| Round | 5 |
| Toss won by | Sparta I |
| Umpires | RJ Akram – WPM van Liemt |
| Scorers | R Seetal – A Smelt |
| Home Side | Dosti United I |
| Points Awarded | Sparta I 2, Dosti United I 0 |
| Batsman | Fieldsman | Bowler | Runs | Bls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CP Ambrose | c Vimal Tewarie | b M Hans | 39 | 44 | 7 | 0 |
| F Iqbal | b M Hafeez | 18 | 24 | 1 | 1 | |
| MA Pollard | b TS Kohli | 124 | 121 | 13 | 4 | |
| TIM de Kok+ | lbw | b M Hafeez | 20 | 39 | 2 | 0 |
| MU Ishfaq | b Asief Hoseinbaks | 10 | 23 | 0 | 1 | |
| M Bukhari | c TS Kohli | b W Masood | 11 | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| JM Snoep* | not out | 18 | 25 | 0 | 0 | |
| U Saleem | run out TS Kohli | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| S Sardha | b TS Kohli | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| D Muhammed | run out M Hans | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| MB Hoornweg | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| extras | (b0 lb5 w10 nb0) | 15 | ||||
| TOTAL | 9 wickets for | 256 |
| FOW |
|---|
| 1-42(F Iqbal) 2-84(CP Ambrose) 3-144(TIM de Kok) 4-200(MU Ishfaq) 5-252(MA Pollard) 6-253(M Bukhari) 7-253(U Saleem) 8-253(S Sardha) 9-256(D Muhammed) |
| Bowler | Overs | Maid | Runs | Wkts | wd | nb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Davids | 10 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Asief Hoseinbaks | 7 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 1 | – |
| M Hafeez | 10 | 2 | 26 | 2 | – | – |
| W Masood | 7 | 0 | 43 | 1 | 1 | – |
| M Hans | 4 | 1 | 27 | 1 | – | – |
| TS Kohli | 9 | 1 | 31 | 2 | 2 | – |
| VAB Tewarie | 3 | 0 | 23 | 0 | – | – |
| Batsman | Fieldsman | Bowler | Runs | Bls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAB Tewarie* | c JM Snoep | b M Bukhari | 10 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| RI Ahmed+ | c U Saleem | b D Muhammed | 16 | 21 | 2 | 1 |
| TS Kohli | c F Iqbal | b U Saleem | 52 | 73 | 6 | 0 |
| M Hafeez | c MA Pollard | b F Iqbal | 77 | 88 | 8 | 1 |
| Vimal Tewarie | b F Iqbal | 18 | 21 | 3 | 0 | |
| A Davids | c TIM de Kok | b U Saleem | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| M Hans | b MB Hoornweg | 21 | 26 | 1 | 1 | |
| W Masood | run out | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Asief Hoseinbaks | c D Muhammed | b F Iqbal | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| F Hoseinbaks | lbw | b D Muhammed | 6 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Arief Hoseinbaks | not out | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| extras | (b1 lb3 w9 nb2) | 15 | ||||
| TOTAL | 10 wickets for | 228 |
| FOW |
|---|
| 1-24(VAB Tewarie) 2-30(RI Ahmed) 3-130(TS Kohli) 4-178(Vimal Tewarie) 5-182(A Davids) 6-190(M Hafeez) 7-193(W Masood) 8-208(Asief Hoseinbaks) 9-226(M Hans) 10-228(F Hoseinbaks) |
| Bowler | Overs | Maid | Runs | Wkts | wd | nb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Bukhari | 9 | 3 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| D Muhammed | 8.3 | 1 | 37 | 2 | – | 1 |
| MB Hoornweg | 6 | 0 | 34 | 1 | 5 | – |
| F Iqbal | 10 | 1 | 40 | 3 | 2 | – |
| U Saleem | 10 | 0 | 66 | 2 | 1 | – |
| JM Snoep | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | – | – |
Round 5 Preview
Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 20/05/18
BdJ: A quick turnaround after yesterday’s games and we’ve another full five game set of Topklasse matches to look forward to tomorrow. The heavily front-loaded schedule this season has been particularly unforgiving to slow-starters, and if the under-performing VRA hope to claw their way into contention they will need to take two points off HBS when they meet at the Amsterdamse Bos. A match that promised to be a highlight at the start of the season now sees the visitors start as strong favourites, with the Crows’ top order big guns Toby Visee, Wesley Barresi, Jaron Morgan and Sharn Gomes finally firing against Punjab yesterday.
The hosts will need early wickets if they are to contain them, though in Vivian Kingma and Quirijn Gunning they have the bowlers to deliver and it’s worth noting that HBS have yet to pass 160 away from home. But if HBS have been inconsistent, VRA have found altogether the wrong sort of consistency, with each of their top six having been dismissed for single figures at least as often as not thus far.
RL: It’s less obvious than the failures at the top of the batting order, but Gunning and Kingma have only taken nine wickets between them so far, and have not been as devastating as they might be expected to be. The turf of the Bos is not, of course, the artificial surface at Craeyenhout, and a repeat of Saturday’s 300-plus total by HBS would come as a surprise, but if the Crows’ top order has until now flattered to deceive, VRA’s has simply been miserably disappointing. The return to form of the HBS top four, however, proves that things can change very quickly, and Peter Borren’s 60 on Saturday illustrates the dormant power of the home side’s batting. Home advantage may in the end prove decisive here.
