Rod Lyall and Bertus de Jong 03/08/23
Back from the traditional ‘cricket-free weekend’, teams in the Championship Pool have just two more games to ensure that they make it into the semi-finals on 19 August. Voorburg are already guaranteed not only a semi-final spot but also to finish top of the table, with a home draw in the double-chance first semi-final, but none of the other five is secure; to be absolutely safe, they will need to win twice.
In the Relegation pool the first round of return matches will take place, with the issue of who goes down all but settled: if Salland lose to HBS at Het Schootsveld they will be playing in the Hoofdklasse next season.
RL: With a cushion of one point over their opponents, VOC Rotterdam, HCC will also enjoy home advantage at De Diepput. Neither has been able to string together a consistent run of performances since the long T20 break, the Rotterdammers evidently missing the contribution of Max O’Dowd. They will also miss young Roman Harhangi, who tuned up for the European Under-19 Qualifier with six for 17 against Sparta last Sunday. But HCC will likewise be without Teun Kloppenburg, whose three Phase 2 innings have yielded scores of 59, 64 and 52. The Lions’ attack remains a formidable, well-balanced unit, while VOC haven’t really gelled for much of the season and they will need to be at their best to take the points back to Rotterdam.
BdJ: O’Dowd’s stint warming the Brampton bench at the GT20 has certainly left a hole in the VOC batting, as as the rather intermittent availability of Netherlands captain Scott Edwards. The Bloodhounds availability issues will be further compounded this weekend by the absence of Pierce Fletcher, who takes charge of the U19 side for the Qualifier. Having secured survival and won the T20 comp again the Rotterammers perhaps view the season’s targets as largely met, while their opponents have a 50-over title to defend. HCC doubtless start as favourites, but the pressure is all on the home side too.
RL: Similarly, Sparta 1888 are a point ahead of ACC, and will take them on at the Bermweg. Lacking the incisiveness of Aasan Malik with the new ball Sparta have not looked like the side which briefly topped the table back in May, and their only point in Phase 2 came from their tie with HCC last Saturday. They really need at least two of their overseas trio of Ferguson, Tarr and Clark to come off with the bat to be truly competitive, while ACC of course rely equally heavily on their South African pair of Kuhn and Hobson. Just how vital Kuhn is to the Amsterdammers’ fortunes was demonstrated by their relegation from the Topklasse T20, although with Shreyas Potdar toppong 300 runs and Anis Raza not far behind they have looked a better batting side than they have for the past few seasons. They will be tested by the Spartans’ attack, always a more challenging proposition at the Bermweg, and this is likely to prove a closely-contested scrap.
BdJ: Another proper four-pointer, of which there’s still plenty in the top half of the table. ACC likely weren’t expecting to ben gunning for a semi-final spot at this stage of the season, and indeed were it not for Potdar and their two South Africans they would doubtless be in a different sort of scrap. The bowling especially has been an issue, and while Sparta have a longish tail it may be a tough ask for ACC to get through their top five. Certainly one can’t count out the Amsterdammers so long as Kuhn and Hobson maintain their form, but it’ll take more than two men to bag two points.
RL: Toughest assignment in the pool falls to Punjab Rotterdam, a point clear of their nearest rivals in second place but facing Voorburg at Het Zomercomplex. Defeat would see them drop below at least one of Sparta and HCC, and their semi-final hopes would then rest on their final game, against VOC at the Hazelaarweg. Punjab faltered against HCC last Sunday after winning their first two Phase 2 matches, and they will face a sterner test against the leaders, although they will be heartened by the fact that they are the only side to have beaten Voorburg in the 50-over competition this season. Even without Ryan Klein, though, Sybrand Engelbrecht’s side has continued to bowl their opponents out, and in Viv Kingma, Mees van Vliet and Stef Mulder they have a pace attack to rival any in the competition, not to mention the spinning skills of Shariz Ahmad and Philippe Boissevain. Punjab missed Shoaib Minhas and Mohsin Riaz last week, and the batting looks dramatically weaker – and more dependent on their bevy of Zulfiqars – without them.
BdJ: VCC are of course top of the table for a reason, though late season clashes against Punjab seen to be a bugbear of theirs. The four Zulfiqars alone could be enough to upset VCC’s march again, though Saqib’s brothers have not matched his consistency this season. It’s a testament to VCC’s depth that they can miss the likes of Klein and van Beek and still put out an enviably balanced XI, and while they’ll probably be sick of the label favourites by now, that’s once again how they’ll start the game on Saturday.
RL: It really is last chance saloon (the first of three such) for Salland, who must not only see off HBS Craeyenhout this week, but VRA and Excelsior in their remaining games. They will have their contingent of German internationals back from European Qualifier duty, adding some solidity to the batting, but with only two wins all season they will still be up against it facing an HBS side who went toe-to-toe with VRA last week even after their bowlers had been mercilessly hammered by the Amsterdammers’ top order. The turf at Het Schootsveld is naturally (pun intended) a very different proposition from the Craeyenhout astroturf, but in Tayo Walbrugh and Wesley Barresi the Crows have two of the outstanding batters in the competition, and the presence of Ferdi and/or Stephan Vink and/or Navjit Singh adds substance to the attack, last Sunday’s events notwithstanding. Knowing that defeat will send them down should focus Salland minds considerably, but even so they will need to raise their game several notches to keep their hopes of survival alive.
BdJ: It’s probably best not to draw any particular lessons from that run-fest at Craeyenhout, a fixture which all involved regard in retrospect as deeply silly game of cricket. It’ll take more that tapping the ball vaguely in the direction the wind is blowing to clear the ropes at het Schootsveld, though it should be said we are expecting another blustery weekend. The return of the German contingent after a creditable showing in Edinburgh certainly raise Salland’s survival prospects from the risible to the remote, but they’ll need a consistent collective effort (and more form their overseas) if they’re to pull off an escape act from here.
RL: Comfortably clear at the top of the Relegation pool, VRA Amsterdam can afford to cruise through their last three games, the first of which is against Excelsior ‘20 in the Bos on Saturday. Their batting is back to full strength with the return of Teja Nidamanuru last weekend, and while the Bos may not see the extraordinary demonstration of power witnessed at Craeyenhout last week, if Vikram Singh, Shirase Rasool and Johan Smal all get going again the home side could produce another big score. A decent Excelsior attack will stand in their way, and if Lorenzo Ingram takes a wicket he will join the select company of those with 200 top flight wickets at an average of less than 20. He also, of course, contributes a great deal to Excelsior’s batting, and VRA will presumably be without Udit Nashier and Aaditt Jain, who are on Under-19 international duty. They do, however, have plenty of back-up with both seam and spin.
BdJ: Fair to say that VRA’s first post-Borren season has been a special sort of shambles, but it’s a testament to the talent in the young side that they’ve stumbled their way to safety in fairly emphatic style depsite playing well below their best. Excelsior meanwhile have had a pretty underwhelming 2023 themselves, but though the Schiedammers will also likely survive the season ther are more concrening signs at Thurlede. Their reliance on the evergreen Ingram has become even more pronounced, the 40 year-old being the only Excelsior player in the top 20 of the bowling or batting averages this season. Again their hopes in this match will rest heavy on the shoulders of the seemingly ageless Jamaican, but there’s reason’s to worry that his eventual departure will hit them harder even than Borren’s did VRA.
RL’s picks: VRA, HCC, Sparta, Voorburg, HBS.
BdJ’s picks: VRA, HCC, Sparta, Voorburg, HBS.
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