Topklasse Live | Semi Finals | As it Happened

Just two off Levitt’s next, and now, when it’s almost certainly too late, Floris de Lange gets the ball. A single apiece, then Singh despatches him over long on for the six which brings up his fifty. Then he does it again, finishing on 58* (with Smal on 28*), as VRA win by eight wickets.

Levitt back from the City End. Singh’s going after everything now, and Levitt does very well indeed to bowl him a maiden. Van Vliet from Mulder’s End, three singles and a wide, then Singh clips him through midwicket to go to 44*.

The acceleration starts, Singh lashing Nota away over midwicket for six. He doesn’t get hold of another, but they’re able to run a couple. Ten off the over; the lad’s bowled very well, but both batters are now fully set, and the margins are infinitessimally small.

Long shadows across the pitch now, just the crease at Mulder’s End in sunshine. Nota’s back from that end, just a couple off the first after drinks, but Singh smacks him back straight in his next, and they run three. He’s on 29* now, Smal on 22*. 33 needed off 13.

Three singles from the over as Van Vliet returns. Singles are enough at this stage. But enough for Singh, who swings Klein away, wide of mid-on for four. Six off the over, and VRA are cruising as they take a drink.

Big shout for leg-before against Smal off Nota, but umpire Van Liemt indicates it was going down. Then Nota drops short, and Singh pulls him into vacant territory at midwicket for a single. Halfway to the target with 18 overs left.

Levitt and especially Nota are bowling tidily enough, but Singh and Smal know they don’t need to do anything at all risky, with 61 needed off 21 overs. Klein back for a second burst from the City End, if burst’s the right word for off spin.

Smal immediately off the mark with a flick to the fine leg boundary. Nota replaces Van Vliet at Mulder’s End, three singles coming off his over. Then vintage Singh, down on one knee as he cracks Levitt through extra cover for four. Voorburg need to break this partnership very, very soon.

Be that as it may, there’s real controversy of a much more significant nature when Levitt (for it is he) gets one past Prince’s bat. The bails are off, but Prince stands his ground, forcing the umpires to consult. Prince seems to think Croes, standing up, broke the wicket, but Voorburg insist they have their man, and finally the umpire agrees. Exit a very unhappy Prince. Enter Johan Smal.

Despite rumours to the contrary, it’s Levitt who replaces Klein at the City End, and not Croes, who’s behind the stumps as usual. Surely?

Rasool turns Van Vliet just backward of square for another boundary, but then he flashes, edges, and Croes snaffles the catch. Another disappointment for Rasool, but Voorburg spirits rise. Less, perhaps, when they see Singh joining Prince, with Smal to come at four.

Van Vliet starts with a strong of wides, which Voorburg can ill afford, and then Rasool gets off the mark with a nicely-driven four through extra. Four for Prince to fine leg, followed by a couple, and VRA have made an excellent start to their chase.

Klein starts from the City End, bowling at something approaching his old pace. Prince takes a single off the first ball of the innings, but the rest comprises dots to Rasool. Van Vliet from Mulder’s End.

Floyd, to his own disgust, strays down the leg side and is turned for four by Nota. Some free-wheeling – and for a fielding side, extremely irritating – tail-end hitting includes Nota thumping Eales wide of mid-on for six to take Voorburg into triple figures. To run it is, De Lange reverses to Floyd for another couple. It’s unlikely to be enough, one feels, but that was a useful little stand at the end.

Shariz finishes with four for 17 from his seven. Three off Fletcher’s last, but when Floyd replaces Shariz he gets Boissevain first-up, as he swings across the line and is stumped by Prince. Nota the last man.

Fletcher replaces Eales, and Boissevain scoops him behind square. They run three, but there’s a bit of hoo-ha, possibly about whether the ball crossed the boundary or not, and the umpires confer. It stays as three, although the discussions continue. Six from the over. Another six, in ones and twos, off the first four balls of Shariz’s last, but then Van Vliet holes out to Floyd at deep midwicket. Floris de Lange in at ten.

Boissevain hits Eales over mid-off for four. But Voorburg will need a lot of those, and it’s hard to see where they’re going to come from.

All over at Thurlede. Tushar Sharma gets the last, Gopinath lofting him back over his head and O’Dowd moving to his left to take the catch. Kampong win by 84 runs, and head to Nieuw Hanenburg next week for the grand final rematch against Quick Haag.

. . . to get a key wicket, as Molenaar tries to go over the top and Smal, running back at deep mid-off, takes a stunning diving catch. Van Vliet in, but the writing’s on the wall.

Molenaar and Laurens Boissevain have added a dozen runs, but with only ten overs left they have a lot of work to do if Voorburg are to get anywhere near a defensible total. All the bowlers have overs in hand. And Eales comes back from the City End.

