TKcricket

Kampong come back in style

Rod Lyall 28/04/2025

Kampong Utrecht stormed back into the Topklasse in their opening game on Sunday, dismissing VOC Rotterdam for just 86 and then requiring only ten and a half overs to knock off the runs to complete a nine-wicket victory.

Put in to bat, VOC’s innings never really got out of first gear, only 27 runs coming from the opening powerplay for the loss of two wickets as seamers Shashank Kumar, Kirtan Nana and Alex Roy maintained the pressure on a helpful Maarschalkerweerd surface.

In retrospect Pieter Recordon’s patient 18 – the top score and one of only three in double figures – looks like a much better innings than it did at the time, but once Pierre Jacod trapped him in front the spinners took over, and the remaining seven wickets fell for 41 runs in the space of 16 and a half overs.

Jacod finished with four for 24, and new signing Lorenzo Ingram collected three for 12 as the Bloodhounds’ innings crumbled.

The home side’s batters then set about maximising their net run rate advantage, Damien van den Berg and Max O’Dowd taking 28 off the first four overs before Roman Harhangi removed Van den Berg for 17.

But that brought Lane Berry to the crease, and he unleashed a savage attack, smashing four fours and three sixes in a 22-ball onslaught which earned him 41 runs, while O’Dowd finished with an unbeaten 24 at the other end.

Defending champions Punjab-Ghausia Rotterdam, on the other hand, were made to battle almost all the way against a defiant HBS Craeyenhout before a 171-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Mohsin Riaz and skipper Sikander Zulfiqar decisively took the game away from the Crows.

Although HBS captain Tayo Walbrugh contributed 56, his side were in trouble at 129 for six against Punjab’s spinners, but Kyle Klein (58) and Elmar Boendermaker (59) turned the innings round with a seventh-wicket stand of 89, and the home side managed to reach a competitive 238 for eight.

It looked like it might be enough when pacemen Lehan Botha and Klein reduced the champions to 60 for four, especially since Saqib Zulfiqar had pulled a hamstring and was unlikely to bat, but Riaz and Sikander steadied the ship and gradually took control.

Riaz’s 111, made from 85 deliveries with 15 fours and three sixes, was his fourth Topklasse century, while Sikander Zulfiqar remained 71 not out, hitting eight fours, the last of them the winning boundary, and facing 96 balls.

There was a similar story at Sportpark Bermweg, where Voorburg’s hearts fluttered briefly as their batters set out in chase of Sparta 1888’s total of 210.

Former international Ahsan Malik grabbed two early wickets, as he has done so often, but at 31 for two returning overseas Gavin Kaplan was joined by Bas de Leede, turning out for his old club under a dispensation which allows a player to appear in the Dutch competition as well as one abroad when he returns to the club which raised him.

The pair put on 124 for the third wicket, De Leede making 57 of them in a knock which bodes well for the upcoming League 2 series against Canada and the UAE, and then Kaplan and skipper Noah Croes saw the 2023 champions home, Kaplan finishing it with back-to-back boundaries to end on 85 not out.

Earlier, Sparta had battled hard to set a defendable total, Kyle Klesse top-scoring with 41 before he was most unfortunately run out by a direct hit from Bas de Leede’s younger brother Tom after a misunderstanding with fellow-overseas Lucas Boorer.

Not for the first time, Umar Baker contributed valuable runs as he batted with the tail, the last two Sparta wickets adding 42, while Udit Nashier was the most successful of the Voorburg bowlers, claiming three for 40 in his first outing with his new club.

His former outfit, VRA Amsterdam, enjoyed their day in the Amsterdamse Bos, posting the highest total of the round with a solid 253 for six, and then dismissing Excelsior ’20 Schiedam for 85 to win by 168 runs and take second place on the table.

Excelsior’s attack was able to make little impression on VRA’s strong top order, opener Vikram Singh making 46, Johan Smal 64 and Teja Nidamanuru 48.

Then the new-ball pairing of Ben Fletcher and Peter Ruffell removed the openers before Shariz Ahmad ran through the rest of the batting, claiming five for 27; it was his sixth five-wicket haul in the Topklasse and leaves him one short of 100 wickets.

He received good support from dubutant Darsh Abhinay, who took two for 10 in three overs, including that of Raynard van Tonder, whose 43 showed that he will be a key player for Excelsior this season but who will clearly need to find some teammates to stay in the middle with him.

There was a similar batting collapse at De Diepput, where HCC fell apart against Excelsior’s Schiedam rivals Hermes-DVS and succumbed by 93 runs.

Hermes got off to an outstanding start after Boris Gorlee won the toss and put them in, Aryan Dutt and Ashley Ostling compiling an opening stand of 103 before Oliver White had Ostling caught at slip by Tonny Staal for 39.

That was the cue for a dramatic collapse, two more wickets falling for the addition of just one run, and the rest of the batting able to add only 88 as the Lions fought back well.

Dutt went on to make 79, his highest in the Topklasse, and Sahil Kothari contributed a dogged 30, but with Hidde Overdijk taking three for 34 and White, Daniel Crowley and Henrico Venter picking up two apiece, the innings closed on 192.

That proved to be plenty, and after Ralph Elenbaas had removed White Roy Numair took three quick wickets for 23, including an outstanding return catch to remove Staal, before Hikmatullah Jabarkhail, on his Topklasse debut, claimed three more at a cost of 21, and HCC were in desperate trouble on 59 for seven.

Yash Patel and Mark Wolfe put up some resistance, but Sahil Kothari finished things off, taking three for 4 from 25 deliveries, and HCC were all out for 99.

Topklasse Fantasy Cricket Returns

Bowing to whelming popular demand, CricketXI and TKcricket are delighted to announce the return of Topklasse Fantasy Cricket for the 2025 season.

