TOTY – TKcricket

Topklasse Team of the Year 2024

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 04/09/23

So, that time rolls round again when we at TKcricket nominate our Topklasse Team of the Year. It’s all a bit different this year, since the influx of overseas players recruited by the clubs changed the character of the competition (once again, we’re only concerned here with the 50-over version) to a significant degree.

RL: Whatever the clubs may have done, I think we should confine our choice of overseas players to two, as we have done in the past. There is, of course, a large field to choose from, but for my money the first name on the sheet has to be that of Voorburg’s Gavin Kaplan, who went past fifty no fewer than seven times in just ten innings in compiling his 701 runs, going on to three figures on four of those occasions. Add to that the fact that he proved a useful change bowler, and his selection is a no-brainer. The second overseas is trickier: pace spearheads Jason Ralston (Excelsior) and Cameron Fraser (Sparta) claimed 38 and 29 wickets respectively for teams in the lower reaches of the table. Ralston has a strong claim, but my choice would probably be ACC’s Izhaan Sayed, who not only had the knack of grabbing early wickets but also topped his struggling side’s batting averages.

BdJ: While I do appreciate the high-minded sentiment on the overseas question, I’d be inclined to take a Jeffersonian approach and stylishly swim with the current on this one rather than risk principled petrification. With the influx of overseas showing no signs of slowing, if we stick to our guns here we may struggle to even pick a competitive XI in a few seasons’ time. Close to half the players in the competition already hail from abroad, accounting for more than half the runs and wickets this season, so I say who are we to blow against the wind?

Nowhere is that case more convincing than at the top of the batting card. The majority of clubs went with overseas at the top of the order this season, and of Dutch-produced or Netherlands-qualified players nobody averaged over 30 opening the batting. VCC’s Michael Levitt was the best of a bad bunch with 260 runs at 28.9, a disappointing season by his own standards, followed by HCC’s Tonny Staal with 300 runs at 27.3. If one had to pick an opening pair from among the local players one would probably go for Vikram Singh and Musa Ahmad, though both had more consistent success down the order. Ahmad’s sometime opening partner and near-permanent fixture in Dutch club cricket Shoaib Minhas arguably has a stronger case for his efforts against VRA alone, hitting the match-winning century in the first qualifying semi at the Zomercomplex that secured a home final and two half centuries against the same opposition earlier in the season making sure would be played there in the first place. Jonathan Vandiar also deserves a mention as an occasional opener albeit a committed overseas, and it’s notable that Punjab are the only side with two bats in the 500-club this season. Hermes’ overseas opening combo of Ashley Ostling and Daniel Doyle Calle were the most prolific pairing at the top of the order this season, Ostling the only opener to hit 500 runs from the top of the order during the League Phase.

RL: I can’t argue with m’colleague’s analysis of the problem, but my view is pragmatic as well as ‘high-minded’: if the competition continues on its present course, it will become almost impossible to produce young Dutch players capable of holding their own on the international stage. The clubs were unhappy when the Dutch-produced contingent in the national side withered to one or two, and it’s true that some progress has been made under the two Ryans (Campbell and Cook) to restore the balance. It’s really a topic for a different discussion, but I am personally convinced that the KNCB will need to act to curb the current arms race. That way, madness lies.

Another structural problem, of course, is that some of the leading players were absent for much of the second phase, so averages are probably a better guide to performance than aggregates. I’d certainly want to go with Musa Ahmad (420 at 30.00) as one of the openers, and Singh’s 367 at 40.78 make him a credible partner, even if neither of them had the sort of season they might have wanted.

As for the rest of the top order, if we have Kaplan at three, there are three more places available in the top six, or perhaps four, depending on what we decide about a keeper. Punjab’s Saqib Zulfiqar, for instance, finished seventh in the averages behind six overseas players, and his 326 runs at 46.57 give him a strong claim. He would slot in well at four, while I’d be inclined to include Voorburg’s Noah Croes (466 at 38.83) at five, thus filling the wicketkeeping spot at the same time. That would leave room for two more batters, or batting allrounders (it’s notable that apart from Croes, all the Dutch-qualified players we’ve named so far are more than useful change bowlers). The leading contenders would be Shariz Ahmad (VRA, 331 at 41.38) and Ryan Klein (Voorburg, 356 at 39.56), both of whom have greatly improved their batting and have played crucial innings for their sides.

