Tag: topklasse

Vibe-Coding the Rules – a look at the Player Points System

Bertus de Jong | 23-04-2026

The KNCB’s new player-points system for the Topklasse, Hoofdklasse and Eersteklasse is a welcome and arguably overdue effort to address long-standing problems in Dutch club cricket and may yet prove a model going forward, but the slapdash formulations and nonsensical categorisations set out in the new rules risk rendering it unfit for purpose. The board will need to rely on the collaboration and indulgence of clubs to make the half-baked system work, and if it proves a source of rancour, the KNCB will have only themselves to blame.

The question of regulating the participation of overseas players in domestic competition has been a perennial source of controversy and contention in Dutch cricket over the past decade at least, with past efforts to place limits on squad or team composition foundering in the face of opposition, loopholing, and even legal challenge. The board’s new player-points based approach (modelled on systems used in Australian club cricket) has much to recommend it in principle, but the final language of the regulations, which were circulated to clubs two months ago, is so vague, contradictory or perverse as to risk generating still more controversy and conflict, such that it will require a concerted and collaborative effort from all parties to avoid their implementation derailing the coming season entirely.

The new system seeks to allocate each player a points-value dependent on their national origin and level of prior cricket experience, with progressive reductions based on length of service to their current club, and then places a cap on the total points-value of a side that may be fielded in any given match. In the manual for the new system, a first draft of which was circulated late last year, the KNCB lays out the main aims:

Local Player Development—Encouraging clubs to invest in homegrown players and provide them with opportunities at the highest level.
Reducing Dependence on Overseas Players—Balancing the use of international talent with the development of Dutch players, so clubs don’t rely solely on overseas signings.
In short, the system is designed to reward clubs that develop Dutch talent while still allowing space for international players to contribute to the competition.

There are reasonable arguments to be made against the system even in principle; implicit penalties for players transferring between clubs systemically weakens the hands of cricketers vis-a-vis clubs and militates against professionalisation. As written, the rules could be seen as exacerbating the particular problem of player retention after school age, when youngsters moving away from from their home towns (and clubs) for work or study often drop cricket altogether. The system also risks undermining the policy of encouraging Netherlands-eligible players who learned their cricket abroad to play in the Dutch competition if they wish to be considered for national selection, and arguably does too little to incentivise clubs to attract or develop players likely to be called up for national selection given the ever-increasing burden the international calendar places on player availability.

Yet these are ultimately trade-offs which must be made, and debates where reasonable disagreements are inevitable. In truth, there appears to be broad consensus that a system of this sort is needed, and the model which the board has adopted ought to be sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of the club competitions that have served as the game’s foundation in the Netherlands. The Topklasse has a history stretching back well over a century. By most metrics it is the oldest extant club cricket competition in the world, and indeed it predates the Netherlands’ participation in international cricket by almost half a century. Many in Dutch cricket (including this publication) consequently regard the integrity of the club competition per se as taking precedence over its role as a production line or feeder league for the national team, a role for which it is not necessarily well-suited, and which one might hope an expanded Pro-Series may one day fulfil (on which more another time).

There are clear upsides to limiting the number of overseas players in the Topklasse; not least lessening the financial burden on clubs imposed by the ballooning expense of maintaining a competitive squad in the upper divisions. The system also rewards sides whose youth systems develop young players, and to encourages them to blood such players in the top flight. The points-based approach also affords clubs a degree of flexibility in selection, while the option to introduce bonus points allocations in future seasons for clubs that provide umpires, field women’s and youth teams or the like might also allow the KNCB to incentivise such objectives in a more flexible manner than hard and fast regulation. The board is ultimately answerable to the clubs on such questions, and it’s excusable, given that the preponderance of input has come from club administrators rather than active players, that the basic framework of the rules favours the former over the latter. What less excusable, however, is just how incredibly sloppy the final document is in its definitions and categorisations.

The definitions and category descriptions provided, along with the pair of flow charts intended as guidance, make a series of assertions and implicit assumptions which are by turns contradictory, plainly mistaken, or nonsensical – and some of which would appear to mandate distinctions on the basis of nationality which serve no obvious developmental or competitive purpose and risk running afoul of Dutch anti-discrimination or privacy law.

remember me?

The KNCB has to date provided no rationale for discriminating between EU passport-holders and players of other nationalities, a distinction which the provided flowcharts imply to be prior to any other question. There is of course a clear rationale for giving preference to players who are eligible for the Dutch national team, but no explanation is given as to why it is desirable to treat other European nationals differently to players from further afield. It cannot simply be deference to EU law, as Dutch (eligible) players are still being privileged over other EU citizens. And it’s worth remembering of course that it was not the application of EU law that saw the previous restrictions on overseas players tossed out, but rather the Dutch Algemene Wet Gelijke Behandeling, which precludes any discrimination on the basis of nationality whatsoever.

The inclusion of this EU/non-EU distinction thus seems to be not only confusing and pointless, but also prima facie illegal. In the wider cricket world the question of a player’s legal nationality is generally treated as secondary to their affiliation to (and eligibility to represent) a given ICC member board, the two obviously being not entirely unrelated but certainly not identical. The KNCB’s departure from this norm is both inexplicable and problematic – potentially legally and certainly practically.

in or out?

The needless distinction on the basis of nationality rather than eligibility leads to a number of perverse or contradictory outcomes if one were to follow the plain meaning of the document. The most glaring of these stems from an apparent misunderstanding of ICC eligibility criteria, which leads the authors of the document to assume any Dutch-eligible player must also be in possession of an EU passport. This is not the case. Any player who has been resident in the country for three years is eligible to represent the Netherlands even if they hold no EU passport – a category which in fact covers a huge swathe of those playing in the Netherlands, including at least one current Dutch international – yet the rules (which incorrectly treat Dutch-eligible players as a subset of EU nationals) makes no provision for such players.

Other categorisations are equally slipshod. A brief mention is made of “Representative U19s Competitions” but no clarification is offered as to how these are to be defined. One might guess the intended meaning is international under 19s cricket, but it is unclear whether this is meant to include only Youth ODIs, Youth Tests and Youth T20I, or any Under 19 team representing an ICC member. The rules then state any foreign Under 19 player should be classified as “international,” a plain reading of which would mean that a player that’s turned out for, say, Namibia Under19s at an African regional qualifier would attract a higher points value than one who has played Country Cricket or even IPL – a decision which, if intentional, would bespeak a remarkable unfamiliarity with the actual standard of cricket of these competitions.

Conversely a careful definition of “Expat Payer” [sic] is laid out, complete with onerous requirements for proof of employment or study. Aside from the fact that, as one captain observed, “it’s a bit much to expect a casual cricketer to throw his whole employment contract on the table,” one imagines these requirements will run afoul of all manner of privacy laws. The rules governing “expats” moreover make no provision for players not in full time paid work or study, thus excluding asylees, care-givers, home-makers, dependent minors and such, again without explanation. Equally inexplicably, the category is seemingly applicable only to non-EU players, but then given the provision that non-homegrown players must always be placed in the category attracting the highest points allocation, a plain reading of the rules renders the entire class of “Expat” functionally redundant anyway, which is perhaps for the best.

edge case?

The second-highest tier is titled “1st Class & List A”, but restricts that category to Full Members. Premier and franchise cricket outside of Test-playing countries thus fall outside either category, presumably meaning that Major League Cricket or the ILT20 (both of which have List A status) nonetheless fall into the same category as a pub league in the UK. The next tier down is something called “Provincial A team cricket” a term used throughout the document as if it were a globally recognised category of cricket, which it is not, an oversight which once again one can only assume is rooted in an extraordinarily broad ignorance of what the game outside of the Netherlands actually looks like. Whether, for example, National Counties cricket in the UK, or the Breakout League in the West Indies fall into this category cannot be discerned from the text other than by (ultimately subjective) reasoning by analogy.