BdJ: Likewise hoping to turn around a poor start to the season will be Quick Haag at Nieuw Hanenburg tomorrow but with their opponents Excelsior ‘20 embarking on yet another winning streak it’s fair to say they will be underdogs even in their own back yard. So far in the season Quick have amassed just 460 runs for the loss of 38 wickets, and though Jay Bista’s 90 against HCC yesterday looked like a promise of a lot more runs to come, the rest of the batting card’s form inspires little confidence.
Though the defending champion’s four-wicket win over VOC chasing just 100 was far from emphatic, the fact that the lower middle order got them over the line after Fred Klaassen had removed both Ingram and Hilditch and reduced them to 5-37 will doubtless redouble the self-belief of the as-yet undefeated defending champions.
RL: Winning ugly can be the key to long-term championship success, and if Excelsior have been less than wholly convincing so far, the fact remains that they go on winning. The Schiedammers’ bowling has been the decisive factor, and with the five-man seam attack of Hilditch, Van Troost, Heggelman, Bhatti and Gijs Kroesen backed up by the spin of Ingram, they should be sharp enough to dismiss Quick’s brittle batting regardless of who bats first. Quick put up more of a fight against HCC than they managed against VOC a week ago, but it would be a major shock if Excelsior failed to return to Thurlede with the points.
BdJ: Likewise undefeated thus far are Dosti-United, in no small part thanks to the stellar form of Taruwar Kohli, now on three centuries from four innings, who seems to have rather got the hang of Dutch conditions in his second Topklasse season. With support from a rotating cast of partners including Rahil Ahmed, Vinoo Tewarie or the veteran Hafeez, Dosti have been able to put opponents under scoreboard pressure and have had the discipline to capitalise.
It remains to be seen of course how well the Dosti line-up will cope should Kohli fall early, and with Sparta 1888’s Mudassar Bukhari relishing his top-flight return they have the firepower up front to put their hosts on the back foot, and they showed against HBS and VRA that they have the ability to knock over more highly-rated top orders than that of Dosti.
RL: It’s the all-round team effort of Dosti United under Vinoo Tewarie’s leadership which has impressed so far, almost as much as the disciplined technique and awesome consistency of Taruwar Kohli. Nor should we forget the menace of Anees Davids, who adds a real cutting edge to the attack and considerable power to the middle order. ACC were profoundly disappointing on Saturday, but Dosti maintained the pressure extremely well, and while Sparta have potential match-winners in Bukhari and Michael Pollard, and a supporting cast of solid performers, they probably lack the quality in depth to mount a really sustained challenge.
BdJ: Meanwhile Dosti’s Amsterdam rivals ACC will head down to Hazelaarweg to take on VOC Rotterdam. Though neither side have had the start to the season they might have hoped for, the Rotterdammers will back themselves to bounce back after their disappointment at Thurlede, especially with Max O’Dowd slated to return from injury and skipper Pieter Seelaar back at the helm. O’Dowd and Seelaar’s return not only adds some depth to a batting order full of talent but low on form, but also adds extra options with the ball, meaning it’s hard to see who ACC might look to target.
With ACC overseas players Richardt Frenz and Devon Botha yet to make much of an impact this season the Amsterdammers have been even more reliant than usual on the Zulfiqar clan, and when some or all of the brothers fail heavy defeats usually follow.
RL: If ACC’s attack failed to impress on Saturday the batting was much worse, and with three of the four Zulfiqar brothers going cheaply it was left to Sikander to try, rather forlornly, to marshal the inexperienced tail. VOC came back hard at Excelsior after their own batting collapse, and with Fred Klaassen and Pierce Fletcher leading a menacing attack it will take a much more concentrated effort from the Amsterdammers’ top order if they are to take anything from the weekend. VOC need a win to stay in touch with the leaders, and it’s hard to see who is likely to deny them.
BdJ: The round’s final match will see HCC travel to the Zomercomplex to take on Punjab Rotterdam, though as with all of Punjab’s games so far this season the validity of the match is contingent on the outcome of the Rotterdam club’s ongoing dispute with the KNCB regarding the status of Ali Raza and Mamoon Latif, who will likely play again come Monday. The pair were not enough to help Punjab bag two provisional points yesterday however, when a rampant HBS top-order ran up the season’s first 300+ score against them, and Navjit Singh ensured they would fall well short. Stephan Myburgh’s fluctuating form is a particular worry, though he and Raza showed the danger the Punjab opening pair can pose last week against ACC should they get going, but given that that onslaught has delivered their only points thus far one feels early wickets could put them out of the game early.
HCC meanwhile celebrated their 140-year jubilee with a 3-wicket win over Quick and head into the game with momentum on their side, and an enviable new ball attck. Bryce Street has shown his value with both bat and ball, and though Jonathan Vandiar remains irreplaceable, HCC will be very pleased with his stand-in thus far. Much continues to depend on HCC’s own young batsmen stepping up this season, though with Tonny Staal at least rising to the occasion the Haagse may yet be revising their ambitions upwards from the mid-table finish they were targetting at the start of the summer.