BdJ: While I’m inclined to agree that Something Must Be Done about the proliferation of overseas players in the league, I still feel our Team of the Year ought to reflect the competition as it is rather than as we’d like it to be. Perhaps as a compromise we could make room for those overseas now permanently based in the Netherlands and intent qualifying for the national side. That would allow us to pick the soon-to-be-Dutch-eligible Tayo Walbrugh, whose 596 runs for HBS at an average of almost 60 make him a strong runner-up to Kaplan in the batting stakes this season. A case might also be made for VRA stand-in skipper Johan Smal, who missed out on the 500 club by just five runs and was indispensable to his side’s making their run to the final despite Teja Nidamanuru’s season-ending injury early in the summer and the regular absences of Singh, Ahmad and Floyd.

Croes has little competition for the keeper slot, with none of the other glovemen in the league coming close to matching his 466 runs. Nonetheless some honourable mentions can be made, Luke Scully did some fine work in the handful of games he played for VRA 1s this season, averaging 44.3 across 4 innings in the Topklasse as well as playing a crucial role in the second team’s successful promotion campaign in the Eersteklasse. In terms of pure glovemanship, it’s worth noting that Sparta’s Riley Mudford gave up just three byes over the course of the season, even if he wasn’t able to replicate his short-format form with the bat. HCC’s Yash Patel also had a fine season behind the poles, effecting five stumpings and taking 21 catches to top the dismissal tally table.

RL: An hon. ment. also for Fawad Shinwari, whose 27 victims in 14 matches took him to the top of list and helped Punjab to their title. He also raises the thorny question of where Belgian-based players fit into our discussion of the overseas issue.

Whether or not we agree that Shariz and Saqib earn a place as allrounders, both have a strong claim as wrist-spinners, especially the former, whose 21 wickets at 21.52 may have been a smaller tally than last year but came from just 14 matches. Not many slow bowlers feature prominently in the averages, but Mahesh Hans (ACC) and Leon Turmaine (VRA) both averaged a shade over 16, the latter once he’d forced his way back into the first team. Neither, perhaps, has an overwhelming claim, but if we really wanted to include a finger spinner both could be relied upon to produce a decent performance.

BdJ: It has indeed been a remarkably lean summer for the slow-bowlers, with seamers occupying the first eight spots on the wicket-taking table, with Ahmad’s 21 the best tally for a spinner. The indefatigable Lorenzo Ingram was the only finger spinner to break 20 wickets this season, though six of those came in succession running through a hapless Sparta lower order. With two slow bowlers already penciled in on the strength of their batting, I’d be inclined to make room for an extra quick given the weight of wickets this season has heavily favoured them.

On that front it’s hard to look past Jason Ralston’s 38 for Excelsior, whose 14-wicket lead over Cameron and Sayed outweighs the latters’ ability to chip in an average 20-odd runs in my book. Among Dutch and Dutch-qualified seamers the stand-out this season was newcomer Ben Fletcher with 29 wickets at under 15 for VRA, the tall left armer already attracting the attention of national selectors. Hermes’ Ralph Elenbaas also had an excellent season, eclipsing his more-celebrated brother with 25 wickets at 15.4. Sajjad Kamal also enjoyed a fine first season for Punjab picking up 24 scalps, though they came at a comparatively hefty price in terms of runs conceded. Mees van Vliet, charged with leading the VCC attack while national duty or injury kept Kingma and Klein out of the side, is next on the wicket-taking table with 23 across 16 matches, but was similarly expensive, going at an economy rate of 5.65 an over. If one were to prize miserliness over penetration in our second seamer three names jump out. The first is that of Ryan Klein, who sent down 48 overs at the cost of just 142 runs, but then of course he spent much of the season bowling off-spin rather than his usual medium pace. HCC’s Adam Leonard was the most economical of the dedicated quicks, his 19 wickets coming at 16.9 runs apiece at the rate of 3.4 per over.The last is that of last year’s TK Team of the Year skipper Martijn Snoep, who had another quietly effective season for his side picking up 18 wickets at 16.4 while going at 3.5 an over.

