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.’
TKcricket 