Asides

Sparta the surprise-package as T20 gets under way

Rod Lyall 11/08/25

The 2025 TK Cup competition got under way on Sunday with some genuine surprises, and a tie between Excelsior ‘20 and defending champions Voorburg at Thurlede.

Chasing Excelsior’s 158 for five, to which Roel Verhagen had contributed a 42-ball 58 not out, Voorburg’s reply was given a great start by Michael Levitt, whose 68 came from 37 deliveries and included six fours and four sixes.

At 100 for one in the 11th over Voorburg appeared to be cruising to victory, but when Levitt was run out looking for a second and chancing Jason Ralston’s arm from deep mid-off, the game began to tighten.

Debutant Nihil Reddy chipped in with the wickets of Ryan Klein and Carl Mumba, and when Jens Blankestijn commenced the final over four were still needed with four wickets in hand.

The odds still favoured the visitors, but Blankestijn trapped Henry Melville in front with his first delivery, and then Tom de Leede was run out off the second.

Mees van Vliet managed a two and a one to level the scores, but Patient Charumbira could only fend the last in front of square, where Raynard van Tonder took the catch to ensure that, in the absence of a provision for a Super Over, the points were shared.

The biggest surprise of the day came at Craeyenhout, where Sparta 1888, who had spent the bulk of the 50-over competition languishing at the foot of the table, opened their T20 campaign with a brace of victories, the first of them over Punjab-Ghausia.

Punjab had won their first game of the day comfortably enough, restricting hosts HBS to 122 for nine, in which young Azzam Khan top-scored with 33, and then knocking off the runs in 16.5 overs, thanks in large part to Burhan Niaz’s unbeaten 49 from 27 deliveries and despite Lehan Botha’s four for 34.

They looked likely enough at first to repeat that win against Sparta, reaching 57 for two after seven overs and 113 for four after 13.

But Ahsan Malik claimed three for 27, Umar Baker three for 39 and Khalid Ahmadi three for 29, and the side was all out in the final over for a still-challenging 159.

Then Kyle Klesse, opening for Sparta in this format, took a hand, hammering a 43-ball 73 which included no fewer than eight sixes, and when he was out off the last ball of the 15th over 22 were needed off the last five.

Juandre Scheepers and Malik were equal to the challenge, and although Muhammad Gondal picked up three for 13 Sparta completed their four-wicket victory with seven balls to spare.

Klesse made it a great day out by steering his side to a more emphatic seven-wicket win in the last game of the day at Craeyenhout, making an unbeaten 63 as Sparta chased down the hosts’ 112 all out.

The architects of HBS’s problems were Malik and Scheepers with four for 20 and three for 26 respectively, with Lehan Botha, Reece Mason and Khan all managing twenties but unable to go any further.

Marginally ahead of Sparta on NRR and heading the table after round 1 are Hermes-DVS, who hosted Rood en Wit Haarlem and HCC at the Loopuyt Oval and saw off both.

Rood and Wit, who reached the T20 top flight by winning a badly rain-affected Hoofdklasse final last season, started promisingly, restricting Hermes to 118 for seven, in which Asad Zulfiqar top-scored with 25.

Ismatullah Nasery had a dream start, coming on in the fifth over and bowling Daniel Doyle-Calle and Ash Ostling with his first two deliveries, but although Arnav Mishra made a 22-ball 26 when the Haarlemmers replied, they were unable to cope with the Hermes attack, Olivier Elenbaas claiming four for 20, and were all out for 94.

They then came up against HCC, who posted the day’s highest total with 161 for five: Oliver White made 52, Boris Gorlee 43 (from 24 deliveries, 40 of them in boundaries), and Shirsak Banerjee 32 not out as the Lions made the most of the conditions.

That was always likely to prove too much for Rood and Wit, who despite Saber Zakhil’s defiant 46 were dismissed for 102.

HCC, though, faced a tougher task in their second game, when Hermes, batting first, made 136 for seven, Doyle leading the way with a 46-ball 58 and Aryan Dutt dominating the later overs with a 27-ball 40 not out.

Justin Trijzelaar claimed three for 11 for HCC, but the batting never really fired, Olivier Elenbaas again among the wickets with three for 26 and Hikmatullah Jabarkhail claiming three for 23 as the side was all out for 111, Banerjee the highest scorer with 19.

