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Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 29/06/18

With six games scheduled for the coming weekend, attention turns to the mid-table for the eleventh round of Topklasse matches where several clubs will be looking to distance themselves from a looming relegation battle, or face must-win matches to maintain their title hopes.

BdJ: For Dosti-United the former is likely the principal concern, having sunk back into the lower half of the table after a bright start to the season. They have two chances this weekend to climb back up toward relative safety, the first a rescheduled 7th-round match against Punjab Rotterdam, currently languishing at the bottom of the pile with just a solitary win.

Dosti will start as favourites at home, but their recent slide has highlighted their dependence on league lead run-scorer Taru Kohli to post winning totals. They themselves have managed to avoid defeat only once this season without a Kohli century, and he has gone scoreless in their last two games. Yet against a Punjab attack that has yet to bowl anyone out this season another ton looks at least as likely as another duck and with three other bats having racked up 200+ runs and Mohammad Hafeez leading the wicket-taking table the Amsterdammers are hardly a one man band.

While their opponents can take heart from the return of Stephan Myburgh, the Netherlands opener is still not fully fit and may not play both games at the weekend. And Punjab have barely looked competitive without him. Myburgh remains their lead run-scorer despite having sat out four games, and despite showing some admirable fight against Excelsior last week it’s hard to argue Punjab haven’t earned their place at the bottom of the table.

RL: Having pushed Excelsior all the way last Sunday Punjab may go into this game with a certain degree of hope – if not confidence – despite their lowly position in the table. Ashan Bamunusinghe has been a slightly surprising keystone of both their batting line-up and their attack, but he and Barend Vorster have received too little support from the rest of the team. Myburgh’s battle for fitness is obviously a continuing concern, and against a Dosti outfit which is capable of much more than they have shown in recent weeks the visitors are likely to struggle.

BdJ: Punjab’s real four-pointer will come on Sunday however, when they face their nearest rivals for the wooden spoon ACC at the Zomercomplex. ACC currently have a 2 point lead over the Rotterdammers, though that may not be the case by the time they meet. Though ACC’s lamentable lack of bench strength was pointed out as a weakness before the season began, but few would have picked them as relegation contenders. They were exposed again by HBS last week however, losing by a calamitous 173 runs as they collapsed to 62 all-out. The promotion of Richardt Frenz to partner Rehmat Zulfiqar at the top of the order has paid off on occasion, but the middle order remains fragile and the tail long.

Whether Punjab have the bowling to capitalise is questionable of course, but likewise ACC’s attack has lacked for penetration at times. Devon Botha has had a creditable debut season thus far but is arguably rather wasted on Dutch wickets, and should Myburgh play one suspects he’ll enjoy himself. Given that two of the three wins these teams have between them have been built on big opening partnerships, and there’s little reason to expect different come Sunday.

RL: ACC provided Punjab with their sole victory so far, when Myburgh and Raza shared a big opening partnership at Het Loopveld back in May. Neither has repeated that form in such a sustained way since, although in the former’s case that is scarcely surprising. Both teams show the shallowness of the talent pool at the highest domestic level, raising legitimate questions about the wisdom of the ten-team Topklasse format. Yet the best of the ACC squad (most of them named Zulfiqar) would grace any team, and they have been much more prolific with the bat in recent weeks – last Sunday’s dramatic collapse against HBS excepted. This is a crucial match for both teams, and even more a must-win occasion for Punjab than for their visitors.

BdJ: Also still in the relegation mix are Quick Haag, who will be Dosti’s second opponents this weekend. If Dosti have looked dependent on Kohli thus far, Quick have been no less so on Jay Bista, who remains the only Quick bat to have passed 200 runs this season. Another side that might be said to be in a transitional phase, Quick have tested a number of youth and former second team players this season, but their depth has thus far proved as lacking as that of ACC. Though seamer Josh Davey has proved a solid signing for them and Bista’s current 3rd spot in the run aggregates probably undersells his talents, the two overseas have lacked any consistent support from the rest of the side who, Geert Maarten Mol apart, have looked an underperforming team that wasn’t too strong in the first place.