Gopinath and Malikzai have stopped the rot at least, and their stand is now the highest of Salland’s innings. And sho’ ’nuff, as I write that Malikzai, who’s made 16, gets turned inside-out by Nana and skies a catch to Van den Berg at deep cover. James Ridley the last man.

The hole is deeper now, as Klein goes back on his stumps as provides Shariz with a very simple return catch. Tom de Leede in to join Molenaar. And he lasts just five balls, trapped in front to give Shariz figures now of three for 2.

Shariz Ahmad into the attack from Mulder’s End, Croes drives and edges to Prince. He made 15. And Voorburg are in a hole at the halfway mark.

O’Dowd gets into the act, Lasi driving, the edge flying to Jacod at point. Salland have had trouble gauging the pace and bounce of the Thurlede mat. Lasi goes for 18, Malikzai the new man.

There’s no question that Roy his leading from the front: his figures are currently 6 – 3- 8 – 2. Max O’Dowd on now from the Chalet End. Lasi’s moved to 16*, supported by Gopinath, but Kampong are in control.

Make-or-break time for Voorburg, with Croes and Klein at the crease. Hake bowling from the City End now, Floyd on from the other. But at around three an over, Voorburg will need a big acceleration at some stage if they’re to challenge VRA’s batting.

Honestly, you can’t look away for a second . . . Roy gets one past Lubbers’s bat, taking middle and off, and Salland’s collapse continues.

Croes is up and running, turning Fletcher fine off his pads for four. But he’s lost De Lange, who drives a little uppishly and is caught by Floyd in the covers. Ryan Klein in at five.

Elam Bharathi survives the hat-trick ball, but the next sees his off-stump knocked back. Three in four balls for Kumar, and it’s hard to see a way back for Salland as Reinder Lubbers joins Lasi.

Things are comparatively quiet in the Bos, where De Lange and Croes are intent on digging their side out of trouble against Fletcher and Eales. Croes yet to get off the mark.

It’s hard to keep up here: Roy bowls a maiden, then Kumar gets Usmanzai first ball as well, also LBW. Kumar on a hat-trick!

And the slump continues, as Kumar traps Ottachchige plumb in front with the first ball he receives. Usmanzai the new man, with Salland in all sorts.

Another at Thurlede meanwhile: Roy on for Jacod, Khan driving him through the covers for four. But the next takes a leading edge, flying to Van der Harten at point. Advantage Kampong as Lasi joins Ottachchige.

A double strike by VRA. First, Fletcher catches the bottom edge of Gigani’s bat, and Prince grabs the catch just off the ground. That was the end of the third over, and off the first ball of Eales’s next Levitt is surprised by some steep bounce, gloving the catch to Singh at slip. Croes joins Cedric de Lange in the middle.

A lovely straight drive from Pruss off Kumar produces another boundary. The left-arm seamer is proving more expensive at the moment than Jacod, who is causing plenty of problems. It’s Kumar who strikes, though, as Pruss tries to flick a full delivery to leg, and is caught, either in front or in the gully. LBW, the scorers think, although there’s still some audible debate. Either way, he’s out. Ottachchige joins Khan.

They’ve started in the Bos, Fletcher bowling from Mulder’s End to Levitt, who opens with Gigani. Just a single off the first. Eales from the City End.

The first piece of real aggression from Khan, as he lofts Kumar over extra cover for four. ‘It’s in the river,’ is the cry from someone less than totally conversant with the topography of Dutch cricket grounds But then ‘ditch’ does less than justice to the waterways with which they are often surrounded. Anyway, as I write this, Jacod gets the breakthrough, Ganesan playing an awkward cut shot, feet all over the place, and caught at point by Edwards. Pruss in at three.

Johan Smal has won the toss for VRA, and elected to bowl first. Tom de Leede in for Philippe Boissevain for the defending champions.

Kumar starts from the Chalet End, bowling to Venkat Ganesan. Who cuts his first ball behind point for four. A single brings Talha Ahmed Khan on strike, and after three dots he tucks the last away on the leg side for a single. Pierre Jacod from the City End.

The news from the Bos is that they’re looking at a 15:00 start, with 33 overs a side.

And it’s all over: Nana bowled by Malikzai with a very good yorker. Kampong have gone from 134 for three to 178 all out, and the momentum is all with Salland. The 28 runs from Sharma and Nana have given Kampong something to bowl at, but you’d have to say it’s Salland’s to lose from here. We’ll be back for the chase, but who knows, perhaps there’ll be some action at the Bos before then?

Gopinath returns from the Chalet End, and immediately picks up a fourth. Sharma, having hit the previous ball for four, gets a tickle down the leg side, and keeper Ottachchige does the rest. He goes for 18, Shashank Kumar the last man.