It would have been comparatively trivial to supply category definitions which comported more closely with objective reality, ideally supported by a tiered list of foreign competitions ahead of time. Instead it seems likely that such questions will be left to the discretion of an ad-hoc arbitration committee. It is to be hoped said committee boasts greater expertise than apparently went into the creation of the regulations it is tasked with applying, and that clubs accept its rulings with equanimity. So far, at least, they appear to be doing so.

Yet relying on case-by-case committee decisions to flesh out the details that the rules fail to provide – a strategy which might be charitably labelled a “Common Law” (or less charitably a “vibes-based”) approach – will inevitably leave the KNCB open to allegations of bad faith or bias the moment a difficult dispute arises, as the slapdash manner in which the rules have been written all but guarantees, or lead to conflicting and contradictory standards should the committee’s rulings not be made with considerably more care and expertise than is evident in the authorship of the regulations themselves. To mangle the old adage, Bad Law makes Hard Cases, and Hard Cases make Bad Law.

It is of course too late to change the rules at this stage, the KNCB having waved off the questions and concerns of informed third parties (including your correspondent) for some months. We thus left hoping that the community pulls together and muddles through, honouring the laudable aims or at least implied intent of the provisions rather than exploiting the ambiguous or nonsensical text. Past precedent unfortunately suggests that there are few clubs entirely above rules-lawyering on questions of player eligibility where it is to their clear advantage. We are consequently reduced to hoping that a spirit of collegiality prevails, at least until the rules can be clarified and rationalised next season, but in the meantime one can’t help but feel the KNCB has laid down a rake for its own face, so to speak.

The need for this new system has been a point of rare consensus among Dutch cricket clubs, and it would be a shame if it were to founder simply due to its initial drafters’ lack of attention to detail. The goals of the system are shared by most if not all in Dutch cricket, and fundamentally a points-based model is likely the best suited to the needs of the game in the Netherlands. For all its faults, even in its current sorry state the system is likely workable if all parties strive in good faith to make it work.

Lets hope they do.

Preview Round 1

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong | 22-04-2026

And so we start once more, this time with eight teams in the Topklasse. There are, of course a few other changes: the Player Points system will influence team selection (though probably not very much in practice, at least this year), and the European T20 Premier League is promised for later in the summer, although with the 50-over competition scheduled to conclude on 5 July it won’t be affected. There will again be no play-offs for the title, with the team at the top of the table after 14 rounds being declared the winner. There’s a good deal more guesswork than usual involved in this initial preview, since it’s not entirely clear who among the still numerous overseas contingents will arrive in time for the season’s opening encounters.

RL: Last year’s champions, Kampong Utrecht, start the defence of their title with a trip to Craeyenhout to take on HBS. With Lehan Botha back in the Crows’ ranks and Kent Goedeke replacing Jayden Rossouw, the South African component is still central to the plans at Craeyenhout, skipper Tayo Walbrugh, ex-international Wesley Barresi and current national squad member Kyle Klein all adding a hint of the braai to HBS’s fortunes. They will have their work cut out, though, against Alex Roy’s side, which will miss only Lane Berry from last year’s winning combination. That’s admittedly quite a gap in the top order, but with Lachlan Bangs returning and Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards available for much of the 50-over season, Kampong will still take some beating. The big question, perhaps, is whether Kampong’s attack will prove strong enough to restrict the Crows’ top order on what is frequently a runs-rich ground.

BdJ: The departure of last season’s lead wicket-taker Rossouw to Quick Haag is likely to mean there will be even more runs to be had at Craeyehout this time round, and the Crows will probably need early wickets from Klein or Botha if they’re to contain what remains an intimidating Kampong batting order. With Bangs and the ever-improving Jacod coming in as low as six and seven for the title-holders, simply looking to outscore them is a risky strategy.

RL: Runners-up VRA Amsterdam head even further south, travelling to the Zomercomplex to face the newly-renamed Rotterdam (né Punjab), who were themselves champions in 2024. The Rotterdam batting powerhouse of Musa Ahmad, Shoaib Minhas and the brothers Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar have started in menacing form, Sikander smacking a 54-ball, not-out 126 against VOC in the final of the Rijnmond Cup a fortnight ago. Their opponents are something of an unknown quantity, with a further influx of Antipodeans to augment Dutch internationals Teja Nidamanuru, Vikram Singh and Shariz Ahmad, all of whom have plenty to play for as they try to re-establish their positions in the national side. There are more questions about the respective attacks: again, Rotterdam have a tried-and-tested combination, but with Ben Fletcher and Peter Ruffel not reappearing VRA will need to find both a new new-ball pairing and an effective spin unit, which may include the returning Udit Nashier, hardy perennial Leon Turmaine, and Australian leggie Ivan Zmak.

BdJ: The rebranded Rotterdammers have certainly shown some impressive early form in pre-season, but it’s worth noting that VRA bested them fairly comfortably in Saturday’s warm-up fixture at the Bos. Vikram Singh and Johan Smal have looked in particularly fine form for the Amsterdammers, as has new arrival Sam Cassidy. It could well be a different outcome at the revamped Zomercomplex of course, and indeed the question of the make-up of VRA’s seam attack looms large, with much resting on the shoulders of Ashir Abid. Whoever takes the new ball for them will be happy not to have to bowl at Mohsin Riaz at least, Punjab’s stand out bat last season busy with commitments in Pakistan for now, but the Rotterdam batting card is plenty stacked without him.

RL: There have been many stirring contests between Voorburg and HCC in recent years, not least in the 2022 and 2023 grand finals (remember when we used to have grand finals?). Home side Voorburg will presumably be boosted by the return of Bas de Leede, whose spell at Durham has come to an end, and that will be significant compensation for the loss of De Leede’s fellow-international Viv Kingma, who has moved to VOC, and of young allrounder Udit Nashier, who has returned to VRA. So will the advent of promising youngster Aaditt Jain, whose path has crossed that of Kingma somewhere between the Hazelaarweg and Westvliet. We probably shouldn’t read too much into the ease of Voorburg’s victory in the final of last week’s Next Communications T20 Cup, but the Lions will need the returning Zac Worden to boost their largely home-grown top order if they are return to De Diepput with the points.

BdJ: De Leede, we understand, is likely to be used sparing if at all in the early season as he comes back from injury, but the addition of Jaynul Islam may go some way to compensate – Voorburg quick to snap up the recently-arrived Bangladeshi right arm seamer. Voorburg hardly lacked for pace options even before picking up Islam and Jain, though there’s a little less competition for slow-bowling spots at Westvliet now. One will certainly be taken by dual-international Michael Rippon when he lands back in the Netherlands, but the VCC bowling card does look a tad pace-heavy as it stands. The same is true of their opponents however, looking somewhat reliant on slow southpaw Clayton Floyd, whose ten overs could well prove crucial on Saturday.

RL: Ground constraints mean that the final match of the opening round will take place on Sunday, when Hermes-DVS will make the short trek to the Hazelaarweg to take on VOC Rotterdam. They will be facing a pace attack featuring the returning former international Ahsan Malik and his erstwhile international colleague Viv Kingma, who has stepped over from Voorburg, as well as the steadily-improving Roman Harhangi. The Bloodhounds will again be looking to a useful group of overseas players, including New Zealanders Caleb Montague and Ethan Price. Such resources have not been able to disguise the fragility of their batting in recent seasons, but the early-season form of Francois Fourie may hint at better prospects this time round. With the run-getting power of Daniel Doyle Calle and Ash Ostling reinforced by that of South African David Rushmere, the Sky Blues have the potential to test VOC’s new-look pace attack to the full, while an experienced, well-balanced attack will be looking to exploit any cracks in the home side’s top order.