RL: This, too, is a vital match for both sides, with Quick just one win clear of ACC and Dosti currently only just ahead of Quick on points average. A mid-table position beckons for the winner, but the loser may face a nerve-wracking battle in the weeks ahead. Quick have indeed looked vulnerable for much of the season, and while a late rally spared at least some of their blushes against VRA last Sunday the collapse of the top and middle order confirms that concern. The attack, too, lacks bite and the variation provided in different ways by Henk-Jan Mol and Asief Hoseinbaks last year, and undoubtedly Dosti have the batsmen in Vinoo Tewarie, Kohli, Rahil Ahmed and Anees Davids to take full advantage.

: The league’s new front-runner VOC Rotterdam meanwhile will take on the mercurial HCC at Hazelaarweg, looking to consolidate their place at the top of the table. Though HCC will be coming off the back of a crunching win over erstwhile front-runners Sparta, the odds are against them taking two points back from Rotterdam. Given the traditionally slow and spin-friendly conditions at Hazelaarweg the Hagenaars’ principal match winners Ali Ahmed Qasim and Hidde Overdijk are unlikely to be at their most effective, whilst the conditions are expected to play in favour of VOC’s spinners Umar Baker and current MVP favourite Pieter Seelaar. Even without Max O’Dowd, Ahsan Malik and probably Corey Rutgers, the hosts head into the game with the wind in their sails and the bookies’ backing.

RL: If m’colleague’s reading of the Hazelaarweg conditions is correct, then the influence of Ryan Ninan on this match should not be under-estimated. He bowled with great control last week while Ali Ahmed Qasim was creating havoc at the other end, and is likely to find the Rotterdam environment much more to his liking. VOC’s batting was in early trouble against Dosti last Sunday, and they too needed a vigorously wagging tail to set an adequate target. I think this may be a closer game than many expect, and while the strength of their batting leads me to favour VOC on balance, it would not surprise me if the leadership of the table had again changed hands by Sunday evening.

BdJ: Tougher to call will be VRA’s return match against defending champions Excelsior ‘20, who travel to the Bos without the usual benefit of a well-established winning habit. The Schiedammers looked altogether unconvincing against bottom-placed Punjab last week, clinging on for a 19-run win to break an all-but unprecedented 2-game losing streak. Nonetheless Excelsior’s lower-middle order again showed an encouraging resilience after the bedrock pair of Ingram and Hilditch both fell cheaply, suggesting that containing or removing the pair remains a necessary but not sufficient condition for besting the title-holders.

VRA certainly have the attack to do it, though the continued side-lining of Vivian Kingma means skipper Van den Burg does not have quite the flexibility he might like should anyone have an off-day. Moreover, off-days have been rather par for the course in the VRA middle-order of late, which has yet to really live up to its potential thus far. In short, this looks like anyone’s game, and two points will likely go to whoever underperforms the least.

RL: Another of the three top-six encounters which this week’s draw offers, this match-up of two clubs who have won twenty championships between them in the past 26 years has plenty of history behind it as well as a fascinating immediate context. Excelsior struggled to reach a modest target of 177 when the sides met on 10 May, owing their victory to a fine innings from Hilditch, and neither has been completely convincing in recent weeks – or, in VRA’s case, all season. There’s an opportunity for one of the big guns – Ingram or Hilditch, Cooper, Borren or Gunning – to stamp their influence on the game, but the result may well depend on how much support they receive from the rest of their team.

BdJ: The round’s final game pits a resurgent HBS against former table-toppers Sparta 1888, who have struggled to maintain their early momentum into the mid-season. The Crows have not lost a game at home since their defeat at the hands of HCC in the third round, when Ali Qasim ran riot for the first time, and though in Dost Mohammad and Mudassar Bukhari Sparta have seamers capable of doing a similar job on HBS’ explosive top order, now that all four of Gomes, Barresi, Visée and Morgan have runs under their belt the chance of such a repetition looks more remote. Sparta have some big hitters of their own of course in Pollard and Bell, not to mention the belligerent Bukhari and Atse Buurman down the order also capable of clearing the ropes, so it’s tough to say what a safe first innings score might be.