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

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

Preview Round 1

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 23/04/25

The KNCB’s overdue decision to reduce the top divisions in the men’s competition to eight teams as from next year makes this a particularly sharp year in the Topklasse. At least two teams will be relegated, three if the eighth-placed side lose a play-off against the champions of the Hoofdklasse. Furthermore, there will be no finals round, with the title going to the side that tops the table after the double round-robin which starts this Saturday. Even more than usual, even match will be crucial.

RL: Defending champions Punjab-Ghausia Rotterdam face a tricky visit to Craeyenhout to take on HBS. But the astroturf outfield at Craeyenhout is always a bonus for hard-hitting batters, of whom the champions have no shortage, and few away fixtures will present them with as few qualms as that offered by the Crows. The home side, though, have a pretty formidable batting line-up as well, not least skipper Tayo Walbrugh, whose 1954 Topklasse runs on this ground have come at a remarkable average of 81.42, with nine centuries and seven fifties in 30 innings. Few overseas players have literally made themselves at home to that degree. Punjab, though, have a strong attack, and they have the capacity to clip the Crows’ wings. Predictions at this stage of the season are even more problematic than usual, but if the Rotterdammers are able to continue where they left off last year they might just come out on top.

BdJ: The stake-raising decision to pull the trigger on the transition to an eight-team top division has certainly put the top flight under the pump, if you’ll pardon the metaphor melange, and prompted something of a scramble for talent among the more nervous teams. Not so the defending champs though, who are understandably content with the squad that claimed the title last season. Pre-season losses at the hands of VRA and Sparta are unlikely to concern them unduly, and they did best Excelsior handily in the warm-ups with Fawad Shinwari did rack up an unbeaten ton in that game. HBS meanwhile have put in a fair few calls (and recalls) over the winter, the addition of Roelof van der Merwe and Heino Kuhn to the roster perhaps the most eye-catching signings for the season. The Craeyenhout old guard has also returned in force, with Navjit Singh and the brothers Vink expected to play a bigger role this season, and of course the return of Toby Visée at the top of the order ensuring HBS do not lack for hitting power of their own. The Crows have perhaps looked a bit undercooked in pre-season, losing by 9 wickets to VCC at the NextCommunications T20 Cup, though tough to draw any conclusions from 15 overs a side. All told they have the ingredients to prepare an ambush for the champions, and the Craeyenhout mat is something of a leveller, though taking two points off the title-holders first up would remain an upset

RL: Last year’s runners-up VRA Amsterdam start at home, welcoming Excelsior ’20 Schiedam to the Amsterdamse Bos. With potentially half-a-dozen debutants across the two sides it will be interesting to see who settles down quicker, but Excelsior have one of the most promising signings of the summer in former South African Test opener Raynard van Tonder. They also have last year’s spearhead Jason Ralston, and the attack has the cutting edge to unsettle VRA’s theoretically solid top order. How the Schiedammers adjust to the absence of Lorenzo Ingram will be one of the indicators of their ability to stay clear of the relegation zone in what looks like an even more challenging season than usual, while the home side will similarly be hoping that their new trio of overseas, Peter Ruffel, Jack Cassidy and Patrick Gouge, slot quickly into the side. Unlike tried and tested Craeyenhout, the quality of the early-season pitch under VRA’s new groundsman will also be a point of interest, but again, we wait to see which of these sides hits the ground running.

BdJ: Speaking of eye-catching acquisitions, the arrival of van Tonder and the late announcement of Belgian-Australian-Zimbabwean all-rounder Antum Naqvi at Thurlede has set tongues wagging as the season closes in. Neither of the new overseas has been tested in pre-season, but the pair, together with Jason Ralston spearheading the attack, will likely be key for Excelsior. The loss of Ingram naturally looms large and the home-grown batting looked rather suspect last season, though Stan van Troost looks in decent nick and Rens van Troost has been quietly developing into something of a wildcard down the order. If Excelsior have turned heads with name signings, VRA have adopted something of a moneyball approach. VRA’s new acquisitions will be largely unknown to any but the most dedicated followers of Associate or NZ domestic cricket, but the side looks well rounded and the locals largely boast a better track record in recent seasons than their Excelsior counterparts. Those locals may of course be called away to national commitments later in the season, leaving an already unsettled selection looking like something of a grab-bag side, but for the season opener they should be at full strength and will start as favourites.

RL: Back in the Topklasse after a two-year gap, Kampong Utrecht will be able to field Scott Edwards and Max O’Dowd when they take on the internationals’ former club, VOC Rotterdam at Maarschalkerweerd. They will also, of course, have Ingram in their ranks, bringing has vast experience to the side. Not to mention Akhil Gopinath, Salland’s most effective bowler over the past couple of seasons. Once again, the question will be how quickly VOC’s rejigged side settles into form, and the degree to which their crop of youngsters are able to build on last year’s experience. Making the most of the presence of national team members when they are available will be a key factor for several clubs, and Kampong will want to make sure of the points here and get their season off to a flying start.

BdJ: The newly promoted Kampong will likely be pleased with their winter’s work, in addition to the coup of prizing Ingram away from Thurlede, the Utrecht club have also secured the services of former VOC overseas Lane Berry, while Northern Districts’ Ben Pomare makes way for Melbourne bat Lachlan Bangs for the 2025 season. While Edwards and O’Dowd will likely be only intermittently available given the international schedule, but at full strength Kampong arguably have the most formidable batting line-up in the competition. All five were absent for some or all of the preseason, though the ebullient Damien van den Burg has looked in fine form at the top of the order, and Kampong’s front line bowlers all found wickets in their warm-up against Excelsior. VOC meanwhile, aside from switching out a couple of overseas, otherwise largely unchanged from the squad that struggled last season. But the likes of Aaditt Jain and Sieb van Wingerden are indeed all a year older, and the side will likely be undisturbed by national team call-ups across the season. Coming up against a full-strength Kampong first up is a tough assignment however, and VOC taking two points back to Rotterdam would be a remarkable result.