BdJ: Word is Kingma’s role at VOC will be focused more on coaching this coming season, though we’re also told Pierce Fletcher may be playing a more prominent on-field part for the Bloodhounds this summer. Harhangi will be the principle purveyor of youthful zip with the new ball though, and will be crucial in VOC are to find inroads into Hermes’ reinforced batting order. Breaking the prolific Ostling-DDC partnership at the top now looks like a still-necessary but perhaps no-long-sufficient condition to containing Hermes, and with several key components of VOC’s new batting card boasting overseas pedigree but little Topklasse experience, the hosts may still be unsure of what a chaseable total looks like.

RL’s tips: HBS, Rotterdam, Voorburg, Hermes.
BdJ’s tips: Kampong, VRA, Voorburg, Hermes

2026 Preview | Voorburg & VOC

Bertus de Jong | 19-04-2026

2023 Champions Voorburg CC had a surprisingly poor 50-over season last year, but are widely-tipped as potential challengers again this time round. There’s been a fair reshuffle at Westvliet over the winter, especially in the seam bowling department, the headline-grabber of course being the return of favourite son Bas de Leede from England.

Injury may limit the role de Leede’s able to play early in the season though, and with Carl Mumba off to the newly-renamed Rotterdam CC (formerly Punjab-Ghausia) and the long-serving Vivian Kingma departing for VOC, young left arm quick Aaditt Jain, making the opposite switch, may slot straight into the role of pace spearhead. Also likely to feature in the first-team seam attack is new arrival Jaynul Islam, a right arm quick with List A experience in Bangladesh, alongside Mees van Vliet in an enviable stable of front line pace bowlers, backed up by part timers Michael Levitt and Ryan Klein.

Michael Rippon

The other big name arrival at Westvliet is sometime Dutch international and occasional blackcap Michael Rippon, the left arm wrist spinner “bringing not only a wealth of experience but also a much needed spin option and a very important part of our batting line up.” as skipper Noah Croes remarked to Tkcricket. Rippon will thus fill the role of lead spinner vacated by southpaw Udit Nashier, who returns to VRA, as well as bolstering an already intimidating batting card.

Young Cedric de Lange has established himself in the opening slot alongside Michael Levitt, while the middle and lower order boasts further national team talent in the form of Croes himself as well as Ryan Klein. That line-up does leave VCC particularly vulnerable to the predations of national selectors however, with de Leede, Rippon, Levitt, Klein and Croes all potential picks, while Lange is already on the Oranje’s radar too.

Voorburg are somewhat insulated from that risk by their depth of youth talent; de Lange, Alejo Nota and Tom de Leede increasingly impressive, while Luuk Kroesen also comes over from Excelsior. A deep roster was not enough for Voorburg to challenge the top last season though, in part perhaps because constantly rotating selection prevented the team from really settling. They are likely to face similar challenges this season, even if they are arguably better equipped to handle them.

Croes himself was upbeat, telling TKcricket “here at the Westvliet we’re happy with the way we are tracking … the guys are well prepared to have an impact and continue to push at the top end of the table. I think the development of our young players is going to be really exciting and hoping to see some new guys step up.”

It’s been almost a decade since VOC Rotterdam last added to their tally of Topklasse titles, most recently finishing top of the log back in 2018 – notably the freshman year of this very masthead. The Bloodhounds have spent the seven seasons since largely in the bottom half of the table, narrowly escaping relegation on a couple of occasions, including last season when they saw off ACC in the relegation play-off. Survival will be the first target this time around, though in a smaller and more competitive field dodging the drop again will be a tougher ask this season.

The Rotterdammers will have to reckon with the loss of both Jain brothers – young Aaditt switching to Voorburg and Arnav emigrating to Spain. The pair accounted for 40 wickets between them last season as well as occasional but sometimes crucial lower order runs, and leave a substantial hole to fill. Likewise the departure of overseas Scott Jannet and Christiaan Oberholzer, who along with Danish international Monty Singh provided the bulk of VOC’s runs last summer, will put pressure on the rest of the VOC line-up to deliver with the bat.

Ashan Malik

On the other side of the ledger, veteran former Netherlands international Ahsan Malik returns from Sparta, providing some welcome stability in the middle order as well as control with the ball. The indefatigable Jelte Schoonheim also signs on for another season, ensuring the seam attack certainly will not want for experience, though doubtless the hope is that young Roman Harhangi, VOC’s lead wicket-taker last season, continues to shoulder increasing responsibility as spearhead.

By way of slow-bowling additions Hazelaarweg welcomes Ethan Price, a left arm spinner recently turning out for Northern Districts A, who joins the ever-promising Siebe van Wingerden and the returning Asif Hoseinbaks in the spin section. The otherwise somewhat threadbare batting card is shored up by keeper-bat by Caleb Montague, also of New Zealand, but long-serving skipper Tim de Kok will certainly hope to contribute more with the bat personally this season. The arrival of Samir Butt from Punjab Rotterdam does take some of the pressure off the captain however, as does the pre-season form of Francoise Fourie, who missed much of last season through injury.

De Kok’s principal task will remain getting the best out of an overhauled side, and group cohesion is indeed his top priority. “Above all we’re looking to rely on players that fit well within the club and subscribe to the philosophy and overarching narrative we’re trying to build here at VOC. It’s crucial to keep working on the ethos and atmosphere within the club. So we’re also really happy to have Stephan Myburgh back as head coach, along with club legend [and former Netherlands international] Rob Vos who have both been working hard over the winter to build our programme and training philosophy. There’s a lot of people in the background who have contributed enormously to our goal of being the most welcoming family club with the stand-out development program in the top flight.”

While the on-field focus for the back end of the summer will be regaining a place in the T20 top division, consolidation is the order of the day in the fifty-over competition. “In the Topklasse the goal is to show that we can compete with a solid core of local VOC talent, and demonstrate the importance of a strong foundation for the club.”

2026 Preview | Kampong & VRA

Bertus de Jong | 17-04-2026

Newly-promoted Kampong Utrecht made history last season by becoming the first clubs since Prinses Wilhelmina Enchede in 1939 to win the top division immediately upon their return, clinching the Topklasse title with two games to spare. The defending champions don’t look to be changing a winning formula, and the 2026 squad looks broadly similar to last season.

Kampong’s success in recent years has been in part based on shrewd past acquisitions, tempting Dutch international duo Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards over from VOC and the veteran Lorenzo Ingram from Excelsior, and the trio are expected to play a substantial role in Kampong’s title defence again. Edwards in particular was imperious when available last year, and though O’Dowd had a comparatively quiet season, Kampong will hope a comparatively light international schedule will mean the pair will be around a bit more.

Pierre Jacod

The absence of last season’s top-scorer Lane Berry, who remains in Australia means the title-holders will be likely need a few more runs from their Dutch international pair, While the returning Lachlan Bangs along with Damien van den Berg ensure Kampong will not be short of hitting power, the Kampong top order may be left looking like something of a glass cannon if and when O’Dowd and Edwards are called away on national duty. That said, Pierre Jacod comes into the season in fine form, having followed up an excellent 2025 Topklasse season with an impressive winter in Australia, and combined with the evergreen Ingram provides not only an enviable left-right spin combination but also a degree of depth to the batting card.

The bowling attack likewise looks much the same as last season, though Kirtan Nana is understood to be taking a summer off, with young Gert Swanepoel expected to get a few more chances in the senior side, joining skipper and spearhead Alex Roy in an otherwise comparatively callow pace attack. The spin trio of Ingram, Jacod and Akhil Gopinath will likely bowl the bulk of the overs again this season, while Dutch prospect Zach Lion-Cachet is also on the Kampong list, the young offie will likely be available only when in the country with the national squad.

Roy is somewhat phlegmatic about the prospect of Kampong defending their title,
“winning was great but of course this year we’ll have a bit of a target on our backs important thing is consistency, it would be great to go back to back but really we just want to show we can keep competing at the top level. We’ll be aiming first to keep pace in the top four, but of course if we can push on for the title again then great.”