RL: Even with their enhanced line-up Punjab have not shown much sign so far of repeating last season’s successes, and it’s clear that they are missing the contribution of Shoaib Minhaas, Khurram Shazad and Yasir Ali. Three defeats out of four on the field may be overshadowed by the eligibility dispute, but it would in itself be sufficient to suggest that the Rotterdammers might be early candidates for relegation. That said, HCC too have struggled to find their best form. They, though, have won two on the trot, and will be very keen to make it three and reinforce their mid-table position.
BdJ’s Round 5 tips: HBS, Excelsior, Dosti, VOC, HCC
RL’s Round 5 tips: VRA, Excelsior, Dosti, VOC, HCC
Scorecard | ACC vs Dosti | 19.05.18
| Round | 4 |
| Toss won by | Dosti United I |
| Umpires | J Hilhorst – Z Hussain |
| Scorers | DC Schinkel – R Seetal |
| Home Side | ACC I |
| Points Awarded | Dosti United I 2, ACC I 0 |
| Batsman | Fieldsman | Bowler | Runs | Bls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAB Tewarie* | b SM Zulfiqar | 32 | 53 | 4 | 0 | |
| RI Ahmed+ | c S Potdar | b DJ Botha | 11 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| TS Kohli | b SM Zulfiqar | 111 | 115 | 13 | 1 | |
| M Hafeez | c R Zulfiqar | b DJ Botha | 38 | 59 | 3 | 0 |
| Vimal Tewarie | c&b SM Zulfiqar | 6 | 15 | 1 | 0 | |
| A Davids | c S Potdar | b SM Zulfiqar | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| M Hans | lbw | b DJ Botha | 11 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| Asief Hoseinbaks | not out | 17 | 18 | 1 | 0 | |
| Arief Hoseinbaks | dnb | |||||
| W Masood | dnb | |||||
| Aghem Khan | dnb | |||||
| extras | (b2 lb1 w11 nb0) | 14 | ||||
| TOTAL | 7 wickets for | 247 |
| FOW |
|---|
| 1-15(RI Ahmed) 2-78(VAB Tewarie) 3-170(M Hafeez) 4-193(Vimal Tewarie) 5-204(A Davids) 6-204(A Davids) 7-219(TS Kohli) |
| Bowler | Overs | Maid | Runs | Wkts | wd | nb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJ Botha | 10 | 2 | 39 | 3 | 1 | – |
| A Kumar | 8 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 3 | – |
| MA Raza | 10 | 1 | 36 | 0 | – | – |
| SA Zulfiqar | 8 | 1 | 50 | 0 | 2 | – |
| SM Zulfiqar | 9 | 0 | 52 | 4 | 1 | – |
| W Alim | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 2 | – |
| S Potdar | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Batsman | Fieldsman | Bowler | Runs | Bls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA Zulfiqar | b Asief Hoseinbaks | 3 | 24 | 0 | 0 | |
| R Zulfiqar | c W Masood | b Asief Hoseinbaks | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SM Zulfiqar* | c Asief Hoseinbaks | b A Davids | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| RH Frenz+ | c M Hans | b W Masood | 14 | 29 | 1 | 0 |
| SA Zulfiqar | not out | 48 | 78 | 2 | 0 | |
| SR Rasool | c RI Ahmed | b M Hafeez | 9 | 41 | 0 | 0 |
| MA Raza | c M Hafeez | b M Hans | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| A Kumar | c A Davids | b M Hans | 2 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| DJ Botha | lbw | b M Hans | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| S Potdar | c A Davids | b VAB Tewarie | 9 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| W Alim | run out M Hans/Arief Hoseinbaks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| extras | (b0 lb1 w16 nb0) | 17 | ||||
| TOTAL | 10 wickets for | 110 |
| FOW |
|---|
| 1-5(R Zulfiqar) 2-6(SM Zulfiqar) 3-22(AA Zulfiqar) 4-28(RH Frenz) 5-56(SR Rasool) 6-73(MA Raza) 7-81(A Kumar) 8-81(DJ Botha) 9-105(S Potdar) 10-110(W Alim) |
| Bowler | Overs | Maid | Runs | Wkts | wd | nb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Davids | 5 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Asief Hoseinbaks | 9 | 2 | 25 | 2 | 3 | – |
| W Masood | 5 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 1 | – |
| M Hans | 10 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 2 | – |
| M Hafeez | 8 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 2 | – |
| Arief Hoseinbaks | 3.2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | – |
| VAB Tewarie | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | – |
Gallery | ACC vs Dosti-United | 19.05.18
ACC vs Dosti-United at het Loopveld – 19/05/18
scorecard | as it happened
Round 4 Preview
Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 18/05/18
BdJ: The first round of this coming Topklasse double weekend is set to kick off a tad earlier than usual at de Diepput, where HCC and Quick Haag will be getting underway an hour early to leave ample time for HCC’s 140-year Jubilee celebrations in the evening. Quick will be looking to spoil the party, but with the Hanen in a dreadful rut of form it would certainly be an upset. Quick’s batting has looked fragile all season and only their only points so far have come from a surprise win against an undercooked VRA side in the season opener. Overseas signings Jay Bista and Sean Davey have not really taken to Dutch conditions so far, and a Quick side in the midst of rebuilding will need them to come good quickly if they are to stay afloat.