In a one-off match in the Amsterdamse Bos, VOC Rotterdam, who had won their play-off the day before to secure their place in the 50-over Topklasse, began their T20 campaign in style with an eight-wicket victory over VRA Amsterdam.

Arnav Jain gave the Bloodhounds a great start by bowling the dangerous Vikram Singh with the fifth ball of the game, and although Teja Nidamanuru (55) and Shariz Ahmad (30) put on 65 for the third wicket, the Rotterdammers’ attack were able to restrict their hosts to a modest 117 for seven.

Scott Janett then took up where he had left off on Saturday, though in a rather higher gear, and he and Monty Singh took control of the game with a second-wicket stand of 100 before Singh fell to a persistent Ben Fletcher for 41.

Janett, though, continued in company with Jason van der Meulen, finishing on 60 not out from 49 deliveries and seeing his side home with 22 balls to spare.

Janett the hero as VOC stay up

Rod Lyall 10/08/25

In a hard-fought battle at the Loopuyt Oval which went down to the final over, VOC Rotterdam resisted the challenge of Hoofdklasse champions ACC to win by six wickets and ensure that there would be 50-over Topklasse cricket at the Hazelaarweg next season.

As he has all season, opener Scott Janett anchored the Bloodhounds’ innings as they replied to the Amsterdammers’ testing 236 for eight, making a patient, at times dogged 83 not out and guiding his side to victory.

After Tim de Kok won the toss and put ACC in, Akash Arora took the attack to the VOC seamers, making 60 in an aggressive knock which included seven fours.

He took full advantage of some wayward bowling by the quicker bowlers, who tended to bowl too short, although off-spinner Arnav Jain was again exemplary at the other end, his ten overs conceding just 15 runs and picking up two wickets..

Once Arora had gone, pulling Aaditt Jain once too often and finding Pieter Recordon at deep square leg, Ben van der Merwe took over, his 66-ball 59 including some classic driving which brought him nine fours; he and Santhosh Kumar Jami added 83 for the fourth wicket which saw ACC to 195 with more than seven overs remaining.

But then the South African was caught off Jason van der Meulen, and when Jami fell to Arnav Jain for 34 four balls later VOC sensed that they were back in the game.

Only 37 runs came from the last seven overs for the loss of four wickets, and what had been shaping to be a target of 250-plus was restricted to 237.

It would have been lower still had a profligate VOC attack not conceded 28 wides, and the cause was also not helped by some indifferent fielding.

VOC started with five penalty runs to their credit, apparently after a collision between batter and bowler towards the end of the ACC innings, but the Amsterdammers made a dream start to defending their total when Iftikhari Ahmad bowled De Kok in the second over of VOC’s reply; this, however, brought Danish international keeper Monty Singh in to join Janett, and this pair had to weather a hostile new-ball attack from Izhaan Sayed and Iftikhari.

Their partnership ended unexpectedly and a little unfortunately when Singh, attempting a second from a Janett straight drive off Devanshu Arya, saw the wicket broken by a direct hit from long off by Joe Reddy, and the umpire’s finger raised.

It was a decision which in an international match would certainly have gone upstairs, but Singh had to go, and Janett was joined by Van der Meulen with the game in the balance.

Van der Meulen promptly set about changing that, hitting first Arya and then Reddy for six and moving to 32 off the first 26 deliveries he faced.

Then came a crucial moment: Van der Meulen hit out again, this time off Abishek Saxena, and was caught on the long off boundary; as ACC celebrated a vital wicket, however, they saw that the umpire was signalling a six instead, having ruled that the fielder had made contact with the boundary.

Van der Meulen proceeded merrily to his fifty, made from 44 deliveries, but when he was bowled by Arslan Ahmed shortly afterwards, having contributed 54 to a 75-run stand with Janett, ACC might have believed they were back in with a chance.

Janett, though, was still there, and he and Pieter Recordon now continued to pick off the runs rarher less dramatically, until, with the score on 162, Recordon was caught behind by Van der Merwe off the returning Iftikhari.

75 were still required from 14 overs, and this was a point from which VOC had frequently subsided to defeat over the past season.

Not this time, however: Arnav Jain stood firm with Janett, who had brought up his own half-century during the partnership with Recordon, and although boundaaries remained rare punctuations of the ones and twos, and with six overs left 38 were still required.

That becamse 23 off four, but now the pressure began to tell on the Amsterdammers, and Janett and Jain went into the last over with five required.