RL: That about covers the field, I reckon. A shout-out, though, for Kyle Klein of HBS, who claimed 18 wickets despite playing only seven matches, at an economy rate of 4.05. And in a season in which young home-grown players had regrettably few opportunities, or who seemed to have gone backwards when they did, two young seamers who enhanced their reputations were Aaditt Jain and Roman Harhangi of VOC. I still have a strong preference for picking Dutch (or at least Dutch-qualified) players over out-and-out incomers, which would lead me to give the nod to Fletcher – who also offers the bonus of being a left-armer – and Elenbaas minor over the rest of the contenders. That gives us three front-line seamers plus the incidental contributions of Kaplan and Singh, and two spinners.

Plenty of bowling, so we can afford to go back and add one more batter. Here the choice lies between adding an opener, who would have to be an overseas like Punjab’s Shoaib Minhas (see above), and including another batting allrounder, which which case the strongest claim is arguably that of Ryan Klein.

As for the captaincy, the only regular captains we’ve included are Croes and Walbrugh, and for my money the nod should go to the former, who led Voorburg with authority whenever he was available.

BdJ: The matter of the armband is a tricky question this year, with several clubs switching captains through the season and few full-time skippers having stand-out seasons. The field-promoted captain Smal is the notable was the notable exception there, probably the unluckiest to miss the cut this year and would have taken the armband too had he made it into the XI. But I’d agree that Croes is a sound second choice to lead our 2024 TK Topklasse Team of the Year…

The Team: Musa Ahmad (Punjab-Ghausia), Vikram Singh (VRA), Gavin Kaplan (Voorburg), Noah Croes (Voorburg), Tayo Walbrugh (HBS Craeyenhout), Saqib Zulfiqar (Punjab-Ghausia), Shariz Ahmad (VRA), Ryan Klein (Voorburg), Ralph Elenbaas (Hermes-DVS), Ben Fletcher (VRA), Jason Ralston (Excelsior ’20).

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Topklasse team of the Year 2019

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 11/09/19

And so, once again, it falls to us to take up our self-appointed task of selectors of TKcricket’s Topklasse Team of the Season.

RL: Unlike most clubs we’re confining ourselves to two overseas players, but making that choice has become more difficult, not only because there are more to choose from, but also because the definition has become somewhat blurred. Several names do, however, leap out at us: leading run-scorer Sharn Gomes of HBS, who made 832 runs at 52.00 and HCC’s Bryce Street, who tops the averages with 722 at 65.64, both have strong claims among the batsmen, as do Nic Smit, who entered late but often held Voorburg’s staggering batting together, and Gomes’s team-mate Zac Elkin was an effective opener for HBS. Among the bowlers two stand out: Dosti’s Kuldeep Diwan with 36 wickets at 10.36 and Brady Barends of ACC, an outstanding spearhead throughout the season and not far behind with 33 wickets at 13.58. Which pair we opt for in the end might depend on the balance of the side, but I’d provisionally go for Street, a genuine allrounder, and Barends.

BdJ: The somewhat stringent restriction we’re placing on selection here inevitably means some deserving players will miss out, but Street is first name on the sheet for my money. Besides topping the batting averages he was also HCC’s lead wicket-taker with 25 scalps at 22 and also topped the outfield catch count with 16 grabs. I think the case of Gomes might be referred to our event technical committee given his length of residence in the Netherlands, but three names from last year’s team might give us pause, with Taruwar Kohli, Jay Bista and Lorenzo Ingram also having excellent seasons again. Bista’s absence for the first few matches arguably cost Quick in the end, his 625 runs coming at a strike rate of well over 100 and his off-spin also contributing 17 wickets, likewise Kohli’s early departure told against Dosti. Ingram meanwhile had the second best average of any bowler after Diwan whilst also racking up almost 500 runs. With Street already filling the seam all-rounder’s role I’d be tempted to go with Diwan over Barends for the second slot, though that would certainly make Barends the unluckiest player to miss out. An honourable mention too for his ACC team-mate Jean Marais, who had an excellent season with the gloves, effecting 21 dismissals in his 13 matches and conceding just 6 byes, while also doing a job with the bat after being promoted to open. Had he stayed on a full season he might well have forced his way into the side.