Their hosts meanwhile will be full of confidence, coming off the back of their Ali Ahmed-inspired demolition of HBS last week. HCC’s own new signing, Australian Bryce Street, seems to have adjusted rather more quickly, hitting his maiden Topklasse fifty last week as well as lending some variety to the pace attack. With Ryan Ninan pairing Ahmed in the spin section HCC have the look of a balanced team, though the batting still looks rather brittle without Jonathan Vandiar to underpin it. Nonetheless Quick this season have not looked the side to take advantage.
RL: After a slow start HCC suddenly found another gear against HBS on Sunday, although they have some way to go before they can be seen as one of the stronger teams in the competition. The batting does, indeed, lack real conviction, but there is little evidence that Quick are in a position to cause them major problems. The Nieuw Hanenburg outfit were never in the game against VOC last week, and the bowling looked, if anything, even more dispirited than the batting.
BdJ: Meanwhile defending Champions Excelsior ‘20 will welcome the widely-tipped VOC Rotterdam to Thurlede looking to extend their latest unbeaten run. VOC have recovered from an upset opening defeat away at Dosti to win their next two games convincingly, but have yet to fully live up to the pre-season hype. Of their batch of eye-catching new signings only keeper-bat Scott Edwards has really delivered thus far, and they will be without skipper first-choice spinner Pieter Seelaar when they head to Schiedam due to bereavement, young Seb van Lent returning to the side in his place.
Nonetheless the Rotterdammers pose a serious threat to Excelsior’s nascent streak, with Ahsan Malik and Fred Klaassen as capable of taking advantage of Thurlede’s occasionally two-speed pitch as the host’s own disciplined young seamers. Early wickets will likely be key one way or the other, with limited batting depth the key weakness of both sides. James Hilditch’s especially will be the scalp VOC will be looking for, together with that of the evergreen Lorenzo Ingram, whilst the hosts will want to see Edwards and Corey Rutgers back in the pavilion as soon as possible.
RL: This should be the game of the round, with Excelsior’s established, twice-champion outfit taking on a VOC side which, as m’ colleague points out, has yet to deliver its full potential. But the VOC attack was in complete command against a disappointing Quick side, and even without Pieter Seelaar they have the variety to test Tom Heggelman’s team.
BdJ: Also unbeaten thus far, to the surprise of many, are the perhaps rather underrated Dosti-United, who will meet Amsterdam rivals ACC at het Loopveld on Saturday. The Dosti middle order of Mohammad Hafeez, new overseas Anees Davids and especially Taruwar Kohli have proved the backbone of their success thus far, whilst sometime national team prospect Rahil Ahmed seems to have recaptured some of his old confidence.
ACC meanwhile remain thankful that the unduly less-celebrated Rehmat Zulfiqar was blessed with three younger brothers at once, the four Zulfiqars and their semi-retired father still providing the backbone of the batting order. New overseas keeper Richardt Frenz has yet to make a significant impact for his side, having missed one of their three matches due to illness, but with his return the visitors arguably have the advantage in batting depth. That aside there’s really little to pick between the two Amsterdam sides, though on current form probably Dosti have momentum on their side.
RL: ACC and Dosti have provided some memorable encounters in recent years, and this one should be no exception. In a crowded table matches like this acquire extra significance, and with Kohli in supreme form with the bat – and capable of chipping in with the ball as well – Dosti have fully deserved their excellent start to the campaign. If they are to maintain their challenge to Excelsior, and others’, title hopes, and having lost the chance to take a two-point advantage at the top last week, they will be especially keen to maintain the momentum at Het Loopveld.
BdJ: Fellow Amsterdammers VRA have been rather underwhelming thus far, an intimidating middle order line up of Ben Cooper, Eric Szwarczynski and Peter Borren having misfired in the early rounds, but they remain odds-on to take two points back from Bermweg when they take on Sparta on Saturday.
Nonetheless Sparta have thus far performed creditably on their return to the Topklasse with two wins from three games, and with Tim de Kok in fine form and new overseas Michael Pollard looking sound pick the absence of last season’s stalwarts Riaan Jeggels and Warren Bell has not proved too costly. Dost Mohammad has grown into his role as new-ball partner to former Netherlands international Mudassar Bukhari, and at full strength the Capelle side will be no pushovers. VRA will need to shake off the early-season cobwebs if they are to avoid the stumbling start that cost them so dearly last season.
RL: Sparta’s assiduously assembled team has made a good start to the campaign, even without Jeggels and Bell, and were decidedly too strong for Punjab last week. Although Pollard has had less impact with the bat than his first-day knock suggested, he is too good a player to struggle for long, and his contribution will be needed if the Bermweg side is to hold its own against a VRA team which is capable, on its day, of beating anyone in the competition. The same applies in reverse to VRA’s international batting line-up, and on current evidence I would be inclined to tip a narrow Sparta victory here.
BdJ: HBS will look to bounce back from their disastrous outing at de Diepput last week when they take on Punjab Rotterdam at Craeyenhout, thought the vulnerability to the moving ball that Ali Ahmed exposed in their top order will doubtless give their opponents hope of taking two points back to Rotterdam. The big question of course remains whether they will awarded any points regardless of what happens on the field, should they indeed persist with the selection of Belgian nationals Ali Raza and Mamoon Latif, whom the KNCB have deemed ineligible as local players.
Punjab have indicated that the two will continue to play until the dispute is resolved, and the board have made clear that every in which match they appear will be awarded to the opposition. Even with Raza and Latif the Rotterdammers head to the Hague as underdogs, but there’s every chance that with them they will be earning only penalty points on Saturday.