Two singles made it three, and then Jain hit Reddy over long on, who could only palm the ball over the rope for six, and VOC had won with three deliveries to spare.

Jain’s unbeaten 41 had come from 55 deliveries, while Janett’s 83 was off 119.

It had been an absorbing contest, but VOC’s batters had delivered when it mattered most against a side which fought gallantly throughout.

Promotion Play-Off Preview

The fifty over season is allmost behind us, with Kampong long crowned champions while Excelsior and Sparta have been consigned to at least one season outside the top flight. But before we can turn our attention to the short format competition that starts on Sunday, there’s on match left to play. Hoofklasse Champions ACC take on eighth-placed VOC tomorrow to determine which of the two will claim a place in the slimmed-down Topklasse next year, neutral Hermes DVS playing hosts to arguably the most consequential match of the season.

RL: ACC go into Saturday’s promotion play-off against VOC Rotterdam at Schiedam’s Loopuyt Oval with the momentum of not only having made sure of the Hoofdklasse title last week, but of having done so with a thumping nine-wicket victory over Amsterdam rivals Groen en Wit.

Ben van der Merwe, their lading run-scorer with 526 at 35.07, and Izhaan Sayed, the top wicket-taker with 33 at 15.18, both have experience at Topklasse level, albeit as members of the side which was relegated in 2024, and although the squad has been weakened by the return of Rahil Ahmed and Mahesh Hans to Dosti and the departure of Sahil Kothari to Hermes-DVS, they have also picked up some useful acquisitions who have improved their chances of a quick return to the top flight.

Not the least of them is tall seamer Iftikhari Ahmad, whose 31 wickets rivalled Sayed’s yield and came even cheaper, at 14.65, while spinner Devanshu Arya’s 24 at 14.96 also made a significant contribution to their campaign.

Skipper and allrounder Anis Raza is another with plenty of top-flight experience and he will be confident of overcoming a VOC batting line-up depleted by the absence of Chris Oberholzer and perhaps Monty Singh, which has been struggling for runs all season.

Raza will not be short of bowling options with newcomers Akash Arora and Abishek Saxena, both of whom moved to Het Loopveld from Qui Vive Amsterdam this season, others who may cause problems on a often bowler-friendly Loopuyt pitch.

VOC’s demolition by VRA will have done their morale no good, but they will be heartened by the return of Aaditt Jain and Roman Harhangi from Under-19 duty in Scotland, which at least will give their attack a more solid appearance.

The issue, though, is their batting: its tendency to collapse in a heap is not new this season, but it has been even more evident than before, and is the greatest single cause of the situation in which they now find themselves.

Their four overseas have scored well over half their runs and are the only ones to have posted a half-century, and although opener Scott Janett in particular has been dogged in adversity, others will have to step up if the Bloodhounds are to have a realistic chance of survival.

Even so, their best chance is probably to hope that their attack proves too much for ACC’s batters.

BdJ: The Hoofdklasse champions may have looked too good for the second division this year, but they remain by any reasonable measure a weaker ACC side than the one that was relegated from the Topklasse last season, missing not the fickle Kothari and prodigal Dosti contingent, but also without promising youngsters Shreyas Potdar and Mark Wolfe – lost to VRA and HCC respectively – as well as the services of overseas Guy Sheena.

It’s also worth noting that that ACC side lost both their fixtures against VOC last season, narrowly at home and heavily away. Tomorrow’s play-off will of course be on the neutral turf of the Loopuyt Oval, but the emphasis there is less on “neutral” and more on “turf”. ACC have played just one match on natural turf all season. They did win that by 110 runs, with Ahmad and Sayed running through a hapless Salland line-up in short order, but not before surviving an alarming top-order collapse of their own in the first innings.

Like their opponents, the Amsterdammers are unquestionably a bowling-heavy side. Ben van der Merwe is the only ACC bat to cross 500 runs in the Hoofdklasse, with skipper Raza the only other bat with an aggregate over 320.

VOC’s own batting problems are at least as significant however, compounded now by the departure of Oberholzer. When available Monty Singh has proven a welcome bulwark in that regard, and Jason van der Meulen has made some solid scores on occasion (as he did against ACC last season of course) but all told match has the look of dual duel between the respective new ball seam duos.