RL: The two oldest clubs in this year’s top flight, HCC and Hermes-DVS Schiedam, will face off at De Diepput. Having negotiated their return to the Topklasse with flying colours, the Light Blues may find this demanding campaign even more challenging, but in Asad Zulfiqar and Sahil Kothari they have two additions to their squad who may compensate them for the loss of CP Klijnhans. They will be hoping to get more out of Aryan Dutt’s presence than was possible last season, but HCC at home are never an easy proposition, always presuming that the predicted fine weather for the opening weekend in fact eventuates. The Lions, of course, are still more reinforced, with Clayton Floyd and Henrico Venter rejoining the colours, and a complete change of the overseas guard. Another tough one to call, but I’m going with home advantage – just!

BdJ: Probably the toughest of a tough set of games to call, while HCC had the better of Hermes last season there’s been sufficient personnel changes to muddy the waters there somewhat. How quickly HCC’s new overseas adapt to Dutch conditions could be determinative, though Ollie White at least has had the benefit of half a season in the Netherlands last year. Hermes new acquisitions are largely local, with Belgian legspinner Dewald Dumon no stranger to Dutch competition while Kothari and Zulfiqar are of course seasoned Topklasse campaigners. Overseas opening pair Daniel Doyle Calle and Ashley Ostling are similarly well settled now, though whether anyone ever truly acclimatises to an away fixture at de Diepput is questionable.

RL: In a very promising start, Sparta’s new overseas Kyle Klesse and Lukas Boorer saw them home a couple of weeks ago with an unbroken stand of 80 to beat defending champions Punjab, after local boy Jochem Steenbergen had given them a decent start with a half-century, and Klesse followed this up with a century against a Bloemendaal XI last weekend. With Ahsan Malik claiming four wickets in the former match, Joost-Martijn Snoep’s side will have plenty of grounds for optimism as they welcome 2023 champions Voorburg to the Bermweg. If they’re at full strength, though, the Villagers (I really want to call them that in the absence of another nickname, and I reckon it’s one they should wear with pride) have plenty of firepower with both bat and ball, and Sparta will need to be at their absolute best if they are start their season with a win.

BdJ: The unfancied Spartans have arguably had the best showing in the pre-season warm-ups thus far, with both their new overseas looking astute acquisitions. Indeed there will be growing concern at Bermweg that the German selectors will come calling for Klesse at some point in the season. Come Sunday though they will presumably be at full strength and in some form, presenting a tricky opening assignment for Voorburg. The 2023 Champions had a somewhat disappointing 2024 season, failing to reach the final for the first time in four years, but look appreciably stronger this time round with the addition of Zimbabweans Patient Charumbira and Carl Mumba, as well as Melbourne youngster Henry Melville. The return of Gavin Kaplan, whose early departure last season saw VCC’s campaign lose momentum, further bolsters what looks an intimidating line-up.

RL’s picks: [degree of confidence: about 30%] Punjab, Excelsior, Kampong, HCC, Voorburg.

BdJ’s picks: Punjab, VRA, Kampong, HCC, Voorburg.

2025 Preview 5: VRA and Punjab-Ghausia

Rod Lyall 20/04/2025

Having leapt from seventh in 2023 to runners-up last year, VRA Amsterdam will be keen to go one better this time round and claim their first championship since 2011.

Last season’s improvement was driven by a sustained campaign of recruitment, both locally and from overseas, contrasting sharply with the youth development policy which had been pursued by Peter Borren during his time in charge in the Amsterdamse Bos.

One of those recruits, left-arm spinner Clayton Floyd, has now returned whence he came, while one of the most promising of the younger brigade, Udit Nashier, has gone to pursue his development with Voorburg; on the other hand, Shreyas Potdar has joined the squad, transferring across Amstelveen from relegated ACC.

The Amsterdammers have also signed three new overseas: New Zealanders Peter Ruffel and Jack Cassidy, and, unusually, Jersey’s Patrick Gouge.

Ruffell, a pace bowler who replaces Elijah Eales in the attack, has played for Auckland Under-19s and hails from Westlake Boys’ High School, which also produced Max O’Dowd and brothers Daniel and Ross ter Braak.

Wellington-born Cassidy, a wicketkeeper-batter who will succeed Demari Prince behind the stumps, plays for the illustrious Cornwall club in Auckland.

22-year-old Gouge has played for several English clubs, and has appeared eight times for Jersey across two formats, his best score 52 in a T20I against Spain in April last year; in addition to his batting, his leg spin will be useful to his new club given the departure of Floyd and Nashier.

They do, however, still have the services of Dutch international wrong’un specialist Shariz Ahmad, who has also developed into a valuable middle-order batter; he topped VRA’s batting averages last season with 323 runs at 46.14.

The Amsterdam club will also be delighted to see the return of Teja Nidamanuru, who missed all but two matches of the 50-over competition last season through injury. He will resume the captaincy, and will be an important factor when national team duties permit his availability.

The same applies to opener Vikram Singh, who seldom showed his best form with the bat in 2024 after a mercurial season the year before.

The squad has plenty of bowling options, with left-armers Ben Fletcher and Ashir Abid alongside Ruffell and Sharad Hake, who broke into the Topklasse side towards the end of last season and bowled some useful spells.

Nidamanuru sees an increased role this year for youngsters Ibaad Zaidi and Darsh Abhinay, who have made considerable progress over the winter.

‘We definitely want to go one better this year,’ he says, and we believe we have the squad to do that.’

‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ seems to have been the watchword for Punjab-Ghausia Rotterdam over the winter, and the defending champions have opted firmly for the mixture as before.

The only real change is the departure of Asad Zulfiqar to Hermes, but he had played much less frequently in the first team following the arrival of Belgian-based wicketkeeper Fawad Shinwari at the Zomercomplex.

Shinwari warmed up with a century against Excelsior in the side’s first game a couple of weeks ago, and adds another dimension to a batting line-up which also includes, among local players, Musa Ahmad and the remaining Zulfiqars, Saqib and skipper Sikander.

But the real power was provided last year by Musa’s opening partner Shoaib Minhas, the enormously destructive Jonathan Vandiar, and Mohsin Riaz, all of whom are back this season.

Together they make an extremely solid top six, probably the most consistent in the competition, and few sides will relish the trip to the Zomercomplex.

But equally, the well-balanced attack has the knack of strangling opponents’ batting, with evergreen Suleiman Tariq often bowling ten extremely testing overs of seam first up, overseas Ahmad Shafiq providing accurate spin from the other end, and then Kamal Sajjad and Sikander Zulfiqar continuing the pace attack and Saqib Zulfiqar contributing teasing leg spin.

Should they be needed, Mubashar Hussain, Burhan Niaz and Minhas can all chip in with some useful overs, while Khurram Shahzad stepped up towards the end of last season after the departure of Shafiq and played an important part in Punjab’s taking the title.

Musa and the brothers Zulfiqar are, of course, all former internationals, and one or more of them might well receive a call-up during the summer, especially given the likely unavailability of the national side’s county-contracted players.

And if strength in depth should be needed, the Rotterdammers claimed the championship last year without calling on the reserves they acquired through their merger with Ghausia Feijenoord, although Danish Ateeq, Aon Mohammad Cheema and Bilal Saleem, among others, all played significant roles in the Second XI’s successful season in the Eerste Klasse.

All in all, then, Punjab look in good shape to defend their title, and they should be there or thereabouts when the competition reaches its denouement at the start of August.

2025 Preview 4: Voorburg and HCC

Rod Lyall 19/04/2025

Champions in 2024 and defeated semi-finalists last year, Voorburg will be delighted to welcome back South African Gavin Kaplan, who topped the season’s batting averages with 701 runs at 77.89, hitting four centuries and three fifties in just ten innings.

Given that he also chipped in with 15 wickets at 18.67, he had a strong claim to be the overseas player of the year, and there is no doubt that the Westvliet club missed him sorely in their last five games, when he had returned to South Africa.

He will be joined this year by two Zimbabweans, 30-year-old international Carl Mumba and former Under-19 international Patient Charumbira, the latter making the short journey from HCC.

Mumba, who played 19 times for Zimbabwe across the three formats between 2016 and 2021, will reinforce an already strong Voorburg pace attack, which includes Viv Kingma – whose appearances may well be limited by national team commitments – and the steadily-improving Mees van Vliet, even if fitness problems continue to make Ryan Klein a useful off-spinner rather than one of the competition’s most effective pace bowlers.

Charumbira, too, is a more than useful medium-pacer, as well as a hard-hitting lower order batter.

Another acquisition is 20-year-old Australian Henry Melville, who plays for Melbourne University in the Victorian Premier competition.

A wicketkeeper and useful middle-order bat, Melville will perhaps be competing for the gloves with young Cedric de Lange when skipper Noah Croes is absent on national team duty; gifted behind the stumps, De Lange’s batting showed signs of growing maturity last summer, and with a maiden Topklasse half-century behind him he will be looking to establish his place in the side.

Voorburg have also picked up former national Under-18 captain Udit Nashier, who moves to Westvliet from VRA, where he only bowled six overs of spin in the Topklasse last season and, notably, posted his maiden half-century against the club he is now joining.

The only departure is Stijn de Leede, who has decided to try his luck with Hoofdklasse club Quick Haag this season.

With Michael Levitt (when fit and available), Nehaan Gagani and Nirav Kulkarni in the batting line-up, and Laurens Boissevain and youngsters like Alejo Nota and Tom de Leede also in the squad, Voorburg have enviable strength in depth, which will likely be a crucial factor given the club’s strong representation in the national set-up.

Skipper Croes recognises that restricted availability creates uncertainties, but believes that his squad is strong enough to challenge for a place in the top four, and possibly even head the table in this year’s playoffless competition format.

‘It will be a really interesting year with a format which is very positive for Dutch cricket,’ he says, ‘and the exposure which our younger players gained last year will stand us in good stead.

‘It’s really cool that Gavin Kaplan is coming back, and Henry Melville is a genuine problem-solver, who will adapt well to changing playing surfaces.’

There are big changes at HCC, with none of last year’s three overseas back this year, and an influx of locally-based players to join a new brace of imports.

One of the latter is New Zealander Oliver White, who had the tricky task of replacing Kaplan at Voorburg at the end of last season, but is now back for a full campaign at De Diepput.

Now back with Northern Districts, where he started his career, the left-arm spinning allrounder will be joined at HCC by another member of the Northern Districts squad, South African-born pace bowler Josh Brown.

Brown has broken into ND’s Plunkett Shield side over the Southern Hemisphere summer, and will doubtless slot into the new-ball spot vacated by Adam Leonard.

Equally significant for HCC’s prospects, though, is likely to be the return of Clayton Floyd and Henrico Venter from VRA and HBS respectively: Floyd had a relatively quiet season with VRA last year, but HCC will be hoping that he can return to the sort of form which saw him claim 37 Topklasse wickets in 2021 at a cost of 7.32 apiece.

Venter, who last played for HCC in 2023, has accumulated 60 Topklasse wickets for his three clubs, but had limited opportunities at HBS last year and will be looking for a more significant role following his return to De Diepput.