RL: HBS and Punjab were both surprise packets last season, but the Kraaien have been less convincing so far this time round, while the eligibility dispute which hangs over Punjab makes any prediction difficult. Punjab do have a well-balanced side, whatever its legitimacy, and the departure of Corey Rutgers to VOC has removed some solidity from the HBS top order. Barresi and Visée have the ability to take any attack apart, but they have yet to maintain the fireworks for very long. If they, and Jaron Morgan, don’t pile on the runs on Saturday Punjab may prevail, but as m’ colleague points out, any victory may prove to be Pyrrhic.
BdJ’s Round 4 tips: HCC, VOC, Dosti, VRA, HBS
RL’s Round 4 tips: HCC, Excelsior, Dosti, Sparta, HBS
VRA and HCC post first victories, but rain the only winner at Drieburg
Rod Lyall 14/05/18
The top-of-the-table clash between Dosti United and Excelsior ’20 fell victim to the weather on Sunday, but not before Dosti’s Taruwar Kohli had posted his second century in succession at Sportpark Drieburg.
Kohli’s sixth-wicket stand of 128 with fellow-overseas player Anees Davids put the home side in a strong position when the light drizzle finally turned to serious rain and put an end to proceedings, with Dosti on 213 for eight.
Kohli made exactly 100, from 135 deliveries with nine fours and two sixes, before edging Gijs Kroesen through to keeper Roel Verhagen, while Davids, the more aggressive of the pair once he had settled, contributed a 48-ball 66 which included five fours and four sixes.
Kroesen and Rens van Troost claimed a brace of wickets apiece, but after a promising start the Excelsior attack was made to toil in the inclement conditions by two of the most accomplished batsmen in the competition.
The other match rescheduled to Sunday was unaffected by the weather, and reached a speedy conclusion: HCC’s Ali Ahmed Qasim was in supreme form with the ball, achieving career-best figures of eight for 36 as hosts HBS were shot out for 112, after reaching 30 without loss, at Craeyenhout. Wesley Barresi top-scored with 40.
HCC took just 21.3 overs to knock off the runs, with opener Bryce Street making an unbeaten 53 and sharing a second-wicket stand of 60 with Tonny Staal (33).
On Saturday, VOC Rotterdam began to fire in earnest as they hammered a disappointing Quick Haag side by 10 wickets at Hazelaarweg.
Pierce Fletcher quickly reduced the visitors to 8 for three after stand-in captain Thijs van Schelven elected to bat first, and they were eventually dismissed for 63, only Geert Maarten Mol showing any real resistance with a dogged 16.
Pieter Seelaar completed the rout, taking four for 8 in 9.5 overs of left-arm spin, and then Scott Edwards and Corey Rutgers were untroubled in reaching their target in just 8.2 overs, with Edwards striking five fours in his 33-ball 38 not out.
In the Amsterdamse Bos, VRA Amsterdam recorded their first win of the season by beating local rivals ACC in a hard-fought game.
The foundation of VRA’s total of 235 for eight was an unbeated 113 from opener Daan ter Braak, who batted throughout the innings and shared a second-wicket partnership of 76 with Ben Cooper (43). The middle order failed again, but a handy seventh-wicket stand of 64 between Ter Braak and Quirijn Gunning (20) enabled the home side to set a challenging total.
Anis Raza was the most successful of the ACC bowlers with four for 41, which Dewald Botha and Saqib Zulfiqar picked up two wickets each.
ACC’s wicketkeeper-batsman Richardt Frenz led the chase with 63, supported by Saqib Zulfiqar and Shirase Rasool, both of whom made 39, but VRA kept things tight, spinners Adeel Raja and Leon Turmaine in particular maintaining the pressure, and the asking rate steadily rose.
When Turmaine had Frenz caught by Vikram Singh as he attempted to force the pace the total was 181 for six and there were only four overs left with 51 still needed.
This was clearly an impossible ask, and the ACC innings closed on 210 for seven, Turmaine finishing with three for 44 and Raja two for 34.
After faltering against HBS on Thursday Sparta 1888 returned to winning ways at Het Zomercomplex, beating Punjab Rotterdam by 80 runs.
Sparta owed their total of 222 for eight to a fourth-wicket partnership of 118 between Tim de Kok (62) and Mudassar Bukhari (58), with Atse Buurman contributing a rapid 21 and Joost Martijn Snoep 29 not out in the closing stages.
Punjab’s new-ball bowlers, Suleiman Tariq and Assad Saleemi, took three for 35 and three for 29 respectively.
In dispute with the KNCB Board over the selection of foreign players – an issue which seems to have cost them the two points they earned by beating ACC on Thursday – Punjab could not mount a serious challenge to Sparta’s score, and were dismissed for 142.
Ahsan Masood made 32 and Barend Vorster 37, but with seamer Dost Muhammed taking four for 40 and Max Hoornweg, on his Topklasse debut, claiming four for 30, it was Sparta who came out on top, retaining their place in the top half of the table.
With VRA and HCC both winning for the first time at the weekend, the Topklasse competition looks remarkably open, although the double round of matches next week (thanks to the Pentecost holiday Monday) may resolve matters to some degree.