Youngsters Aaditt Jain and Roman Harhangi will have the Bloodhounds’ hopes on their shoulders – a tough ask after another brutal disappointment at the recent under 19s Qualifiers for the pair. ACC’s Ahmad and Sayed will have no such baggage, and boast an excellent track record on turf this year, albeit one consisting of just a single data point.

A place in the 2026 Topklasse awaits whichever side can weather the twin trials of the new ball and the pressure of an all-or-nothing one-off decider.

Excelsior fall just short as Kampong finish in style

Rod Lyall 05/08/25

A dramatic turnaround saw Excelsior ‘20 lose five wickets for 14 runs in the last four overs and surrender a winning position against HBS at Craeyenhout on Sunday, ensuring their relegation to next season’s Hoofdklasse.

The 11-run defeat ended the Schiedam club’s 44-year run in the top flight, which had seen them claim the championship twelve times, most recently in 2019.

Knowing that rivals VOC Rotterdam had already lost to VRA Amsterdam by nine wickets and that victory would at least give them a chance of survival via a play-off against Hoofdklasse champions ACC, Excelsior batted themselves into a seemingly impregnable position, needing just 26 runs off the final four overs with nine wickets in hand and Roel Verhagen and Raynard van Tonder having added 130 for the second wicket after Sam Rahaley (44) and Verhagen had put on 88 for the first.

But then HBS skipper Tayo Walbrugh brought Jayden Rossouw back into the attack, and with the final ball of an over which had cost just two singles he had Van Tonder caught by Joris van Oosterom for 77.

Kyle Klein removed Antum Naqvi, caught behind off the first ball he received, and when Wes Barresi caught Verhagen for 95 off the second delivery of Rossouw’s next and Stan van Troost fell two balls later, the balance had swung the Crows’ way.

19 were now needed off the last, bowled by Lehan Botha, and the Schiedammers could only manage seven for the wicket of Niels Etman; Rossouw, the last-ditch hero, finished with three for 31, figures which did scant justice to the importance of those three wickets.

Earlier, Rahaley had seized the initiative for Excelsior, claiming three early wickets, including that of Walbrugh, by the time 22 runs were on the board.

But Wes Barresi (60) and Lucas del Bianco (48) rescued the Crows with a 102-run fourth-wicket stand, and then Kyle Klein’s 40 and Julien de Mey’s 38, saw their side to 243, Rahaley finishing with four for 38.

In the Amsterdamse Bos, meanwhile, a greatly-depleted VOC had collapsed to 77 all out in 29.2 overs; without oversees Chris Oberholzer and Monty Singh as well as Under-19 internationals Aaditt Jain and Roman Harhangi, only the remaining overseas, Scott Janett (39) and Jason van der Meulen (14) reached double figures as Peter Ruffell and Ben Fletcher removed the top order and then Leon Turmaine worked his way through the rest, finishing with career-best figures of five for 14.

Johan Smal then made short work of VRA’s target, hitting an unbeaten 43 from 38 deliveries to see his side home in under 13 overs.

The victory enabled VRA to finish the season as runners-up, leapfrogging defending chamipons Punjab Rotterdam, who lost by six wickets to HCC at De Diepput.

This was a notable achievement, since five members of the HCC squad were on international duty with the Under-19s in Scotland, and at 91 for one after Sikander Zulfiqar had elected to bat it seemed as if Punjab’s batters might be about to again take charge.

It was Josh Brown’s four for 14, however, which was instrumental in Punjab’s collapse to 144 all out, and skipper Boris Gorlee then steered them to victory with an aggressive 51-ball 78 which included six fours and as many sixes.

Newly-crowned champions Kampong Utrecht ended their campaign in style, dismissing Voorburg for 122 at Maarschalkerweerd and knocking off the runs for the loss of four wickets.

Kampong’s star with the ball was skipper Alex Roy, who removed Gavin Kaplan (32), Ryan Klein and Henry Melville to reduce Voorburg from 50 for one to 66 for five, returning to claim three more and finish with six for 34.

Carl Mumba was the only other Voorburg batter to stay for any length of time with a defiant 30.

Twenties from Damien van den Berg and Pierre Jacod gave the champions a solid start, but it was the dependable Lorenzo Ingram who stayed to the end, making 29 not out.

At Sportpark Bermweg Sparta 1888 said an unhappy farewell to the Topklasse, shot out for 75 by Hermes-DVS and losing by seven wickets.