While the competition may be somewhat fiercer this season as talent concentrates into the newly streamlined top division, the defending champions established a working blueprint for success in their first season back last year, and taking the title off them will doubtless take some doing.

T20 champions and runners up in the fifty-over competition last year, VRA Amsterdam will be looking to add to their silverware collection again this time around, albeit with a somewhat reshuffled squad. The local core of the side remains largely unchanged under captain-manager Teja Nidamanuru, but the overseas section looks markedly different for the coming season.

Among the more significant personnel changes is the departure of pace pair Ben Fletcher and Peter Ruffel, who accounted for some fifty wickets between them last season, with Jersey international Patrick Gouge another notable absence from the 2026 roster. New arrivals include Kiwi bats Sam Cassidy (cousin of current keeper Jack) and Lovepreet Padda, along with seam all-rounder Devin Wilke and legspinner Ivan Zmak.

While most if not all of the newcomers will be in contention for first team spots, VRA’s fortunes will likely hinge on their trio of sometime Dutch internationals, Vikram Singh, Shariz Ahmad and skipper Nidamanuru, who collectively had a somewhat modest season last year. Singh and Nidamanuru’s limited returns with the bat left VRA rather dependent on vice captain Johan Smal, who’ ha’s looked in fine form in pre-season after an excellent 2025, and may himself may push for Dutch selection when he becomes eligible in a few weeks’ time, potentially leaving VRA vulnerable to something of an exodus when the selectors come calling.

Johan Smal

The top order looks solid on paper though, and the Amsterdammers are confident in their local bowling depth. While Shariz Ahmad has not hit the heights of past seasons, the return of left armer Udit Nashier, backed up by the veteran Leon Turmaine (VRA’s stand-out slow bowler last season) together with Nidamanuru’s own improving offspin ensures they won’t be short of spin options. The loss of Fletcher and Ruffel means responsibility for leading the seam attack will fall to left arm quick Ashir Abid, backed up by Singh’s medium pace and potentially opening up more space for youth and second-team prospects to push for more regular opportunities in the top flight.

Nidamanuru struck an upbeat tone ahead of the season on that front, telling TKcricket “We’ve some local talent coming through for sure. We’re very happy with the new guys coming in from overseas of course, but partially we’ll be looking to a couple of them to bring some stability in the seconds rather than coming straight into the first team … we’re relying on our local bowling especially this season, and I do think we’ve got the depth to go one better this year.”

The fact that VRA finished runners-up last time round despite several senior players having sub-par personal seasons does suggest there’s potential for the squad to break the silver-medal ceiling that they’ve bumped against on occassion since their last fifty-over title in 2011, if they can get a few more cylinders firing on full.

Player-eligibility technicality puts VRA’s T20 finals berth in doubt

Bertus de Jong 10/09/2025

Defeated semi-finalists Voorburg CC, who lost to VRA by 22 runs in the second semi-final of the Topklasse T20 competition on Sunday, are seeking to have the result of that match overturned on grounds that VRA fielded an ineligible player. VCC are understood to have challenged the eligibility of VRA opening bat Shirase Rasool – who scored a brisk 41 before retiring hurt in the match in question – on the basis that he had not played sufficient matches in the preceding league phase.

Shirase Rasool

Rasool, a former regular at the top of the order for VRA, has played only intermittently this season owing to personal commitments. In total Rasool has made three appearances for VRA’s second team and five for the senior side this season, but crucially played only four matches in the T20 competition.

Under Article 18 of the Competitieregelement only players that have played a minimum of 50% of the first (league) stage matches of the T20 competition are eligible to participate in the final rounds. Under the current competition format the minimum is thus five matches in across divisions prior to the finals phase; Rasool therefore falling one match short.

However, a number of exemptions to these requirements are detailed in the same document, not least 18.II.7.b which exempts long-standing members of a club from the above participation requirements, under which Voorburg match-secretary and first team occasional Floris de Lange was able to play. VRA maintains that Rasool is similarly exempt under Articles 18.II.6 and 18.II.7.b, which provides for players who have regularly played for a club in preceding seasons, though the language of the document is arguably inconsistent as to whether this refers to all competition or exclusively divisions below the top flight.

“VRA is confident that we are fully within the regulations regarding the eligibility of Shirase Rasool. Articles 18.II.6 and 18.II.7 clearly state that he qualifies to play without needing to meet the five-match threshold or apply for dispensation. It is extremely disappointing how this situation has unfolded, as it distracts from the spirit of the competition and takes the focus away from the cricket itself.” VRA first team captain and General Manager Teja Nidamanuru told TKcricket.

Voorburg Chair Richard de Lange was equally confident however, stating; “VCC remains confident in the strength of our position and our rightful place in the T20 final based on the merits of our case and adherence to competition regulations. We respect the ongoing appeals process and trust that the proper procedures will ultimately ensure the integrity of the competition is upheld. We look forward to a swift and fair resolution that serves the best interests of cricket in the Netherlands.”

VRA immediately appealed the KNCB’s initial decision, which Tkcricket understands awarded the match and a place in the final to VCC and imposed a 100 euro fine on VRA. That appeal appears to have been at least initially successful in reversing the decision, but said reversal has duly been appealled in turn by VCC. At press time it remains unclear who, if anyone, HCC will face in Saturday’s final at the Loopuyt Oval.

Preview Round 12

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 20/06/25

Whereas last weekend’s matches pitted the top five against the sides in the lower half of the table, this round sees more immediate rivals confronting one another, with the bottom four going head to head in games which will be vital in the battle to avoid relegation, while the pursuing pack who have not yet given up hope of snatching the title have crucial opportunities to gain some ground. With another warm, dry weekend forecast, we can look forward to some great contests.

RL: If the biggest question just now is: Who can stop the march of Kampong to the title?, then one possible answer is Punjab-Ghausia at home. The champions saw off VRA last Sunday without ever quite getting into top gear, and with the marginal advantage of playing on their own patch they will also know that a win here would move them to within a point of the leaders. Kampong, however, will be back to full strength with the return of Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards, and although Punjab will regain the services of Saqib Zulfiqar, the reinforcement of Kampong’s mercurial top order is probably a more significant factor. On paper, at least, the sides are pretty evenly balanced, the difference being that up to now Alex Roy’s outfit has played to – and sometimes seemingly beyond – their potential, while Punjab have struggled to reproduce last season’s consistency.

BdJ: If Kampong are to be caught they’ll likely have to lose at least two from here, and if Punjab are to do the catching one of them will almost certainly have to be this one. Both sides have a battery of big guns at the top, usually needing only one or two to fire, though consistency has indeed been the main difference between the two in terms of totals, along with Lorenzo Ingram’s ability to lead lower order recoveries. The return of O’Dowd and/or Edwards would be welcome, though after a long tour where both have missed games Kampong may not be counting on them being ready for action. The real edge Kampong have had over the defending champions this season has been a comparatively effective bowling unit, with fully five bowlers in the top 20 wicket-takers this season, where Musa Ahmad is Punjab’s only representative. The Zomercomplex’s short boundaries may level the playing field somewhat on that front though. Punjab have not lost at home since Round 2, and it wouldn’t be the first time this season they upset the frontrunners there.

RL: The match between Voorburg and HCC at Westvliet is a real Four Pointer, with the sides currently level and three points off the pace. It is, moreover, an encounter with history: not only have the clubs contested two Grand finals in the recent past, but they have also operated something of a revolving door in their player lists, with Patient Charumbira’s move to Westvliet just the latest example. Whether he gets a game here following the return of Voorburg’s international contingent may be moot, depending in part on the often doubtful fitness of Viv Kingma, who only bowled three balls in the Netherlands’ victory over Scotland on Wednesday. The reunion of the home side’s enviable top six with the addition of Michael Levitt and Noah Croes certainly gives them a edge, especially since their opponents’ batting has been a lot less consistent. But Tonny Staal’s first big score of the season against Sparta last week, along with the wicket-taking of Josh Brown, are signs that HCC may be about to coalesce into serious challengers for the title.