RL: Sparta will return to Den Haag with the shadow of last week’s collapse hanging over them, but they will also remember the initial sting of Bukhari, Mohammad and Bell and the way they fought back to dismiss HCC for a fairly modest total. Especially at Craeyenhout, HBS has the most imposing top six in the competition, and Sparta’s five seamers and spinner Faisal Iqbal will need to be at their absolute best if they are to contain them. Warren Bell was very unlucky last week, and if he and Michael Pollard are able to take advantage of the Craeyenhout outfield we could be in for some prolific scoring, and the bowlers could be in for a tough time.

Bertus de Jong’s tips: Dosti, Dosti, VOC, VRA, Punjab, HBS.

Rod Lyall’s tips: Dosti, Dosti, VOC, Excelsior, ACC, HBS.

Rod Lyall and Bertus de Jong 21/06/18

As the Topklasse moves beyond the halfway point the first round of matches this Sunday pits each of the current top five against a team from the lower half of the table, with the former jockeying for advantage and the latter keen to stay clear of the relegation zone.

RL Having started the campaign with a home win over HCC and now sitting at the top of the table, Sparta 1888 will travel to De Diepput with a stiff breeze in their sails. With nine wickets in his last two matches Dost Muhammad has emerged as an unheralded key figure in a varied attack, while the side’s remarkable victory over ACC last week underlines what a dangerous, resilient combination the Capelle club has assembled. Michael Pollard confirmed his class with a century in that game, but his opposite number in the HCC line-up, Bryce Street, is showing signs of running into form as well. The Hagenaars certainly need him to succeed consistently, since the batting looks brittle otherwise, and the bowling fires somewhat erratically.

BdJ One imagines that Sparta’s position at the top of the table at the half-way stage likely comes as a surprise even to them, but it’s hard to call it a fluke. The two defeats they have suffered this season (at the hands of HBS and VOC) may betray a capacity for spectacular implosion, but it is remarkable how little either seems to have shaken their self-belief. Street firing either with bat or ball (or ideally both) is likely a necessary but not sufficient condition for HCC to put the brakes on the Sparta train. A return to form for Mark Jonkman might help too.

RL After starting a little shakily VOC Rotterdam have demonstrated that their strength is not just on paper, while conversely Dosti United have slumped rather since beginning the season on a high. That included, of course, an opening-day victory over Sunday’s opponents, driven by the first of Taruwar Kohli’s three hundreds so far, but he has gone cheaply in several recent innings. His side will need him to be at his best this week, even though VOC seem likely to be without international Max O’Dowd, who sustained a thigh injury during the first of the T20s against Scotland. Still, the Rotterdam side are well balanced in both batting and bowling, and with Pieter Seelaar in great form with the bat they will know that they cannot afford another slip-up if they are to maintain their challenge for the club’s first title since 1994.

BdJ O’Dowd’s addition to a sick list that already includes Ahsan Malik and possibly Corey Rutgers (bot suffering from finger trouble) does leave something of a hole in VOC’s line up, and comes as all the more bitter a blow given his recent return to form. Much will depend on skipper Pieter Seelaar, though the Dutch captain does not look a bad man to rely on just now. Averaging 93 with the bat and a shade under 11 with the ball, Seelaar looks the most valuable player in the league by a distance at the moment, certainly on a VOC pitch that has played to his strengths. Yet if Dosti are at their best Seelaar will struggle to win it on his own. Vinoo Tewarie and Rahil Ahmed stepped up admirably following Kohli’s failure last week, and despite the loss to HCC there were plenty of positives to take from the game. Mahesh Hans will doubtless also be looking forward to a trip to Hazelaarweg, and though VOC certainly start as favourites, this match looks a candidate for an upset.