Only opener Shaquille Martina achieved double figures, the seventh man to go with 28 to his credit as Aryan Dutt (five for 25) and Sebastiaan Braat (four for 36) bowled unchanged to reduce their hosts to 65 for nine.

Promoted to open, Ralph Elenbaas led the way with 34 when Hermes replied, and then Daniel Doyle-Calle and Asad Zulfiqar finished things off with nearly 35 overs remaining.

Preview Round 18

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 31/07/2025

And so, unseasonably early, we reach the final round of this year’s 50-over Topklasse competition. As it turns out, all the tension on Sunday will be in the lower reaches of the table, even the positions of the notional top four having already been all but settled. So, too, are the relegation spots, although there are still a few possible, if unlikely, scenarios which could see things change at the very last moment.

RL: Let’s start with the meeting of HBS and Excelsior ‘20 at Craeyenhout. For the ninth-placed Schiedammers victory here is the absolutely minimal requirement if they are to have even the faintest chance of avoiding the drop. And that would still require results elsewhere to go their way. With the only positive net run rate in the bottom half of the table, the Crows are in a much happier place, and they can regard themselves as effectively guaranteed a spot in next season’s slimmed-down Topklasse. They will be without teenage opener Elmar Boendermaker on Sunday, since he is in Scotland with the national Under-19s, but they should still have plenty of resources to take the points and seal Excelsior’s fate. Having consistently performed below their potential all season, the visitors will no doubt be keen to end their campaign with a flourish, but with the season’s leader run-scorer Tayo Walbrugh leading the way, the Crows will start as odds-on favourites to finish with a win, and possibly even to sneak into the top half of the table.

BdJ: Given the state of play in the net run rate stakes, HBS can safely dispense with the spreadsheets at this point and start looking ahead at the short-format stage of the season. Despite having all-but secured their survival, it’s been a 50-over season most of the Crows will be keen to put behind them. The soon-to-be Dutch-eligible Walbrugh is of course a notable exception, while fellow overseas Botha and Rossouw have also had solid season with bat and ball respectively – the latter now leading the wicket-taking table. One would think Excelsior will be the more motivated of the two sides on Sunday, but that’s assuming that dread has not yet given way to despair at Thurlede. There’s still a pretty clear escape route open to the Schiedammers of course, with VRA heavy favourites against a weakened VRA, but they’ll need to string together back-to-back wins first against HBS and then the Hoofdklasse champions if they’re to pull a Houdini from here, and two consecutive wins is one more than they’ve managed this season.

RL: VOC Rotterdam could make Excelsior’s result irrelevant by beating VRA Amsterdam in the Bos, but they will have to do so without their two young pace bowlers, Aaditt Jain and Roman Harhangi, both of whom will be on U-19 duty in Scotland. Since they are the side’s leading wicket-takers with 21 apiece, they leave a not-inconsiderable hole, and a lot will fall onto the shoulders of Aaditt’s off-spinning brother Arnav and the veteran Jelte Schoonheim. It’s VOC’s batting, though, which has kept them in danger of delegation, and they will need a significant contribution from their overseas contingent if they are to overcome a VRA outfit which, while it has blown hot and cold all season, has plenty of oomph with both bat and ball. With T20 about to move centre-stage, this will be a last opportunity for internationals Vikram Singh and Teja Nidamanuru to play a substantial 50-over innings, and they are likely to want to make the most of it. For the Bloodhounds, even a victory is unlikely to get them out of eighth place and a play-off, and they would need a huge win coupled with a devastating loss for Hermes to see them escape that fate.

BdJ: While other rivalries may be more bitterly contested, few will be more keenly missed than the “dogfight” at the Bos between VRA and VOC should the latter find themselves in the Hoofdklasse next season. For VOC to avoid that ignominy, the equation is fairly simple – beat VRA (or hope HBS beat Excelsior) and then see off the Hoofdklasse champions. Actually accomplishing either will be far from simple, however, especially missing their two lead wicket-takers heading into what will otherwise be their last Topklasse match for a while. There’s resources to be drawn on in the twos in theory; both Ramdas Upadhyaya and Pierce Fletcher have pleny of Topklasse experience if they’re called on to cover, but containing a full-strength VRA card remains a tall order, even if their two Dutch international bats have been struggling for form. Patrick Gouge will doubtless be keen to sign off on a high before heading back to Jersey, where he still has a point of his own to prove to selectors. VRA may have half an eye on the T20 comp already, but they’re unlikely to be caught napping on home turf on Sunday. If VOC want a shot at survival, they’ll likely have to fight for it.