BdJ: While both sides are a lot more than a single loss away from being mathematically eliminated from title contention, defeat on Saturday will leave one of the sides needing results elsewhere to consistently go their way if they’re to stay in the hunt.
The return of at least some of Voorburg’s internationals, especially the in-form Levitt if he’s good to go, would mean VCC will be fielding an even stronger batting line-up than the one that posted 327-7 when these two teams met at de Diepput, but a bowling attack likely weaker than the one that failed to defend it. That said Boris Gorlee’s 122 in that match underpinned that chase, and the HCC skipper hasn’t been able to carry his otherwise exemplary form onto natural grass wickets so far this season. Ollie White is the only other HCC bat to have crossed fifty more than once this season, and if HCC are to mount a serious title challenge they’ll either need more consistent contributions from the rest of the top order or for Gorlee to find his form off the mat. A sunny Westvliet this weekend does of course seem a fine occassion for either or both, but the hosts will be hoping for neither.

RL: At the other end of the table, Excelsior ‘20 will welcome VOC to Thurlede knowing that for both teams there’s even more on the line. Currently locked together on seven points, one of them is very likely to fill one of the automatic relegation spots, while the other may at worst face a play-off to ensure survival. That is, of course, barring a dramatic change in form, and in Excelsior’s case luck: injuries have certainly not helped their cause, but none of their overseas players has been able to impose himself so far, and it’s notable that each of their three wins has come when one or other has made a significant contribution. The same applies even more forcefully to their opponents, and although we keep banging on about the fragility of VOC’s batting it is without question the main reason that they find themselves in the basement, a point painfully illustrated by Voorburg last week.

BdJ: Almost certainly the most consequential match of the round, and perhaps the whole back half of the season. With three of the biggest overseas names in the league on the books Excelsior may well be wondering how they ended up here, especially with several of their home-grown players having better seasons than usual. Stan van Troost and Joost Kroesen have both looked genuine assets this year, yet the Schiedammers continue to look less than the sum of their parts. VOC, conversely, are about where most might have expected them to be. The comparartively callow Jannet and Oberholzer have contributed some solid scores on occasion, but VOC’s youthful new overseas have not been able to cover for the loss of Edwards and O’Dowd in the way their predecessors managed, in a team that all too often looks an unfortunate blend of age and inexperience. The efforts of the young bowling attack has been probably the only silver lining to the season so far, and on the rare occassions the batting unit backs them up the Bloodhounds have looked capable of pushing opponents hard, but as a rule this season they’ve rarely had much to bowl at.

RL: While Sparta 1888 may not yet have entered the Last Chance Saloon, there’s little doubt that they’re on the verandah outside, and the shoot-out with HBS at Craeyenhout on Saturday is absolutely crucial for their slim chance of escaping the drop. Sparta’s batters did well to reach their highest total of the season against HCC last week, but it proved to be insufficient for the attack to defend, and they may have similar problems against a Crows line-up which includes Tayo Walbrugh and Wes Barresi – picking them up early could well be the key to the Spartans taking home some desperately needed points. The fact that Ahsan Malik has gone wicketless in his last three games is an ominous sign, although it’s balanced to some degree by his emergence as a useful number three when his side bats. Their hosts on Saturday are not yet out of the woods, knowing that should either Excelsior or VOC put in a late surge they could find themselves in the bottom three, and they’ll be relieved to welcome Kyle Klein back to their ranks.

BdJ: Indeed the Spartans may not have made their entry to said metphorical watering hole just yet, but the camera’s fixed firmly on the swinging doors and the mournful sound of an ocarina is piping in ominously from somewhere. Even earning a play-off againt the Hoofdklasse champions to perhaps survive another season looks an implausibly tall order for the Cappelle side now, and a loss to 7th-placed HBS on Saturday would put the safety of the seventh spot definitively out of reach. Realistically the game is more likely to be of consequence to HBS, who risk being overtaken by the winner of Excelsior-VOC and sliding into relegation contention themselves. The return of Barresi and Klein would take some of the pressure off of Walbrugh, but given that they’ll likely be missing one or both of them again in a couple of weekss time there will be a degree of pressure on both to perform if and when they’re available. If they can’t take two points off the incumbent wooden-spooners, the Crows will be on a glide-path to a late season relegation showdown with Excelsior, VOC or both – those two would-be relegation rivals coincedentally HBS’ final two fixtures of the season.

RL: Once again, VRA have negotiated a shift of their match to Sunday, this time entertaining Hermes-DVS in the Bos. The Sky-blues remain title contenders, while for VRA, who will be delighted to welcome back their international contingent, the four-point gap which has opened up between them and the top five means that their season is now really about consolidating their mid-table spot and avoiding slipping into relegation trouble. The return of Teja Nidamanuru, Vikram Singh and Ben Fletcher can only improve their chances, but both the aggression of the Hermes opening pair of Ash Ostling and Daniel Doyle and the depredations of an attack led by Olivier Elenbaas and featuring the spin of Hikmatullah Jabarkhail, back as leading wicket-taker thanks to his Michelle against HBS are problems which Nidaamanuru’s side will need to solve if they are to claim the points here. If the resumption of the Peter Ruffell-Ben Fletcher new-ball partnership enables the hosts to make early inroads into the Hermes batting then VRA will be in with a chance, but otherwise they could find themselves struggling.

BdJ: Just three points clear of the relegation zone and seven adrift of Kampong at the top the most VRA can do on Sunday is do themselves and the frontrunners a favour by taking two points off Hermes, thus making things less interesting at both ends of the table. The return of some or all of the remaining three absent VRA internationals would make that outcome more likely, even if the three all had fairly forgettable tours, at least in their primary disciplines. Nidamanuru may be more likely to give himself a bowl after a career best return against Scotland in the T20I series, but the Sky-Blue slow bowling section remains the stronger of the two. VRA perhaps have an edge in the seam department and in depth of batting, at least on paper. Hemes have looked vulnerable on the occassions that their opening pair fail to deliver, and VRA have the attack to trouble them. A tough one to call just now, but prediction will likely be a lot easier by about the first drinks break of the Hermes innings.

RL’s picks: Kampong, HCC, Excelsior, HBS, Hermes
BdJ’s picks Punjab, VCC, , Excelsior, HBS, Hermes

Preview Round 7

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 27/05/2025

Last Saturday’s wetwash has left things pretty much as they were, although some teams will doubtless be regretting a lost opportunity to steal a march on their nearest rivals. But it now appears that the rainy season has finally arrived in the Netherlands, and our Ascension Day previews are written in the full awareness that Thursday may turn into a Descension Day instead. Since there are enough imponderables already without taking the weather into consideration, what follows assumes that there’s a match-sized gap in the eastward-flowing bands of rain.

RL: Still unbeaten, leaders Hermes-DVS face a tricky trip to the ironically-named Zomercomplex to take on Punjab-Ghausia. These two sides have had contrasting campaigns so far: Hermes, short on big names, have gone on winning thanks to determined team efforts and a remarkably effective attack, while Punjab, with most of the team which carried all before it last season, have struggled. Injuries undoubtedly haven’t helped, and they will be overjoyed to have Saqib Zulfiqar back in the side, especially if he is now fully fit. But the absence of his brother Sikander from the attack has perhaps been an even greater loss of cutting edge, and Punjab will be hoping that bolstering the attack with Tehzeeb Haider will make a difference to their fortunes. Hermes, on the other hand, will know that the men in green are always a tough proposition at the Zomercomplex, and will be looking to their bowlers, who until now have equally been without Oliver Elenbaas but have prospered nevertheless, to contain a potentially devastating top order.