Other arrivals include youngsters Mark Wolfe and Dinand van Hommel, transferring from ACC and Hermes-DVS respectively, and South African Jayden Peskin, who was Western Province CC’s Most Improved Player for the 2023/24 season.

These seven join the club’s established players, again led by Boris Gorlee, who like Tonny Staal enjoyed only intermittent success last year. Both will be looking to recover something of the form which took them into the Dutch national side a couple of years ago, and which contributed significantly to the side’s Topklasse championship run in 2023.

The same applies to the middle-order contribution with the bat by allrounder Hidde Overdijk, although he remains a very effective member of the pace attack, having claimed 15 wickets last year at 15.88.

Among the younger brigade, Teun Kloppenburg, after a very productive introduction to the top flight in which he hit three successive half-centuries, had a poor run towards the end of last season and will be looking to get back into his best form, and Shirsak Banerjee will also hope to consolidate his place in the top order.

Seamer Teun Leijer’s 17 wickets in his first season at De Diepput was a very promising start, and he will again form part of a traditionally-strong HCC seam attack, alongside Brown, Overdijk and Daniel Crowley, the leading wicket-taker last year with 22 at 25.27.

2025 Preview 3: Hermes and HBS

Rod Lyall 15/04/2025

Newly promoted last season, Hermes-DVS Schiedam could be thoroughly satisfied with their position in the top six, and will be looking to consolidate that achievement in the new campaign.

They will be aided in that endeavour by the acquisition of wicketkeeper-batter Asad Zulfiqar from Punjab-Ghausia – thus splitting up the triplets for the first time since they made their debut for ACC at the age of 15 back in 2012 – and seamer Sahil Kothari, back after a season with ACC.

The arrival of Zulfiqar at Sportpark Harga might mean relatively few games this season for 50-year-old Nick Statham, who kept wicket regularly last year and who needs just three more matches to become the second player to post 500 in the top flight – only René Schoonheim, with 583, has played more.

Kothari, who claimed 18 wickets last year in ACC’s unsuccessful battle to stay up, joins a seam attack which also includes skipper Sebastiaan Braat, brothers Olivier and Ralph Elenbaas, and Niels Woermeijer

Of last year’s overseas, CP Klijnhans will not be returning, but Ashley Ostling is back to resume his prolific opening partnership with Spanish international Daniel Doyle Calle.

Ostling’s 526 runs last season at 43.83 was a big factor in the side’s success, while Doyle’s strike rate of 121.43 put him at the top of the table of quick-scoring batters.

National team commitments will presumably again restrict the appearances of Aryan Dutt, who only played four 50-over matches for Hermes last season, but the spin department will be strengthened by the advent of 24-year-old leg-spinner and Belgian international Dewald Dumon, who played ten T20Is for Belgium last year.

Dumon had a successful season with Eerste Klasse (third-division) club Hercules Utrecht in 2023, claiming 34 wickets at an average of 17.00, and he could form a useful partnership with Dutt when they are both available.

Others who will be vying for a place in the side include another Belgian-based player in Abdul Jabar Jabarkhail, joined this year by leg-spinner Hikmat Jabarkhail, youngsters Sam van Giezen and Rinck van Dam, both of whom made a couple of appearances last year, and such seasonedcampaigners as Zaffar Chaudhary and Roy Numair.

Captain Braat is optimistic about the new campaign: ‘Having gained sixth place in our first year back,’ he says, ‘we’ll be looking for a top-four place this time, although we realise that other clubs have been building their squads over the winter as well.

‘It will be a tough competition, but we have a broad choice of players and we are certainly hoping to build on last year’s achievements.’

HBS Craeyenhout, too, can look back on a relatively successful 2024, but like Hermes will doubtless be conscious of this season’s expansion of the relegation zone.

Tayo Walbrugh, who often skippered the side last year in the absence of Wesley Barresi, takes over the captaincy on a regular basis, and be supported by a strong contingent of fellow South Africans on and off the field.

Lehan Botha returns after making a valuable contribution last season, and will be joined by countrymen Jayden Rossouw and Sellin de Beer, the latter a late replacement for the injured Ruan Terblanche.

Rossouw is a tall off-spinner who has played for both Loughborough University and the Ashby Hastings club in Leicestershire, while de Beer, a graduate of Mpumalanga’s cricket academy, is a young allrounder.

But perhaps the most striking feature of the Crows’ team list is the presence of both Heino Kuhn and Roelof van der Merwe, who bring enormous coaching experience, not to mention quite a bit of the on-field variety to their new roles.

Kuhn, who played four Tests and seven T20Is for South Africa, averaged 56.34 with the bat in four seasons with ACC between 2011 and 2023, and although at 41 he may not appear regularly in the Topklasse side, his presence behind the scenes will be invaluable, not least for promising young wicketkeeper Martijn Scholte and his rival for the gloves, Lucas del Bianco.

And the same is true of Van der Merwe, a few months younger than Kuhn, whose international career with the Proteas extended to 13 ODIs and the same number of T20Is, followed by 18 ODIs and 47 T20Is for the Netherlands as well as very successful stints with Somerset and a dozen T20 franchise teams around the world.

Famously competitive, he has had a hand in several of the Dutch men’s most significant victories, and he is likely to be a powerful force at Craeyenhout.

The attack will again be spearheaded by Botha and, subject to national team commitments, Kyle Klein, whose outstanding start to his international career may well make him one of the first names on Dutch coach Ryan Cook’s team-list.

They will be backed up by De Beer, Benno Boddendijk and, possibly, by Del Bianco, who shed the gloves towards the end of last season and revealed some lively pace and genuine aggression with the ball.

With the spin of Rossouw and Julien de Mey the Crows will have a well-balanced attack, while the top order, with new captain Tayo Walbrugh and his predecessor Wesley Barresi, looks to be good for plenty of runs.