RL: Since Hermes-DVS will be away to wooden-spooners Sparta 1888 at the Bermweg, a reversal of the necessary scale seems profoundly unlikely. The Capelle side have only managed three wins all season, and while Hermes have fallen away dramatically from their achievements early in the campaign and certainly can’t take a win here for granted, the sort of turnaround which would be required for VOC to overtake their NRR would be among the most astounding results in the 130-plus-year history of the competition. It’s true that neither star batters Daniel Doyle-Calle and Ash Ostling nor spinners Hikmatullah Jabarkhail and Sahil Kothari have lately been in the sort of form which took the Light Blues to the top of the table back in May, but with Aryan Dutt and Olivier Elenbaas back in the side from international duty and injury respectively, Hermes are – or at least, ought to be – much less dependent on that quartet. Sparta’s dependence on Kyle Klesse with the bat, Ahsan Malik with the ball and Juandre Scheepers with both remains, and it would be a notable achievement for them to send Hermes home empty-handed.

BdJ: When the net run rate spread passes 400 runs it’s probably time to ditch the spreadsheets, though of course for the Hoofdklasse-bound Spartans such arithmetic has been moot for some time. They remain a threat however, especially on home mat, and with nothing to lose one might well imagine them putting on a show as they did against HBS. Umar Baker’s defiant knock last round demonstrated that Sparta at least have hitting depth, though it’s hard to imagine the Mermes attack being carted about in quite the same way for long. The Sky Blue batting line-up has looked vulnerable on the occasions that the Spanish skipper fails to deliver, but for a Spartan attack that’s collectively averaging well north of 30 with the ball taking his wicket early is likely necessary but far from sufficient.

RL: Having faltered against VRA a fortnight ago, champions Kampong will have another chance to finish the 50-over competition in style when they take on Voorburg at Maarschalkerweerd. The Voorburgers’ cause will not be helped by the absence of Cedric de Lange, Tom de Leede and Alejo Nota, all of whom are involved in the U-19 qualifier, but with their senior internationals restored to them they certainly can’t be written off against Alex Roy’s side, although the latter have every reason to underline their historic success with a win at home. What has been notable for Kampong has been the role of their home-grown players, in particular Pierre Jacod, and the valuable stabilising contribution of Lorenzo Ingram. This final game is an opportunity for Voorburg’s reserves to strut their stuff alongside the internationals, but Kampong have a stable side and can be expected to have the edge.

BdJ: The demands made on Voorburg by the national set-up have inevitably led to a consistent inconsitency in selection this season, which seems to have affected them more profoundly than in the past. In this respect Kampong’s decision to hand the armband to the dependable Roy over more prominent names looks a shrewd one, and the Champions’ success this season has been rremarkably independent of the occassional (if substantial) contributions of internationals Scott Edwards and Max O’Dowd. The acquisition of Berry, Bangs, and seasoned Topklasse performer Lorenzo Ingram was of course an indispensible ingredient too, but above all it’s worth noting that Kampong have a core of nine players that have all played at least 15 matches this season – more than any other team in the competition.

RL: Most adversely affected by U-19 call-ups are HCC, who will be without five of their squad, three of them regulars, when they entertain Punjab-Ghausia at De Diepput. They are fortunate in having Yash Patel able to resume the gloves, which he has surrendered to young Mark Wolfe for most of the season, but it will be harder to replace Shirsak Banerjee and Teun Kloppenburg from their top and middle order, especially with allrounder Hidde Overdijk out through injury and likely to remain so for some time. The Lions have in any case found it difficult to establish an optimal batting order, while their opponents have steamrollered every attack in their path in recent weeks. HCC’s bowlers might present more of a problem, but with Musa Ahmad, Shoaib Minhas and Saqib and Sikander Zulfiqar all in top form they will have to be at their best to keep Punjab from setting another substantial target or chasing down whatever their own batters are able to assemble.

BdJ: Punjab’s intimidating top order has clicked a little too late in the season to mount a title defence, but now that it’s firing on more than a few cylinders they’ll likely be looking ahead to the T20 silverware (and ticket to Cartama) on offer later in the summer. Indeed with little on the line for either side in their Topklasse closer, both may well treat it as an extended warm-up for the short-form competition that’s about to start. The fixture looks more like a long run-up for Punjab though, while HCC,ith the seconds assured of promtion to the expanded Hoofdklasse, it’s perhaps an opportunity to test out some of their bench strength.