BdJ: If Elkin and Bista miss out for want of a Dutch passport then we’ve arguably benched the league’s two most successful openers already, but there a handful of candidates for whom a strong case could be made. HCC’s Adam Wiffen was leading the run scoring tables for a decent chunk of the season before being eclipsed by his team-mate, and doing so against the new ball. With 525 runs at an average a shade over 40 and a top-score of 135*, even a comparatively quiet later half of the season is probably not enough to rule him out. VOC’s Max O’Dowd is another strong contender, though his best performances this season have come in Orange or away at the European Championships, with 575 runs at 38 he’s the only full-time opener other than Elkin and Bista to break into the top ten scorers of the season. Just one spot behind him is VRA’s young Vikram Singh, who broke 500 runs for the first (but surely not last) time this year.

RL: There aren’t too many locally-produced openers who had a really consistent season, and Singh – who has both youth and left-handedness on his side – is undoubtedly one who made real progress. He therefore makes my list, alongside Wiffen or O’Dowd or, if we feel inclined to gamble on his hit-or-miss approach, Tobias Visée of HBS. He only made 417 runs at 27.80, but with a strike rate in excess of 140 – the best in the competition by a distance – he takes a lot of the pressure off his partner and the later batsmen. For T20 it’s a no-brainer; for the longer format the call is tighter, and the safer choice would be either Wiffen or O’Dowd.

RL: For the three or four top- and middle-order batsmen there is perhaps a wider range of options, although many of them are scarcely unfamiliar names. Wesley Barresi didn’t have a stellar season, but he still made 597 runs at 49.75, and his century against HCC in the opening game was simply a joy to watch. He had the advantage of batting in a very strong top six, but others demand consideration because they held their side together week after week: VRA’s Peter Borren, for example, whose 721 runs at 48.07 included a century and six fifties in 16 innings, or Mudassar Bukhari (Sparta 1888), with 589 at 36.81. Another in this category is Quick’s Geert Maarten Mol, whose contribution was ultimately unavailing but nevertheless a model of true grit. These four are in the veteran category, and it’s a little disturbing that of the younger brigade several made less impact than might have been hoped, or flourished briefly and then fell away. My foursome would therefore be: Barresi, Borren, Mol, Bukhari.

BdJ: Another fine season for Borren with the bat, though you’d say he’d already nailed down a place in the side on the strength of his captaincy, turning VRA’s season around after taking back the armband with the Amsterdammers looking Hoofdklasse-bound. When it comes to purely batting performances, however, I’m not sure any of the above can reasonably lay claim to a place ahead of Ben Cooper, who’s 629 runs came at exactly a run-a-ball and put him 5th on the overall scoring table. Cooper could also fill the number three role, where the other contenders have all preferred to bat down the order this season. Bukhari has been coming in at five or six for Sparta, though as he’d likely be making the team on the strength of his bowling anyway I’d be tempted to drop him down the order to make room for another specialist bat, ideally Gomes at four if we deem him eligible.

BdJ: The wicketkeeper’s slot is also a little trickier than it was last time round, if Toby Visée’s preferred opening role is already taken it’s tough to make a case for him on keeping stats alone, while his nearest rival last year, VOC’s Scott Edwards, only kept in six games all season. Conversely Sparta’s Atse Buurman is a long way in front on total dismissals, 13 ahead of his nearest rival on 34 across 17 matches, though of course that has a fair bit to do with where and with whom he was playing. With ACC’s Jean Marais ruled out on nationality grounds, I’d be tempted to go with VCC’s Noah Croes, fourth on the dismissals count and the only full-time gloveman to break 500 runs for the season.

RL: I hadn’t completely ruled out picking Visée as an opener, but unless we went that route I’d agree with my distinguished colleague that it’s hard to include him for his keeping alone. Buurman’s an interesting case: 20 of his 34 victims came in nine games at the Bermweg, and while more than half his catches came off the bowling of Mudassar Bukhari and Joost Martijn Snoep, he accepted chances from all Sparta’s other bowlers as well. Purely on keeping I think you’d have to go for him, but he had a disappointing season with the bat, and if that’s a consideration then Croes might well get the nod.

RL: It wasn’t a vintage season for spin bowlers, and the most effective of them was ACC’s Saqib Zulfiqar, who took 30 wickets at 17.77, well ahead of any of his Dutch-based rivals. If we don’t pick Kuldeep Diwan as one of our overseas players then leg-spinner Zulfiqar is the obvious choice, ahead of other possible contenders like Umar Baker, who made the most of limited opportunities at Excelsior, Philippe Boissevain (Voorburg), Leon Turmaine (VRA), and national captain Pieter Seelaar (VOC).

