returnee from Zimbabwe, took four for 24 as VRA bowled Excelsior out for 175, almost everyone in the Schiedammers’ line-up getting a start but Roel Verhagen’s 28 the highest score.

But VRA also struggled despite Zamaan Khan’s 48, and at 147 for eight it looked as if Excelsior might again defend a modest total.l

They were denied, however, by Udit Nashier and Eduard Visser, who guided their side to a two-wicket victory.

Events followed a similar course at Craeyenhout, where HBS dismissed Salland for 172, Victor Lubbers top-scoring with 51.

Ferdi Vink claimed three for 37, Nic Adendorff three for 32 and Julian de Mey three for 23.

HBS then took just 32 overs to reach their target, Tobias Visée making 36 and Tim Drummond 44, with Kyle Klein and De Mey together at the end as the home side won by three wickets.