BdJ: An away trip to visit the defending champions will be a significant hurdle if Hermes are to continue their remarkable unbeaten run, even if Punjab have looked off the boil all season. Both the remaining Zulfiqars are expected to play on Thursday too, both having got game time during last week’s pro-series fixtures, though Sikander notably wasn’t bowling and didn’t look at his quickest between the wickets either. With the Belgian national team in action this weekend Punjab will likely also have to do without the services of Burhan Niaz for one if not both of their upcoming games, leaving their seam attack looking still thinner. Hermes’ losses to international duty will hit even harder, however. With Daniel Doyle-Calle captaining the Spanish 50-over side in Denmark and Hikmatullah Jabarkhail headed to the Mdina Cup with Belgium, the front-runners will be losing both their lead scorer and the league’s leading wicket-taker for their trips to the Zomercomplex and then Westvliet. If they can make it through the extended week-end with their lead intact they may seriously start thinking about silverware, but it’s fair to say the odds are against them.

RL: Leading the chase, Kampong Utrecht will welcome HBS Craeyenhout to Maarschalkerweerd for what will be another crucial match for both teams. Just one match behind the leaders, Alex Roy’s men (a) need to prevent the gap from getting any bigger, and (b) will be keen to capitalise fully on the availability of their internationals while they have them. The Crows are likely less affected by the latter, although Kyle Klein is a key member of their line-up, but for them the former is even more significant, since they are already four points off the pace and another defeat would leave them fighting for the best possible place mid-table. Significant as O’Dowd and Edwards are for Kampong, the club made the most of their winter, and Lane Berry, Lorenzo Ingram and Lachlan Bangs, alongside Damien van den Berg, give the Utrecht side a top six as menacing as any in the competition. HBS, it’s true, are very good at making the most of what they have, and no team which includes Klein, Tayo Walbrugh, Wes Barresi and Lehan Botha can be written off. Kampong will need to be at their very best to make sure of the points.

BdJ: Given the availability issues that Kampong are likely to encounter deeper into the season, they can ill afford to drop points when they are at full strength, much less at home. HBS have always been stronger on their own (lack of) turf, and have yet to pick up a win on a natural wicket this season. The Crows have struggled to shake a reputation as mat-specialists in a competition where grass wickets are becoming the norm, and indeed have only won four matches on turf in the past three years. That said, three years and a day ago they did take two points home from Maarschalkerweerd, albeit against a very different Kampong side. The current HBS squad is less a product of Craeyenhout than previous seasons too, and one which on paper might be expected to travel better. All told an upset is not out of the question, though if it does happen one imagines Kyle Klein will have a key role in it.

RL: Currently third and fourth on net run rate, VRA and Voorburg will lock horns in the Amsterdamse Bos in what is undoubtedly one of the day’s four-pointers. Again, one tends to think first of the big names – Singh, Smal, Nidamanuru and Shariz for the home side, Levitt, Kaplan, Croes and perhaps Boissevain for the visitors – but games like this are often swung by the contributions of their team-mates, and Voorburg will be boosted by the performances so far of Cedric de Lange and, more recently, Patient Charumbira. The occasion will also be enlivened by the return to the Bos of Udit Nashier, yet to fit fully into his new outfit but capable of making a significant impression. For VRA, the new-ball attack of Ben Fletcher and Peter Ruffel is likely to be a key factor, although the spin of Shariz and Leon Turmaine can’t be discounted either. The winner here will stay in the hunt for the championship, while life will become much, much harder for whoever drops the points.

BdJ: It’s not been a great season so far for recent champions, and neither VRA (whose memories of 50-over silverware are admittedly somewhat distant now) nor 2023 winners Voorburg have looked their best this season. Voorburg’s enviable batting line-up has been let down somewhat by a bowling unit unsettled by availability and injury issues, and those issues are likely to continue. If they can squeeze another weekend out of Boissevain before he has to go back to New Zealand to make his days as a local there it would certainly be a boon, but one suspects the timer’s already buzzing on that front too. VRA’s bench strength has served them somewhat better, with the likes of Turmaine, Hake or Abhinay stepping up admirably when called up from the seconds, while the front-line seam attack of Fletcher, Ruffel and Abid has been consistently effective. The battle at the top of VCC’s innings where that trio are pitted against the competitions’ most productive opening pair may well prove decisive.

RL: Perhaps even more important for both teams, the meeting between Excelsior ‘20 and Sparta 1888 at Thurlede brings together two sides desperate to move clear of the depths of the relegation zone. Sparta’s keenness to get a crack at VOC last Saturday was very obvious, and no-one perhaps had more reason to be disappointed by the arrival of the rain. At least on paper, Excelsior are a much more serious proposition, with Raynard van Tonder and Antum Naqvi capable of scoring freely against any attack. The local players, too, have chipped in usefully at times, and one has a sense that if they put it all together they could ease clear of the danger zone. Sparta, by contrast, have become skilled at making the most of relatively limited resources, and in Ahsan Malik they still have a pace bowler with match-winning capabilities. The batting has so far been over-dependent on Kyle Klesse, but Juandre Scheepers proved last year that he, too, is able to play important innings, and if ever there was a must-win fixture, this is it.

BdJ: Excelsior had assembled a remarkable roster for the washed-out Schiedam Derby last week, with not only van Tonder and Naqvi lining up but Brett Hampton also ready to take the field in the game that never came, they’re unlikely to look as strong again however. Hampton will presumably be back at Hampshire come Thursday, and there’s questions hanging while the continued availability of Naqvi and van Tonder for the full season is also in doubt. Anything but two points at home to popular relegation-picks Sparta on Thursday would likely see the 2019 Champions supplant Sparta as bookie’s co-favourites to go down along with the hapless VOC. Indeed it would be bitterly ironic if the Schiedammers were to slip out of the Topklasse just as the likes of Stan van Troost and Joost Kroesen were beginning to look at home there. Sparta may claim to be sanguine about their own risk of relegation, but they’ve shown no signs of rolling over this season, and it’s telling that they were one of the two sides to wait the longest last week before giving up on getting a game in…

RL: No less threatened with a spell in the Hoofdklasse, bottom side VOC will entertain HCC, currently sixth on the table and themselves not entirely clear of relegation anxieties. There’s no two ways about it: in terms of firepower with both bat and ball, the Lions have a distinct advantage over the Bloodhounds, although the latter did spring a surprise when their bowlers were too sharp for an out-of-sorts Punjab on 10 May. There’s plenty of talent, if rather less experience, in VOC’s attack, but they are clearly suffering from the largely-unremarked departure of Asief Hoseinbaks, their leading wicket-taker last season but now back at Hoofdklasse club Dosti. Their visitors’ batting has blown a little hot and cold so far, as their position on the table attests, but Roman Harhangi and the brothers Jain, as well as overseas Scott Janett and Christiaan Oberholzer, will need to be at their most effective if they are to keep HCC’s batting to within bounds that their own somewhat shonky batters will be able to match.

BdJ: There’s little question that VOC are outmatched on paper in this encounter, and will be hoping to catch HCC on an off-day, but when those have come for Lions this season they really have been very off indeed, and even this depleted Bloodhounds squad still have the quality to take advantage. That said, while VOC are not the only club affected by Dosti getting the old gang back together this season, I’d have to agree the impact of the loss of Hoseinbaks has received too little attention from the Topklasse commentariat (which I guess is mostly just us really, so our bad there). This week they’ll also have to do without Monty Singh, who’s on duty with Denmark for the first of several engagements, leaving the batting still more dependent on new overseas Scott Jannet, unless someone else in the top order happens upon some kind of form. Playing as they have been VOC will be underdogs if HCC manage more than 150 runs, which they’ve done on three out of five attempts this season.