RL Mention of slip-ups leads us naturally to Excelsior ‘20, whose two defeats in their last two matches have seen them knocked off the top of the table for the first time for over a year. They will have an excellent chance of getting things back on track on Sunday, when they are at home to bottom-placed Punjab Rotterdam, who may have escaped with a fine – at least for the time being – in their dispute with the KNCB over player eligibility, but who are finding life just as difficult on the field as in the committee room. With just one win in eight matches they will need to achieve a substantial turnaround in form if they are to avoid a repeat of Excelsior’s comfortable win on the opening day of the season. The champions may be overly dependent on the success of Lorenzo Ingram with the bat, but their attack remains strong, and they are likely to have too many guns for Punjab.

BdJ One suspects if Excelsior were allowed to pick their opponents next week the beleaguered Rotterdammers would likely have been near the top of the list, but arguably the reverse might just apply too. Excelsior’s vaunted discipline with the ball seemed to desert them last week when they gifted HBS some 27 extras in the innings, which can be only partly explained by apprentice wicketkeeper Woutersen’s struggles behind the sticks. Though Stephan Myburgh may only be semi-fit he will doubtless be looking forward to a return to Thurlede, and he puts on a show at the top of the order it will be interesting to seem how well Exclesior’s rattled attack hold together. Nonetheless there’s little to suggest that Punjab have the depth to really challenge the defending champions, nor, on recent showing, do they seem to have the appetite.

RL Two successive century opening stands indicate that ACC’s promotion of Richardt Frenz was an inspired move but the revival of the side’s fortunes with the bat has not been matched by the attack, and their dramatic defeat by Sparta last week will be in the backs of their minds as they take on HBS Den Haag at Het Loopveld. Nor will their cause be helped if skipper Saqib Zulfiqar’s injury, sustained during the second T20I on Wednesday, keeps him out of the side or significantly restricts his contribution. Even away from Craeyenhout the HBS top order has the firepower to cause the ACC bowlers plenty of problems, and the Amsterdammers’ win in the corresponding match at the start of the season – one of only two they have achieved so far – must now seem a very long time ago. The HBS attack, too, demonstrated against Excelsior last week that they can be an extremely effective unit.

BdJ Little argument here. ACC have looked a decent side at times, even dangerous when the Zulfiqars were all firing, and Frenz’ coming into form makes them a better team than their position on the points table suggests, but a lack of bench strength has long been an issue and they can little afford to lose even one first choice player. A key effect of Frenz taking responsibility from the top of the order has been to free the consistently underrated Rehmat Zulfiqar to pursue the sort of belligerent game which makes him arguably the most dangerous of the brothers at Topklasse level (the elder Zulfiqar has hit as many boundaries this season as his three brother combined) but even so it’s hard to see the hosts out-hitting the HBS top order.

RL Quick Haag’s defeat of VRA Amsterdam at the start of May has also proved to be a false dawn, as the Hanen have won only twice more since. They will, however, return to the scene of that success on Sunday, since the construction work at Nieuw Hanenburg means that VRA will again be playing on their own ground. VRA have problems of their own: the batting, despite some flashes of excellence, has been underwhelming overall, and with Viv Kingma on the casualty list the attack has also lacked a degree of incisiveness. Leon Turmaine has done well with both bat and ball since his return, but with Eric Szwarczynski having a miserable season the top order continues to look vulnerable. Whether Quick have the resources to make it two out of two is another question, but the game is likely to be closer than the sides’ relative positions on the table suggest.

BdJ Whilst the visiting Ross ter Braak may provide something of a temporary solution to the gap Kingma leaves in VRA’s attack, no easy solution to the misfiring middle-order presents itself. It will be interesting to see if skipper Emile van den Burg is tempted to play with the batting order or will prefer to back his batters to come good. Quick’s attack have been on the receiving end of a battering in recent weeks, and ought not to present too much of a threat to the quality in VRA’s batting card, but then the same was true last time round. Another loss to Quick would likely see VRA slip still further behind a crowded upper table and likely be the end of their title challenge, and it’s not entirely out of the question either. The man to make it happen would be Jay Bista one suspects, he missed out on his first trip to VRA after an attractive-looking 17, and Sunday may just look like a free do-over for the mumbaikar.

Rod Lyall’s tips: Sparta, VOC, Excelsior, HBS, Quick
Bertus de Jong’s tips: Sparta, VOC, Excelsior, HBS, VRA