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

BdJ’s picks: HBS, VRA, Hermes, Kampong, Punjab

Relegation battle goes down to the wire

Rod Lyall 21/07/25

Despite a period of rain on Sunday which took overs off four of the five Topklasse matches, all five produced a result, and the day produced some notable individual performances along the way.

When the emphatically metaphorical dust had settled, the situation at the foot of the table remained as uncertain as it had been at 11 o’clock, ensuring a thrilling conclusion to the season when the final matches are played following the traditional – and apparently immutable – ‘cricket-free weekend’.

The most clear-cut outcome of the day was at the Zomercomplex, where Punjab-Ghausia became only the second side this century to post 400 in a top-flight match, setting 413 for five against a hapless Sparta 1888.

Key to this mammoth total was a second-wicket partnership of 232 between Musa Ahmad and Saqib Zulfiqar, Saqib making 151 of them in a pulverising knock which took just 96 deliveries and included eight fours and ten sixes.

Musa was more circumspect, reaching his second century of the season from 106 balls, but then he cut loose, adding another 23 from just 10 deliveries; in all, he hit ten fours and four sixes.

Then Sikander Zulfiqar completed Sparta’s misery with a 26-ball, unbeaten 50.

Khurram Shahzad had already claimed two wickets by the time the rain intervened, and when play resumed the target had been adjusted to an equally impossible 369 from 40 overs.

This was never on the cards, and it took a defiant 53 not out from Umar Baker, batting at No. 10, to take Sparta from 88 for nine to 149 by the end, he and Joost-Martijn Snoep putting on 61 for the last wicket; it was Baker’s first fifty in 124 top-flight innings.

The only game to escape the rain was at Maarschalkerweerd, where VRA Amsterdam dismissed newly-crowned champions Kampong Utrecht for 183, Teja Nidamanuru claiming three for 12 in four overs.

Lane Berry hit a whirlwind .18-ball 45 and Pierre Jacod gave the innings some solidity with 41, but otherwise it seemed that Kampong were suffering anticlimactic symptoms after last weekend’s celebrations.

Nidamanuru more than matched Berry’s innings with 61 from 30 deliveries when VRA replied, Patrick Gouge contributing a more sedate 42, but Kampong fought their way back into the game when Shariz Ahmad, Ibaad Zaidi and Vikram Singh all departed with the score on 152, Jack Cassidy following five runs later.

At 157 for six the outcome was briefly in the balance, but Johan Smal and Viraj Thakur saw their side safely over the line with twelve overs to spare.

In the crucible of the relegation battle, VOC Rotterdam gave themselves a chance by dismissing HBS Craeyenhout for 207, with Lucas del Bianco anchoring the innings for the Crows with an unbeaten 60 after Tayo Walbrugh and Wesley Barresi had both gone in the thirties.

The target was adjusted to 204 from 48 overs after the rain, but VOC had already lost Tim de Kok, and after Lehan Botha (three for 46) and Kyle Klein had reduced the Bloodhounds to 61 for four Jayden Rossouw took over, running through the rest of the batting to finish with six for 31.

Christiaan Oberholzer did his best to hold things together, but he eventually ran out of partners and was stranded on 86 not out as HBS won by 51 runs, making them almost certain of survival in next year’s reduced top flight.

For Excelsior ‘20, however, things look decidedly more bleak following their 75-run defeat by HCC at Thurlede.

Oliver White (59) and Shirsak Banerjee (72), the latter passing fifty for the first time, gave HCC a solid start, Teun Kloppenburg contributing a rapid 37, and despite Gijs Kroesen’s best Topklasse haul of six for 63, running through the lower order, the Lions reached 275 before they were dismissed in their final over.

Excelsior lost Sam Rahaley before the rain drove the players from the field, and they returned to find themselves set 252 to win from 42 overs by Messrs Duckworth, Lewis and Stern.

White soon put this beyond them, finishing with five for 32, and only Joost Kroesen, with 59, was able to master the conditions as his side was dismissed for 176.