And of course, the final outcome of the simmering – but as yet unexplained – Punjab dispute seems likely to have a significant influence on the development of the competition.
Scorecard | Dosti vs Excelsior | 13.05.18
| Round | 3 |
| Toss won by | Excelsior 20 I |
| Umpires | HM Butt – P Muthucumaru |
| Scorers | R Seetal – EM Heggelman |
| Home Side | Dosti United I |
| Batsman | Fieldsman | Bowler | Runs | Bls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAB Tewarie* | c RTF Verhagen | b JR Hilditch | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| RI Ahmed+ | c J Kroesen | b RWA van Troost | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| TS Kohli | c RTF Verhagen | b GG Kroesen | 100 | 135 | 9 | 2 |
| M Hafeez | lbw | b RWA van Troost | 11 | 36 | 2 | 0 |
| Vimal Tewarie | lbw | b S Bhatti | 17 | 47 | 1 | 0 |
| S Ghori | run out JR Hilditch | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| A Davids | b GG Kroesen | 66 | 48 | 5 | 4 | |
| W Masood | not out | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| M Hans | b TJ Heggelman | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Asief Hoseinbaks | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Arief Hoseinbaks | dnb | |||||
| extras | (b0 lb1 w10 nb0) | 11 | ||||
| TOTAL | 8 wickets for | 213 |
| FOW |
|---|
| 1-6(VAB Tewarie) 2-9(RI Ahmed) 3-33(M Hafeez) 4-75(Vimal Tewarie) 5-75(S Ghori) 6-203(TS Kohli) 7-212(A Davids) 8-213(M Hans) |
| Bowler | Overs | Maid | Runs | Wkts | wd | nb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JR Hilditch | 10 | 2 | 16 | 1 | – | – |
| RWA van Troost | 10 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 5 | – |
| TJ Heggelman | 5.2 | 0 | 24 | 1 | – | – |
| S Bhatti | 8 | 1 | 44 | 1 | 1 | – |
| GG Kroesen | 7 | 1 | 48 | 2 | – | – |
| LT Ingram | 4 | 0 | 21 | 0 | – | – |
| SG Shankar | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 | – | – |
| Batsman | Fieldsman | Bowler | Runs | Bls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TC Etman | dnb | |||||
| RTF Verhagen+ | dnb | |||||
| SG Shankar | dnb | |||||
| LT Ingram | dnb | |||||
| JR Hilditch | dnb | |||||
| J Kroesen | dnb | |||||
| TJ Heggelman* | dnb | |||||
| DA Woutersen | dnb | |||||
| RWA van Troost | dnb | |||||
| GG Kroesen | dnb | |||||
| S Bhatti | dnb | |||||
| extras | (b0 lb0 w0 nb0) | 0 | ||||
| TOTAL | 0 wickets for | 0 |
| FOW |
|---|
| Bowler | Overs | Maid | Runs | Wkts | wd | nb |
|---|
Another split weekend, and a clear leader in prospect
Rod Lyall 11/5/18
The mildly sadistic master who was in charge of cross-country running at my secondary school used to claim that his task as a handicapper was to ensure that everyone crossed the line at the same moment.
He never achieved this, of course, but it’s beginning to look as if the self-regulating recruitment and transfer process which has operated in the Topklasse over the winter might just produce such a result, with all ten teams on 18 points at the end of August.
Two sides emerged from the second round of matches on Thursday with a brace of wins, but after an excellent start Excelsior ‘20 had to work hard to overcome the resistance of VRA Amsterdam, and it’s only Dosti United who have twice been really convincing winners. Intriguingly, these two sides will meet at Dosti’s Drieburg ground on Saturday.
Dosti, who could thank a fine double from Mohammad Hafeez – including five for 13, his best-ever figures in the top division – for their convincing victory over Quick Haag, will have every reason to relish this encounter, while Excelsior, after reducing VRA to 79 for eight on Thursday, saw their visitors recover to 176, George Dunlop contributing a career-best 57 and sharing a ninth-wicket stand of 82 with veteran former international Adeel Raja.
It was, moreover, only due to a fighting knock of 62 not out by James Hilditch that the Thurlede side squeezed home with a three-wicket margin and 11 balls to spare, and Tom Heggelman will be conscious that his side has yet to hit top gear in its attempt to win a third successive title.
Quick, bowled out for 71 by Dosti as they chased 209, only openers Jay Bista and Lesley Stokkers reaching double figures, came down to earth with a bump after their first-day victory over VRA, and they will visit VOC Rotterdam on Saturday determined to regain some momentum.
But it is the opposite story for the Rotterdammers: having suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of Dosti last weekend, they bounced back with a vengeance against HCC on Thursday, dismissing the Hagenaars for 127 with an excellent all-round bowling performance.
Their own total of 206 for nine owed a huge amount to Dutch international keeper Scott Edwards, who batted throughout the innings for his 153-ball 90, including just three fours and a six, and a good deal to his partnership with Pieter Seelaar, who made a rather brisker 53 in a fourth-wicket stand of 91.
HCC now find themselves at the foot of the table, and will face difficult opponents this Sunday in the form of HBS Den Haag, whose demolition of Sparta 1888 secured them a position in the top half of a very crowded table.
Disappointing as their total of 160 may have been, Wesley Barresi and Tobias Visée again falling in single figures and Jaron Morgan top-scoring with 36, HBS made it seem like a decent score when they shot the Capelle side out for 61, seamer Berend Westdijk claiming four for 30.