RL’s picks: Punjab, Kampong, Voorburg, Excelsior, HCC
BdJ’s picks: Punjab, Kampong, VRA, Excelsior, HCC

Preview Round 5

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 15/05/2025

If last week’s matches proved anything, it’s that predicting outcomes in the Topklasse is a mug’s game. But it also confirmed, in large part, that so far this season it’s much more fun being a batter than a bowler: with 11 centuries in the first 20 matches, compared with eleven in the whole of last season, and 13 totals in excess of 250, conditions have certainly favoured batting. With the good weather expected to extend into the weekend, that at least is a trend which might be expected to continue.

RL: Having broken their duck with a remarkable victory over Punjab, VOC Rotterdam now have to take on the current leaders, Hermes-DVS Schiedam. They will at least be at home at the Hazelaarweg, but that won’t be much of a bonus unless they can sort out the ills which continue to afflict their batting. Christiaan Oberholzer stood virtually alone against Punjab, and it was the bowlers, led by young Siebe van Wingerden and the rather less young Jelte Schoonheim, who manufactured the Bloodhounds’ surprise victory. Hermes, it is true, have some batting worries of their own, but with Ash Ostling and Daniel Doyle-Calle in supreme form at the top of the order and Asad Zulfiqar contributing his first significant knock in the win against Kampong they have so far been able to rely on a solid start. The Sky Blues’ bowling has so far been their trump card, though, and VOC will need more than another virtuoso effort from Oberholzer if they are to double their points haul here.

BdJ: The only side to have taken ten wickets in each of their matches thus far, Hermes indeed owe their place at the top of the table primarily to their attack. Coming up against a VOC batting card that has looked inconsistent at best, one might predict with reasonable confidence that that streak is likely to survive another week. The Bloodhounds have shown increasing fight over the short season so far though, culminating in a surprise win over the defending champions, achieved without their lead scorer Monty Singh. The bowling remains a concern however, and while Hermes do have a longish tail if one can get through to it, their top order has not shown itself anywhere like as prone to collapse as Punjab’s did last week.

RL: Sparta 1888 similarly took their first points at home to VRA last Saturday, but they now face a difficult journey to meet second-placed Kampong Utrecht, who will presumably be back to full strength into the bargain. With 119 out of a total of 226 Lane Berry was another overseas batter who could have done with more support last week, and Kampong’s bowlers soon found that they were defending a sub-par score in the conditions at the Loopuyt Oval. For Sparta, though, 200 and a bit has so far been the limit of their batters’ success, and that is unlikely to be enough against a Kampong line-up which has twice passed 300. Sparta’s attack, on the other hand, has been pretty effective, and it will need to be to contain Kampong at Maarschalkerweerd. Alex Roy’s side remain serious title contenders, but they cannot afford to yield any more ground to Hermes, and will be determined to bounce back with a win.

BdJ: The pressure will be on Kampong to get full value out of their stacked batting line-up on the occasions that they can field it, and anything less than two points at home to Sparta will be a blow to their ambition to take the title on their first season back. Edwards and O’Dowd have both been in fine touch for the Dutch and will have had plenty of time in the middle at Utrecht, though after a week of ODIs a somewhat tired square may play into the hands of the Spartans and their wiley, pace-off approach with the ball. Two-hundred-and-some may prove a more challenging total than in past rounds, though Kampong would remain favourites to chase anything below 250-odd, and the more likely side to set something substantially higher.

RL: Another side who claimed the points against more fancied opposition last week, HBS likewise are rewarded with a tough assignment, a Voorburg outfit which will be welcoming back most of its international contingent. The Craeyenhout attack, though, will be strengthened by the return of Kyle Klein, while the batting received a big boost against HCC from Lehan Botha’s remarkable display of aggression. One of the more intriguing features of the campaign so far has been the success of Wesley Barresi as a new-ball-sharing off-spinner, with seven wickets for 99 in the two matches since Tayo Walbrugh started using him in that role. Whether he will continue in it with Klein back in the side may be moot, but the encounter between the Crows’ bowlers and Voorburg’s powerful batting line-up should be one of the most interesting aspects of the round.

BdJ: A big caveat there is that Voorburg’s returning international contingent won’t be quite what it was on departure, with Viv Kingma picking up a hamstring injury and Bas de Leede likely heading back to Durham. Yet despite the unheralded success of the Crows’ attack so far this season, they’ll have their work cut out containing Voorburg’s intimidating batting card. Conversely, HBS have looked worryingly dependent on Barresi and Walbrugh for runs thus far, and if they’re going to take the points on Saturday they’ll likely have to win them with the ball.

RL: The meeting of VRA Amsterdam and HCC in the Bos will definitely count as a four-pointer: defeats for both sides last week see them level on points mid-table, a win on Saturday keeping them in touch with the three leaders, another loss bringing them unpleasantly close to relegation territory. With Boris Gorlee in outstanding form with the bat, 303 runs having come in his last three innings, the Lions looked as if they were recovering well from an opening-day loss until they fell away against HBS, while VRA suffered as much as anybody from the absence of their internationals in the past two rounds. So everything points to a real tussle here, and Johan Smal and Patrick Gouge, whose effort with the bat against Sparta proved to be in vain, will welcome much greater support from a VRA line-up which at full strength looks to be as formidable as any in the competition against an HCC bowling unit which has conceded over 600 runs in its last two outings.

BdJ: The outcome at the Bos on Saturday does look like it will be the difference between a stutter and a stumble for the two sides. HCC have the benefit of a settled side unperturbed by the national selectors and the leading run-scorer in the league, even if the rest of the batting order’s returns have been comparatively modest. VRA’s three international have spent much of the ODI series on the sidelines for one reason or another, and though we understand Teja Nidamanuru is expected to be fully fit for Saturday, none of the three have had much game time of late. That said the HCC attack has failed to contain lesser batting sides than what VRA will be fielding on Saturday, and the hosts will feel that if they can neutralise Gorlee the two points will be there for the taking.

RL: Sharing an unenviable position among the bottom four, Excelsior ‘20 and Punjab-Ghausia will be in even greater need of a victory when they meet at Thurlede. The comparative failure of Punjab’s top order, which has been reduced to 60 for four, 67 for four, 62 for four and 30 for six in its four innings so far, is one of the Topklasse’s great enigmas this season, although the injury to Saqib Zulfiqar has undoubtedly not helped a side which otherwise had a pretty settled look. Some bowling unit, one feels, is going to suffer mightily when Punjab hit their straps, and Excelsior’s, so often its great strength, has proved comparatively toothless so far. One notable exception to that was the under-used leg-spinner Joost Kroesen, who almost brought his side back into the game when they appeared to be down and out against Voorburg. But last season’s spearhead, Jason Ralston, has just five wickets from his first four games, and Excelsior will need his cutting edge to be at its sharpest if they are to put Punjab under pressure again.

BdJ: As much as the travails of the top four, Punjab’s title defense has been hamstrung by the Zulfiqar-shaped hole in the bowling attack. One indeed suspects that the likes of Minhas, Riaz and Musa Ahmad will not remain runless for long, but the lack of penetration in the bowling attack is a real concern, and indeed Ahmad’s formerly part-time spin has been the chief source of wickets for the side this season. Coming up against Raynard van Tonder, Antum Naqvi and an in-form Stan van Troost, there’s a danger Punjab’s attenuated attack could be exposed in a big way.

RL’s picks: Hermes, Kampong, Voorburg, VRA, Punjab

BdJ’s picks: Hermes, Kampong, Voorburg, VRA, Excelsior

Preview Round 3

Looking at Monday’s Liberation Day fixtures (for the uninitiated, Liberation Day is now a public holiday in the Netherlands once every five years) before Saturday’s second round is played makes prediction even more problematic than usual, especially since this time several clubs will be without their national team players. We knew from the outset that this year strength in depth would be a key factor in deciding the championship, and there will be a lot more evidence on that score by the time the dust settles on Monday evening. But we are where we are in several respects, so with all the usual caveats, here’s what we think.