Walbrugh is delighted that he can look for greater involvement of several of Craeyenhout’s old hands, like explosive opener Tobias Visée, seamer Ferdi Vink, and middle-order batter Navjit Singh, all of whom are likely to be available more regularly.

‘The boys are really excited to get going, and it’s an honour and a privilege to have Heino and Roelof as part of the set-up.

We know that they, like Kyle Klein, will have big commitments with the national side, but they will really make a difference.

‘We want to play a quality, positive brand of cricket, and we will need to strike the right balance of youth and experience to make HBS a force, not just this season, but for five or ten years to come.’

2025 Preview 2: Sparta and VOC

Rod Lyall 12/04/2025

No club, perhaps, has undergone as great a transformation over the winter as Sparta 1888, who may find themselves facing an even sharper battle than usual against a return to the Hoofdklasse.

Last year’s leading overseas, Riley Mudford, is not returning, while Will Clarke has moved to Kent club side Bromley and Cameron Fraser, who took 29 wickets last year, has also departed.

Among local players, Faizan Bashir has moved to lower-division club Royal Punjab, and Sandeep Sardha has decided to call it a day.

On the credit side, the Capelle club has signed 30-year-old South African Kyle Klesse and 18-year-old Australian Lukas Boorer; both are wicketkeepers and hence may be vying for Mudford’s place behind the stumps, but Boorer in particular has had a great season with Tuggeranog Valley in the ACT League, including a recent, unbeaten 111 against Western District, and both are likely to command a place in Sparta’s all-too-often fragile top order.

They will also continue to enjoy the services of New Zealander Sam Ferguson, back for a third season, and South African Juandre Scheepers, who topped the side’s run-scoring last year with 419 at 52.38 as well as bowling some useful spells.

Ferguson, moreover, will be joined by elder brother Tim, since both are now living and working in the Netherlands.

Having greatly missed former internationals Mudassar Bukhari and Ahsan Malik from the attack last season, skipper Joost-Martijn Snoep is delighted at the prospect of Malik being more regularly available this time round.

His ability to claim early wickets will add cutting power to a pace attack which also includes Snoep himself, who has now claimed 105 Topklasse wickets at a very respectable 21.92, and the dangerous Khalid Ahmadi, not to mention brothers Max and Tom Hoornweg.

Spin will again be provided by Umar Baker and Manminder Singh, both useful lower-order batters into the bargain.

It is, however, the batting which has often been Sparta’s Achilles heel in the past, and Snoep will be looking for more substantial contributions from Shaquille Martina and young Prithvi Balwantsingh.

Snoep remains optimistic: ‘There’s no team we can’t beat on our day,’ he says, ‘and we’re going to try to win every game.

‘If we play a whole season of good cricket and end up in the bottom two or three or whatever it is now, we’ll be at peace with that.’

VOC Rotterdam similarlycontinue to be something of an enigma, a team which consistently contrives to be less than the sum of its parts.

Compensating for the loss of Edwards and O’Dowd last year by signing four overseas players, they again failed to make it into the top six, although their overseas foursome did top their batting averages and they were handicapped to a degree by a mid-season injury to allrounder Jock McKenzie.

Of the four, only Dutch passport holder Jason van der Meulen is back this season, and he will be looking to build on a promising first season with the club.

He will be joined by 21-year-old New Zealander Scott Janett, who has just broken into the Canterbury side, and the South African Christiaan Oberholzer, who had an outstanding season with Walton on Thames in the Surrey Championship last year.

Both bat right-handed and are leg-break exponents, so the Bloodhounds will be looking to their local talent to supply an effective seam attack.

They will hope for further progress from Aaditt Jain, still only 17, and Roman Harhangi, both of whom did enough last year to suggest that they are genuine prospects, Harhangi’s 5-33 against Sparta one of the side’s best performances of the season.

The two youngsters were well backed up by the veteran Jelte Schoonheim, who has the knack of breaking partnerships as well as playing useful knocks in the lower middle order, while spin is again provided by Aadditt Jain’s elder brother Arnav, just back from captaining the European Under-23 side at Lord’s, Asief Hoseinbaks, last season’s leading wicket-taker for the Bloodhounds, and Ramdas Upadhyaya.

But with Janett and Oberholzer both purveying their leg-spin, skipper Tim de Kok will not be short of options once the shine has gone off the ball.

As with Sparta, though, the real need is for more consistency from the locally-based batters, and De Kok, who had a very disappointing season by his standards, will be looking to raise his own game as well as hoping for more regular contributions from opener Francois Fourie.

Coach Pierce Fletcher, joined this year by former international Stephan Myburgh, also has a cohort of other players he can draw on, including Mussayab Jamil, who showed some promise in his limited opportunities last season, Rohan Malik, and back-up opener Pieter Recordon.

There is no question that if they can put it all together VOC have the potential to move well clear of those two or three relegation spots.

2025 Preview 1: Kampong and Excelsior

Rod Lyall 09/04/2025

Back in the Topklasse after a two-year absence, Kampong Utrecht will be keen to ensure that their stay in the top flight lasts longer this time than their single, Covid-related season in 2022.

Since then, of course, they have acquired the services of internationals Scott Edwards and Max O’Dowd, and if their commitments with the national side are likely to mean that their appearances for Kampong are limited, they will provide plenty of star quality when they do turn out for their club.

The Utrecht side will also have the benefit of the allround skills of Lorenzo Ingram, who has ended his 11-year, 171-match relationship with Excelsior ’20 Schiedam, in which he contributed 5912 Topklasse runs at 44.79 and claimed 221 wickets at 18.21.