This defeat put Sparta’s win over HCC into a different perspective, and they will be very keen to add Riaan Jeggels and Warren Bell to their strength at the earliest opportunity. They are clearly a workmanlike side, but it looks as if they may need every point they can muster as the season unfolds.
They, too, will face a tricky third game on Saturday, when they play Punjab Rotterdam at Het Zomercomplex. Punjab were in rampant form against ACC on Thursday, with Stef Myburgh (101 not out) and Ali Raza (73) ripping the Amsterdammers’ attack apart with an opening stand of 163 in just 22 overs.
The advent of legspinner Bernard Vorster gives the Punjab attack another dimension too, and while it may not be the most dangerous in the competition, the bowlers did well to restrict ACC to 204 for six, a total which the batsmen then passed with more than 17 overs to spare.
For ACC, who were admittedly weakened by the absence through illness of Richardt Frenz, this will have been something of a wake-up call, the innings of Rehmat (30), Saqib (45) and Sikander Zulfiqar (67 not out) again confirming just how vital the fortunes of the brothers are, not forgetting the contribution of father Ahmed (29), standing in for Frenz.
Saturday will see ACC make the short journey across Amstelveen to take on the enigmatic VRA, who share with HCC the indignity of being winless after two matches.
Their blushes rescued to a degree by the resistance of Dunlop and Raja, and by another fighting effort with the ball, the VRA top order again failed to live up to their reputation and their potential, and Emile van den Burg’s men will need to regroup quickly if they are to avoid losing contact with the leaders, one of whom will be on six points by Sunday evening.
One the first week, two on Thursday – can I make it three this weekend with the following picks?
Dosti, VOC, HBS, Punjab, VRA.
Scorecard | Quick vs Dosti | 10.05.18
| Round | 2 |
| Toss won by | Quick Haag I |
| Umpires | AND van den Dries – P Muthucumaru |
| Scorers | JWM Krulder – R Seetal |
| Home Side | Quick Haag I |
| Points Awarded | Dosti United I 2, Quick Haag I 0 |
| Batsman | Fieldsman | Bowler | Runs | Bls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAB Tewarie* | lbw | b JG Bista | 18 | 45 | 3 | 0 |
| RI Ahmed+ | c&b JG Bista | 40 | 62 | 5 | 1 | |
| TS Kohli | c JG Bista | b GMC Mol | 27 | 37 | 4 | 0 |
| M Hafeez | not out | 64 | 75 | 5 | 0 | |
| Vimal Tewarie | lbw | b GMC Mol | 7 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| A Davids | c TJB Landheer | b GMC Mol | 9 | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| M Hans | c TJB Landheer | b GMC Mol | 7 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| S Ghori | c D Vierling | b SB Davey | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Asief Hoseinbaks | run out SB Davey/D Vierling | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| W Masood | b MI Khan | 14 | 14 | 0 | 1 | |
| Arief Hoseinbaks | c D Vierling | b JA Brand | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| extras | (b1 lb5 w13 nb1) | 20 | ||||
| TOTAL | 10 wickets for | 209 |
| FOW |
|---|
| 1-44(VAB Tewarie) 2-74(RI Ahmed) 3-97(TS Kohli) 4-114(Vimal Tewarie) 5-137(A Davids) 6-162(M Hans) 7-170(S Ghori) 8-171(Asief Hoseinbaks) 9-200(W Masood) 10-207(Arief Hoseinbaks) |
| Bowler | Overs | Maid | Runs | Wkts | wd | nb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MI Khan | 9 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| JA Brand | 5 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 3 | – |
| SB Davey | 10 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 1 | – |
| JG Bista | 10 | 1 | 53 | 2 | 1 | – |
| GMC Mol | 10 | 1 | 38 | 4 | 6 | – |
| MB van Schelven | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | – | – |
| LW Stokkers | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | – | – |
| Batsman | Fieldsman | Bowler | Runs | Bls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JG Bista | c RI Ahmed | b A Davids | 19 | 32 | 1 | 1 |
| LW Stokkers | c A Davids | b W Masood | 11 | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| SB Davey | b W Masood | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| GMC Mol | lbw | b M Hans | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| RR Rooda | b M Hafeez | 6 | 18 | 0 | 1 | |
| JA Brand* | lbw | b M Hafeez | 5 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| D Vierling+ | st RI Ahmed | b M Hafeez | 5 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| MB van Schelven | c A Davids | b M Hafeez | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| S Ekelmans | c M Hafeez | b Asief Hoseinbaks | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| TJB Landheer | lbw | b M Hafeez | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| MI Khan | not out | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | |
| extras | (b0 lb0 w9 nb0) | 9 | ||||
| TOTAL | 10 wickets for | 71 |
| FOW |
|---|
| 1-30(LW Stokkers) 2-30(JG Bista) 3-30(SB Davey) 4-44(GMC Mol) 5-49(RR Rooda) 6-50(JA Brand) 7-64(MB van Schelven) 8-66(D Vierling) 9-67(TJB Landheer) 10-71(S Ekelmans) |
| Bowler | Overs | Maid | Runs | Wkts | wd | nb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Davids | 6 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Asief Hoseinbaks | 4.2 | 1 | 14 | 1 | – | – |
| W Masood | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | – |
| M Hafeez | 8 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 2 | – |
| M Hans | 5 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 2 | – |
| Arief Hoseinbaks | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – |
Ascension Day programme gives Topklasse an early lift
Rod Lyall 09/05/18
The traditional Ascension Day fixtures on Thursday feature a clash between two of last weekend’s surprise winners, Quick Haag and Dosti United Amsterdam, at the former’s Nieuw Hanenburg ground.