Back-to-back fours for Sharma off Bharathi get the scoreboard moving, the first lofted straight, the second pulled meatily through midwicket. And Nana picks up the same songsheet, pulling Pruss to the square leg boundary, then driving through extra for another. 16 off four balls make a significant difference, although 200 is still a long way off.

Salland are really up and about, as Australian commentators are wont to say. Lots of noise out in the middle. Tushar Sharma and Kertan Nana are left to salvage what they can from the wreckage of this innings, with Elam Bharathi and Pruss not making it easy for them. A maiden from each end serves to turn the screw further.

Believe it or not, another one gone during the handover. First ball after the drink, Chaturvedi clips Pruss firmly but uppishly back, and the bowler takes the low catch. And now a moment of pure slapstick, as Roy lofts Pruss high and straight, the bowler drops the catch, the ball falls to mid-on, who has come in for the catch as well, and he throws the wicket down with Roy well short of his ground. Absolute mayhem. And Kampong now in a deep, deep hole.

And another down now as van den Harten top-edges a sweep off Pruss and is held at Usmanzai at fine leg. Chaturvedi next man in, but first they’ll take a drink.

Roy and van der Harten digging in at Thurlede meanwhile. Roy’s seen off 16 deliveries for his single run. Pruss into the attack now alongside Elam Bharathi.

They’re taking an early lunch at the Bos, still very wet out there apparently. next inspection will be at 14:00 but general feeling is one of cautious pessimism.

And it’s a real collapse now, as Elam Barathi comes into the attack and bowls Jacod around his legs first ball. Three wickets in less than four overs and Kampong on the ropes of a sudden. Skipper Alex Roy to the crease with his side under some serious pressure now.

Jacod off to a brisk start as he takes Gopinath for four over mid on, then clears the front foot and opens the shoulders to muscle him back over his head for four more. Van den Berg on 44 at the other end, but won’t get any further than that. Clips Malikzai into the on side and sets off, hesitates, and is lost. Jacod stop-starting at the other end perhaps didn’t help, but the end result is van den Berg half a foot short as he scrambles to get back and the direct hit from Gopinath takes the bails off. Van der Harten in.

Edwards skips down to Gopinath to drive uppishly wide of long off for four, prompting a lengthy ball-hunt. The break in play pays off for Salland though, as next ball he looks to repeat the shot and picks out the man on the rope. Jacod joins van den Berg in the middle

Van den Berg gets after Ganesan in the next, slog-sweeping for six and then lofting the next ball over thee covers for four. Hundred comes up in the next over, though bats look wary of Gopinath. Malikzai returns at the other end now, replacing Ganesan, and fourth ball van den Berg clobbers him over long on for six more to go to 40* off 34 balls. Salland are gonna need a third wicket sooner rather than later…

A second for Gopinath just after drinks, fullish and Alphonse flashing, pops up an edge to Ottachchige at the stumps who’s late on it, can only palm it up, but Ganesan’s alert at slip and sweeps behind the keeper to collect cling on at full stretch and Alphonse has to go. Edwards joins van de Berg, who is already into the twenties..

A further inspection at 13:00, some signs of improvement we hear.

Ridley comes in for some tap first over after the powerplay, Alphonse lapping him for three then O’Dowd twice taking him for four through midwicket. Lubbers still steady at the other end sends down a maiden, then Gopinath replaces Ridley to immediate effect. O’Dowd blocks his first ball but is surprised by some extra bounce on the next and edges behind. He goes for 34, replaced by Damien van den Berg who watches a couple through before getting off the mark with a straight six. Ganesan replaces Lubbers now.

Ridley into the attack and after one over O’Dowd’s seen enough of him, launched high over deep midwicket and that will be a ball-hunt. Alphonse still a little more circumspect, on strike third ball and blocks out the over. Lubbers still from the other end, gives up his first boundary as O’Dowd picks one up off his pads and collects four through backward square. No fireworks yet at Thurlede, but Kampong will be happy enough with that powerplay.

Alphonse survives an insistent LBW appeal after being struck on the back pad by Lubbers, but replies with a cracking cover drive next ball that’s held up just inside the rope. Hard run three the closest thing to a boundary so far. Or rather it was until just now as Malikzai, still struggling for rhythm, sends down a waist high no ball followed by a wide before Alphonse puts the free hit away with a remarkable square drive played from almost a kneeling position.

And they’re underway, O’Dowd and Alphonse opening for Kampong, Malikzai takes the new ball. Bit wayward from him first up, couple of wides down leg and O’Dowd’s able to pick up a couple more glancing fine. Lubbers from the other end more economical just bowling an off stump line. Just one off his first.

Salland win the toss and put Kampong in to bat. They’re on the artificial today it seems.

Could be in for a long wait at the Bos. Covers have failed to keep out last night’s rain. Looks like several points of failure as there’s damp patches all over. Inspection at noon but that may be optimistic.