Few overseas players have given such long service so profitably, and he is likely to make a significant contribution to Kampong’s drive to stay up; with two automatic relegation spots this year thanks to the KNCB’s reorganisation of the competitions and the side finishing eighth facing a play-off against the Hoofdklasse champions, the safety of a mid-table position will be every club’s first ambition.

The Maarschalkerweerd club will also welcome Western Australian Lane Berry, who had a very successful season with VOC Rotterdam in 2023, when Edwards and O’Dowd were his team-mates, and Kampong will be hoping he can replicate the form which earned him 674 runs at 51.85 for the Bloodhounds.

Also coming from Australia is 25-year-old allrounder Lachlan Bangs, whose left-arm pace will add some fizz to an attack which includes captain Alex Roy, last year’s leading wicket-taker Shashank Kumar, Kirtan Nana, Saurabh Zalpuri and youngster Gert Swanepoel.

Another important contribution to their batting, alongside those of Berry and Ingram, will likely come from South African-born opener Damien van den Berg, whose 566 runs at 35.38 last season made a significant contribution to their Hoofdklasse title and earned him call-ups for the Pro Series and the Dutch A side.

He and O’Dowd could form a strong opening partnership, with wicketkeeper Ratha Alphonse, who returned from HCC last season and also played a significant part in the side’s promotion, a potential stand-in when O’Dowd is on international duty.

With Pierre Jacod and the improving Tushar Sharma providing spin options the core squad looks more than strong enough to challenge for that mid-table spot, and in a season in which reserve capacity is likely to be a crucial factor Kampong have enough talent and experience to go into the campaign with a fair degree of confidence.

With the loss of not only Ingram but also of Victor Lubbers, who returns to Salland after one season at Thurlede, Excelsior ’20 have made two of the most attractive signings of the winter in the person of former South African Test opener Raynard van Tonder and the 25-year-old Belgo-Zimbabwean Antum Naqvi.

Van Tonder, now 26, has had a great first-class season with North West, hitting a century and three fifties in eight innings, and he should bring greater solidity to an Excelsior line-up which showed a disturbing tendency to crumble last year.

The only issue facing the Schiedam club is whether his availability will be affected by his possible selection for South Africa A.

Few players have a more intriguing CV than Naqvi, who was born in Brussels but who grew up in Australia before moving to Zimbabwe, where he made his first-class debut for the Mid West Rhinos in January 2023, scoring centuries in his first two first-class innings.

A right-handed bat and off-break bowler, his allround skills should be invaluable, and Excelsior will be hoping that he proves an outstanding replacement for the departed Ingram.

The attack will again be spearheaded by Australian James Ralston, whose 38 wickets at 14.84 last season was a crucial factor in the side’s avoidance of relegation; not only did his ability to rip the top off opposing batting line-ups give Excelsior a vital edge, but his new-ball partnership with the rapidly-improving Jens Blankestein made a real contribution to the Schiedam club’s future.

Excelsior, too, have joined the movement towards a larger cohort of overseas players, a fourth member of their squad being the South Australian Sam Rahaley.

Part of the Kensington side which has just won the state’s first-grade competition, Rahaley will slot into the middle order at Thurlede, while his off-breaks will provide another option once Ralston, Blankestein and left-armer Niels Etman have exploited the new ball.

The locally-produced contingent is not greatly different from that which brought the trophy to Thurlede three times in four seasons between 2016 and 2019, but it’s fair to say that that youthful cohort has not lived up to the promise its showed back then, and they have greatly missed the leadership of Tom Heggelman in the middle.

The news, therefore, that he will be more involved in coaching this year will be welcomed on Excelsior’s side of Schiedam.

With a plentiful supply of Kroesens – batter and leg-spinners Joost and Luuk, and pace man Gijs – and Van Troosts – pace bowler and useful lower middle-order batter Rens, and emerging batter Stan – there will be some strong competition for a spot in the first-choice eleven.

Skipper Roel Verhagen and his fellow-opener Tim Etman had modest seasons last year, but with less pressure on them given the rejigged top order they will be looking to reassert themselves this time round, and with likely few disruptions from international call-ups Excelsior should have a decent crack at one of those coveted mid-table positions.

KNCB tweaks its competition plans

Rod Lyall 07/04/2025

Following feedback on its plans from the KNCB Special General Meeting on 13 March, the Board has made a number of adjustments to the reorganisation of the domestic competitions.

The destination – Toplasse and Hoofdklasse divisions of eight teams, two Eerste Klasse divisions, each of eight teams – remains the same, but the path towards it has been changed in order to make it more palatable to those who feel unduly threatened by the possibility of relegation.

The most immediate is that whichever Topklasse team finishes eighth this season, a position which under the original proposal would have led to automatic relegation, will now have a partial reprieve in the form of a play-off against the Hoofdklasse champions.

This is a measure which has been used in the past when there have been reductions in the number of teams in a division, and seems a logical way of ensuring that the eight best-qualified teams take part in the Topklasse in 2026.

A more substantial change, although it will only take effect next year, is that in 2026, for one season only, there will be two eight-team sections in the Hoofdklasse.

The effect of this will be, For One Year Only, to bring four teams up from the Eerste Klasse, giving a total of 16 teams a chance to claim one of the eight places in the 2027 Hoofdklasse.

The other eight will drop down into a two-section Eerste Klasse, settling the total number of teams in the top three divisions at 32, compared with the 30 which have that status at present.

It should be noted that this process will play out independently in the 50-over and T20 competitions, which might well mean that by 2027 there will be greater differentiation between the rankings in the two formats: a strong T20 side could in theory reach the Topklasse in that format while the same club’s 50-over side was still playing in the Eerste Klasse.

Already, after just two seasons of independent promotion and relegation, eight teams from the top three divisions will be playing at different levels in the two formats, and this can only be expected to develop further over the coming years.