It also brings into direct confrontation two of the overseas players, both Indian, who made the greatest impression in the opening round: Dosti’s Taruwar Kohli (Punjab), whose chanceless 115 not out was the first century of the new Topklasse season, and Quick’s Jay Bista (Mumbai), who took three for 23 on debut in his side’s three-wicket victory over VRA Amsterdam.
Bista’s arrival at Nieuw Hanenburg, along with New Zealander Sean Davey, looks to have compensated Quick to some degree for their loss of international opener Wesley Barresi and the long-serving Henk-Jan Mol, while Dosti, thanks to the batting of Kohli, Rahil Ahmed and Mohammad Hafeez, were never really stretched in their 81-run win against VOC Rotterdam.
Thursday’s contest will give us a clearer perspective on the relative strengths of both these sides, one of whom will be guaranteed at least a share of the early running in the Topklasse’s packed May programme.
Sparta 1888 also made a promising start to their campaign, and what was particularly encouraging about their six-wicket victory over HCC was the way in which, even without Riaan Jeggels and Warren Bell, they fought back after their visitors had established a firm initial platform.
The Capelle side have a well-balanced attack, led by Mudassar Bukhari and Dost Muhammed, backed up by the seam of Usman Saleem and skipper Joost Martijn Snoep as well as Faisal Iqbal’s spin, and in Michael Pollard they have an overseas player who seems well equipped to score plenty of runs in the middle order.
They will again have home advantage on Thursday, when they take on HBS Den Haag at Sportpark Bermweg.
HBS’s powerful batting lineup failed to fire against ACC on Saturday, only Sharn Gomes coming good as his side chased a target of 234, and they will need two or more of Wesley Barresi, Tobias Visée, Navjit Singh and Jaron Morgan to give him greater support if they are to recover from that setback.
The clash between Barresi and Visée on the one hand and Bukhari and Dost Muhammed on the other could well be one of the highlights of what looks like an intriguing encounter.
HCC’s decline on Saturday from a potentially winning position will have given Mark Jonkman’s side cause for serious reflection, and it is already clear that the Diepput outfit will be missing the resilience of leading run-scorer Jonathan Vandiar.
He dug them out of some difficult situations in recent seasons, stiffening a middle order which looked all too vulnerable against Sparta, and that absence will throw even greater weight upon the top three, Bryce Street, Tonny Staal and Boris Gorlee, while Ryan Ninan and Hidde Overdijk will also have a crucial role if HCC are to set – or chase – decent totals.
They will have their first chance to rectify matters at De Diepput on Thursday, when they entertain VOC Rotterdam, who were also disappointing in going down to Dosti United last Sunday.
One of the strongest sides in the competition on paper, a VOC attack which includes internationals Fred Klaassen, Ahsan Malik Jamil and Pieter Seelaar, as well as seamers Pierce Fletcher and Bobby Hanif and spinner Umar Baker, was able to make little impression on the Dosti top order, while the batsmen struggled against a disciplined opposing attack.
It can only be a matter of time before VOC realise their very considerable potential, but Dosti did enough on Sunday to show they cannot be taken lightly.
Another of the sides which underperformed on the opening day, VRA Amsterdam, travel to Schiedam to take on Excelsior ‘20, who once again took up the battle where they had left off last season.
The defending champions looked as strong as ever as they cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Punjab Rotterdam, with Lorenzo Ingram and James Hilditch again leading from the front, and VRA will need to raise their game considerably if they are to trouble their hosts.
Early-season rustiness can scarcely explain a VRA side which includes Ben Cooper, Eric Szwarczynski and Peter Borren, as well as openers Vikram Singh and Daan ter Braak, being bowled out for 124, and although the bowlers did well to keep their team in the game, a much more disciplined effort will be needed against Excelsior.
The Schiedammers are, of course, a much more experienced outfit than they were in their first championship season two years ago, and they seem virtually certain to be at the heart of the title race. That said, VRA are perfectly capable of bouncing back fast, and their potentially explosive batting and very considerable bowling resources are both strong enough to give Excelsior a serious run for their money.
At Het Loopveld West ACC, the fifth of last weekend’s winners, will be at home to Punjab, and looking to build on that opening victory over HBS.
The Rotterdammers remain something of an unknown quantity, and all the more so because they had to begin their campaign against as formidable opponents as Excelsior. But they did enough, especially with the bat, to indicate that last year’s mid-table position wasn’t a flash in the pan, and they will travel to Amstelveen hopeful of causing problems for an ACC side which remains far too dependent upon the Zulfiqar brothers and their overseas players.
But the Zulfiqars looked to be in great early-season form last weekend, and unless Punjab can find a way of neutralizing that threat a home win looks to be on the cards.
Rod Lyall’s I’m-not-sure-why-I-do-this predictions:
Quick, Sparta, VOC, Excelsior, ACC.
TKcricket 