BdJ: Yes the slow bowlers have played something of a supporting role all season, and the lack of competition only strengthens the case for picking the season’s lead wicket taker in Diwan. Saqib Zulfiqar’s 30 wickets make him the strongest candidate for a second spinner, though his ACC team-mate Devanshu Arya also had a fine season, picking up 24 wickets at a shade under 17. Lorenzo Ingram has also been particularly parsimonious for Excelsior, going at barely over 2.5 per over and his 26 wickets coming at an average of 12.69.

BdJ: With Bukhari , Borren and Street pencilled in the pace section already looks fairly solid, and Barends aside it’s not easy to pick a fourth seamer. Champions Excelsior boast four quicks that all passed 20 wickets at a sub-20 average, of whom the stand-out is probably Rens van Troost who bagged 23 scalps at 16.39. But behind Barends and Bukhari the summer’s most prolific wicket-taking quick was HBS’ Berend Westdijk, who took 31 in 16 matches to lift his total career tally past 200 and breaking into the top 50 wicket-takers.

RL: Van Troost was undoubtedly one of the most effective pace bowlers in the competition once he was fully fit and he was, along with skipper Tom Heggelman, a key factor in Excelsior’s regaining of the title. And Westdijk, too, must be regarded as a serious contender, the most productive of HBS’s under-regarded seam attack, in which Farshad Khan and Wessel Coster (as well as overseas Zak Gibson) bowled some seriously impressive spells.

RL: So: we’re agreed on Vikram Singh, Bryce Street, Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Saqib Zulfiqar, and Rens van Troost. That leaves five places: an opener (Wiffen, Visée, or possibly O’Dowd), an overseas (Diwan or Barends), a keeper (probably Croes if Visée doesn’t make it, or just possibly Buurman), at least one specialist batsman (Gomes if we treat him as local, and/or Cooper and/or Barresi), and possibly another bowler if there’s room. Personally, I’d be inclined to open with Visée, who would also keep, leaving room for both Cooper and Gomes, as well as whichever overseas we settle on and one more bowler.

BdJ: There’s certainly a case for opening with Visée, who racked up 417 runs across the season despite ducking out to Canada for three games, not least because his strike rate of 144.79 might go some way to balance out Singh’s comparatively conservative approach, which occasionally saw him rack up hefty scores to the detriment of VRA’s actual chance of winning. It’s likewise considerations of strike rate that put Cooper ahead of other contenders for the upper midlle order, though his improving offspin also helps, especially if one looks at qualifty of wickets over quantity. That said I’d hesitate to rely on either Cooper or Barresi as a second spinner to back up Zulfiqar, so Diwan’s a no-brainer for me. The question we’re left with is whether both Gomes and Barresi fit into the side, or whether we plump for another seamer. My inclination here would be to go with both Westdijk and van Troost, Barresi missing out unless a convincing case be made against Gomes’ local status. If forced to choose between van Troost and Westdijk, then purely on weight of wickets I’d go with the latter, though reasonable minds may differ.

RL: Let’s think about the attack: both Bukhari and Westdijk have regularly taken the new ball for their clubs, while the other seamers – Street, Van Troost and Borren – are arguably more effective later in the innings. The fact that three of these five are genuine all-rounders makes selection easier, so I’m happy to include all of them, and to take Diwan ahead of Barends on grounds of balance. With Visée keeping we have room for another specialist batsman, and that leaves us with the difficult choice between Gomes and Barresi. Would it be a criminal offence to exclude Gomes on grounds of nationality? His claims to being local are, it seems to me, doubtful at this stage, but his batting average is a tad better than Barresi’s, and his three centuries and four fifties in 18 innings constitutes an even more impressive level of consistency than Peter Borren’s. So Gomes shades it, and if that means we need to be a little flexible on our self-imposed two-foreigners policy, then so be it.

When all’s said and done, then, the TKcricket Team of the Season is: Tobias Visée (HBS), Vikram Singh (VRA), Ben Cooper (VRA), Sharn Gomes (HBS), Bryce Street (HCC), Peter Borren (VRA, captain), Mudassar Bukhari (Sparta), Saqib Zulfiqar (ACC), Kuldeep Diwan (Dosti), Rens van Troost (Excelsior), and Berend Westdijk (HBS).
12th man: Noah Croes