RL: Whatever the results on Saturday, the clash between Kampong and Punjab-Ghausia at Maarschalkerweerd on Monday will be one of the key games of the season. Whether the Utrecht side will be able to maintain a challenge for the title in the absence of Edwards and O’Dowd is one of the big questions, and there could be no greater test of that issue than a game against the reigning champions, with or without their Zulfiqars. Here is a situation in which the acquisition of Lorenzo Ingram really comes into its own, but Lane Berry and Lachlan Bangs will also have a word or two to say in the matter, while Kampong also have plenty of home-grown talent, especially with the ball, Pierre Jacod having again proved his worth in the opening demolition of VOC. But Punjab’s all-round strength remains undoubted, and they will be out to demonstrate it to the full against the new kids on the block.

BdJ: Having strategically delayed my own contribution to this dialogue by a day, I’ve the benefit of hindsight looking back on the ambush sprung on Punjab in their own back yard by VRA yesterday, the defending champions proving bafflingly brittle despite the addition of Jonathan Vandiar. With Saqib Zulfiqar’s hamstring keeping him sidelined the batting depth isn’t quite what it might be, but one suspects Saturday’s performance was something of an aberration. Kampong, conversely, looked imperious with the bat against Excelsior, and indeed even without Edwards and O’Dowd one could argue that they remain a batting-heavy side. One would expect Punjab to revert to something closer to their altogether less embarrassing mean with the bat tomorrow of course, so all told a tough game to call, but you’d have to go with Kampong on form.

RL: VRA will travel to Schiedam without three of their regulars in skipper Teja Nidamanuru, opener Vikram Singh and spinner Shariz Ahmad, while hosts Hermes-DVS will have to manage without allrounder Aryan Dutt. But the Amsterdammers, whose Second XI is playing in the Hoofdklasse this season, have plenty of back-up, and with Johan Smal able to resume the captaincy they are probably as well fitted as anyone to cope with the depletion. If both sides have won on Saturday whoever takes the points here will retain an unbeaten record and have at least a share of the lead on the table, so there will be plenty on the line at the Loopuyt. Keen to build on their extremely promising return to the top flight last year, Hermes have a canny captain in Sebastiaan Braat, a competent, well-balanced attack, and a couple of explosive openers, but their main concern will be to ensure that their middle order comes to the party more consistently. Led by Ben Fletcher and Peter Ruffell, with Ashir Abid as first change, VRA’s attack is sharp enough to make that difficult, and Hermes will need to be at their best to take the points here.

BdJ: Coming off two wins, the most recent the closest thing to a hard-fought victory we’ve seen this season, Hermes may prove a sterner challenge than the cruising VRA have faced thus far. The Amsterdammers have the depth to shrug off the loss of three internationals in the bowling department at least, especially with Ben Fletcher expected to return to the fray, though without the trio lost to Oranje the batting does look rather dependent on Smal and the new overseas bats Cassidy and Gouge. How the three weather the trial by spin and pace-off seam from the likes of Kothari, Jabarkhail and Braat that awaits them at ‘t Loopuyt, together with the question of who if any amongst the VRA attack can contain or remove Daniel Doyle-Calle, will likely decide who takes the points from this one.

RL: Voorburg provide more players than any other to the Dutch squad, so they will really need to draw on their reserves when they make the short journey to De Diepput to take on HCC. Given, though, that those ‘reserves’ include former HCC seamer Patrick Charumbira and his fellow-Zimbabwean Carl Mumba, and that they will still have Mees van Vliet to take the new ball and Gavin Kaplan’s allround skills (as well as stand-in captaincy), they will make that journey in good heart. Untroubled by national team call-ups, the Lions will nevertheless have a great opportunity to show that they belong at the upper end of the table rather than the lower. HCC’s overseas Oliver White had a couple of games with Voorburg last season after Kaplan had departed, so like Charumbira he will be taking on former teammates, but the key to the home side’s chances of success will likely be how their home-grown batters cope against Voorburg’s well-balanced attack. They will certainly need to do a lot better than they managed last time they occupied the crease at De Diepput.

BdJ: While some teams prefer to rely on a pipe-line of youth players, others source reinforcements from overseas, and other still pull in talent from rival Dutch clubs, Voorburg persist with the sly tactic of just doing all of those things at once. The loss of Croes, Levitt, de Leede and Kingma consequently doesn’t hit quite as hard at VCC, who can call upon an unrivalled bench strength to compensate. HCC at de Diepput remains a tricky proposition however, and the Lions looked a massively improved outfit yesterday compared to their rather shambolic opening showing this season. The trusted trio of Staal, Overdijk and Gorlee will as ever be crucial to the hosts’ hopes, and there’s something to be said for a settled side on home turf, even when objectively outgunned.

RL: Having gone down fighting on day one, HBS and Sparta 1888 will both hope to show more of that resilience, with a better outcome, when they meet at Craeyenhout in another early-season showdown where getting away from the bottom three is the first priority. Although they will undoubtedly miss Kyle Klein from the attack, and possibly from the middle order, the Crows will otherwise be at full strength, and they have plenty of batting to give Sparta’s dogged attack a hard time. The Capelle side may tend to rely excessively on their overseas trio of Kyle Klesse, Lukas Boorer and Juandre Scheepers with the bat, but they do have a lower order which can chip in with valuable runs, and they may need them to do so against an HBS attack which has the likes of former skipper Ferdi Vink to call on in Klein’s absence. The home side, too, have a crop of promising youngsters coming through, as Elmar Boendermaker’s progress attests, so they have the luxury of choosing between the wiles of experience and the enthusiasm of youth.

BdJ: The Crows have racked up another fighting defeat since the above was written, while the Spartans’ efforts against HCC were rather less inspiring yesterday. That said, the HBS attack without Kyle Klein looks considerably less intimidating, while Sparta have been left entirely unscathed by the national selectors. Ahsan Malik’s return to regular competition has been a particular blessing, looking every bit as canny as back when he too was a regular in Orange. The Cappelle side have said they were sanguine about the possibility of relegation, but will doubtless be alert to the fact that a win over the winless Crows could put distance between them and the prospect.

RL: More than any other, reading this match depends greatly on what happens on Saturday: which of home side VOC and visitors Excelsior ‘20 has started to come back from their catastrophic start to the season? With Raynard van Tonder, Antum Naqvi and Jason Ralston, Excelsior have a trio of overseas who should be able to win them a fair number of crucial matches, and few will be crucial-er than this one as the table starts to take shape. But the two sides share the problem of under-performing home-grown players, and while in Aaditt Jain and Roman Harhangi the Bloodhounds have two of the most promising seamers in the competition, it’s in games like this that they will need them to step up and prove their mettle. The Bloodhounds will also be looking once more for big contributions from Scott Janett and Christiaan Oberholzer, their new overseas, who will likely be instrumental in the side’s campaign to stay up.

BdJ: While both sides put up a somewhat improved showing with the bat in the process of being thoroughly beaten yesterday, VOC almost getting to within 130 runs of Voorburg’s total was entirely down to a single partnership between new overseas Scott Janett and Denmark’s Monty Singh, whereas Excelsior can take heart from encouraging innings from both Kroesens and especially Stan van Troost. If the three maintain that momentum, new arrival Antum Naqvi can recapture some of his recent form, and/or Raynard van Tonder can play through the pain of the hand injury he picked up yesterday, Excelsior would have the makings of a formidable batting line up. While the Schiedammers bowling has rather lacked a cutting edge so far this season, given the Bloodhounds batting so far one might say it’s a question of an eminently resistible force meeting an easily moveable object…

RL’s picks: Punjab, VRA, Voorburg, HBS, Excelsior.

BdJ’s picks: Kampong, VRA, Voorburg, HBS, Excelsior.

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.