KNCB faces pushback on domestic structure overhaul

Bertus de Jong 12/03/2025

The beleaguered KNCB board headed by Guido Landheer will face further tribulation tomorrow, as they look to face down opposition to the overhaul of the domestic one-day competition structure that was announced in January. A number of clubs from various divisions, including Sparta 1888, VRA, Dosti, Hercules, Rood en Wit, Salland CC, VVV, Quick 1888 and Qui Vive among others, moved last month to request a Bijzondere Algemene Ledenvergadering (Special General Members Meeting) to reconsider the proposed changes, and that meeting has been duly scheduled for tomorrow (March 13th).

Perhaps unsurprisingly Hoofdklasse clubs comprise a substantial proportion of the remonstrants, more than half the current competitors in the second division adding their voices to the call. Under the current proposal the Hoofdklasse will see fully half of the current field relegated at the end of the coming season, with five teams dropping down to an enlarged Eersteklasse for 2026, to make room for three relegated Topklasse teams and the promotion of the 2025 Eersteklasse champions.

Speaking on behalf of the clubs appellant, former national team captain and sometime KNCB vice chair Steven Lubbers stressed that the appeal for a BALV was a move of last resort, but the group saw no other option. Lubbers, who has long advocated a broader pyramid with expedited promotion especially at the lower end of the ladder, told TKcricket that the remonstrant clubs felt there were significant deficiencies both in the process and that led to the new structure revealed in January, as well as the outcome.

Lubbers argues that the relegation of half of the Hoofdklasse would leave those clubs in an appreciably weaker position vis-a-vis local councils and rival sports when it came to Topsport subsidies and competition for facilities. Lubbers also echoed an observation which several commentators have raised regarding the board’s proposed promotion/relegation scheme for 2025/26, namely that the absence of any relegation playoffs means that sides in lower divisions enjoy a perverse advantage in jockeying for position for 2026. A team now in the Eersteklasse, for example, need only win that division (effectively placing 21st on the ladder) to win promotion to the Hoofklasse for 2026 while a team starting in the Hoofdklasse would have to place in the top five (essentially 15th in the full rankings) to retain their place.

Lubbers had previously championed and alternate plan which had come to be known as Voorstel Salland, which envisioned broadening the pyramid structure substantially all the way up to the Hoofdklasse, which under the Salland plan would be split into two pools and expanded to 16 or more teams, while lower divisions would also be expanded and slip into more pools – a format which Lubbers argues would both alleviate competitive pressure on clubs while allowing for expedited promotion.

Former VRA chair John Wories, who has played a leading role in the opposition to the new structure, observed in a memo circulated to clubs early last month that “expanded relegation will increase the pressure on clubs for extra reinforcement with foreign players/coaches” further crowding out homegrown youth talent on the field while limiting other expenditure “if only because financial resources would be used for [overseas recruitment] rather than for improving facilities (including grass wickets), strengthening participation and developing (young) players.” Indeed while early indications suggest that we may be on course for record spending on overseas talent for the coming season, at least in the Hoofdklasse. That in and of itself may however generate resistance to the remonstrants’ proposals from clubs that have already invested heavily ahead of what is currently slated to be a cut-throat season.

The remonstrating clubs are arguing for a postponement of any substantial restructure, either maintaining the same format as 2024 for the coming season or, in deference to the difficulty of overhauling the calendar at this late stage, at least postponing the envisaged transition to the planned 2026 structure and the numerous relegations that it would entail. Pointing to perceived deficiencies in the consultative process followed by the KNCB, which saw a nine-member working group headed by Reinout Scholte and Adriaan van der Dries arrive at the current restructure plan, the dissenting clubs propose a new committee be set up to consider the question.

Scholte, KNCB board member with the High Performance portfolio who has acted as point-man for the board on the issue, stepped down last month citing in part the increasingly fractious nature of the controversy, but the board shows little sign of throwing in the towel. Regretting the departure of Scholte, KNCB chair Guido Lanheer said in a previous statement, “The reasons for his departure give rise to thought and reflection on the way we deal with each other within cricket Netherlands. Differences of opinion will always exist, but the way we currently deal with each other and with these differences of opinion does not lead to the best result for cricket Netherlands in our view.”

Speaking to TKcricket, Landheer defended the process that produced the restructure plan, which included wide consultation with clubs across various divisions. While conceding that it was regrettable that the subject could not be discussed at the December ALV (which was busy with other matters), an extra virtual meeting was scheduled in January to address the issue specifically. “There were 45 clubs represented at the January (8th) meeting, and all clubs were afforded the chance to comment up until January 24th.” Landheer said, observing that neither Salland nor VRA did so at the time.

Referring to the alternate proposals first tabled two years ago, Landheer insists they were not dismissed out of hand. “The so-called Voorstel Salland was considered in depth, and several aspects of it have been incorporated into the new structure.” Landheer told Tkcricket, “a broader pyramid, and regionalisation at lower levels, for example, the latter especially has been made easier by the new scheduling software.” Landheer explained. “We’ve sought to give more attention to T20 and recreational cricket, while providing for more predictable and stable scheduling compared to the previous system.” The board is not entirely blind to some of the problems the upheaval expected at the end of the 2025 season may throw up, and aspects of the “Big Bang” transformation are less than ideal as Landheer concedes. “Transition is difficult but it is a necessary investment in the future.”

Following several bruising meetings focusing on the KNCB’s now well-documented financial woes, the board may even be relieved to be back on the familiar ground of wrangling about domestic structures, and it has been noted that the ALV’s role in questions of domestic structure is, constitutionally speaking, purely advisory. Nonetheless it is doubtful that the board will be afforded an easy time of it tomorrow, though with the first ball of the season now just weeks away it is late in the day to be changing course…