It was a similar story at the nearby Loopuyt Oval, where Voorburg posted 260 for seven against Hermes-DVS, Cedric de Lange and Gavin Kaplan both making 44 and Noah Croes contributing a solid 63; Sebastiaan Braat was the pick of the Hermes bowlers with three for 40.

That was adjusted to 236 from 41, and while Daniel Doyle (68) and Nick Statham (44) were adding 112 for the third wicket it seemed as if that might not be impossible.

But then Udit Nashier turned things around, removing Doyle and going on to take six for 33, his first five-wicket haul in the Topklasse, and the Hermes reply fell away, ending on 170 for nine.

These results mean that the battle to avoid relegation will go into the final round on 3 August: Sparta have known for some time that they will be playing in the Hoofdklasse next season, but Excelsior could still escape the second automatic relegation spot if they were to beat HBS and VOC were to lose to VRA.

A victory for VOC would bring them level with HBS and Hermes-DVS were those sides both to lose, but their NRR is so much worse than that of either of their rivals that it would be extraordinary if they were to rise above eighth place.

Who the eighth-placed side will meet in the play-off is also uncertain, with ACC just two points clear of Bloemendaal with one match to play.

ACC will be away to Groen en Wit Amsterdam on 3 August with Bloemendaal at home to VVV; were Bloemendaal to win and ACC lose it would all come down to NRR, where ACC currently have a tiny advantage of 0.027.

Preview Round 17

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 18/07/25

With Kampong claiming the title last week with two rounds to spare, the business at the top of the tabled is largely settled and their three nearest rivals – Punjab, VRA and HCC – are left chasing runners-up spots on the podium. With as many as three teams relegated this season though, the rest of the field are far from out of the woods. Sparta have of course been living in the woods for some time now with no hope of escape, but their valedictory matches in the top flight could still play a substantial role in determining who ends up in the Hoofdklasse with them next year.

BdJ: The real four pointer of the round this Sunday is thus set for Hazelaarweg, where VOC Rotterdam take on HBS Craeyenhout, aiming to vault over the Crows and out of the relegation zone. A win for HBS (currently in 7th place) could see them very close to safe, their NRR advantage over both VOC and Excelsior sufficient to insulate them against all but the most implausible calamity in the final round should they get to 15 points. For VOC a win will practically assure them of at least a shot at Topklasse survival via the playoffs, but their essentially irreparable net run rate means they can’t secure safety this week. Concerningly for the Bloodhounds, they’re set to lose the services of Aaditt Jain and Roman Harhangi for the final round, the increasingly impressive young pace pair heading off to the U19 Qualifiers in Dundee next week, along with HBS’s Elmar Boendermaker. VOC’s loss of their joint lead wicket-takers is unarguably more significant, but HBS can’t really spare many bats either given increasing reliance on Lehan Botha and Tayo Walbrugh for runs. Walbrugh currently tops the batting tables for good reason however, and while the progress of VOC’s young attack has been one of the few positives of their season, they face a tough pre-departure assignment on Sunday.

RL: VOC’s recovery, winning four of their last seven games after winning only two out of nine in the front half of the season, has been remarkable, but it has certainly helped that they have on the whole been able to field a stable eleven. The only raid by selectors until now has been by the Danes calling up Monty Singh, and his presence has been a key factor in most of VOC’s successes. The Bloodhounds’ other imports, Scott Janett and Christiaan Oberholzer, have been important as well, and their contribution will be even more significant in the absence of Aaditt Jain and Harhangi. Concentrating on this week’s task, however, both sides should be at full strength, although the Crows were without Wes Barresi last week and Kyle Klein had followed big brother Ryan in confining himself to spin. Removing the dangerous Lehan Botha quickly when HBS bat will be a crucial task for VOC’s new-ball-deploying Jains, but if they can manage that then they will greatly improve their side’s chances to scrambling to relative safety.

BdJ: Languishing in 9th place, 2019 champions Excelsior ‘20 are not quite dead-and-buried, but will need a win when they take on HCC at Thurlede if they’re to claw their way out of the relegation zone. Sparta’s parthian shot last Sunday sent their net run rate deeper into the red, and while they’re unlikely to dip below VOC on NRR, the prospect of catching up to HBS or Hermes on that metric has receded into the realm of the fanciful. If they can bank two points on Sunday their fate will be mostly in their own hands come their showdown with HBS in the final round, effectively assured of finishing above either HBS or VOC should they also win that final game. For now though they face an HCC side that, while now playing essentially for pride, are coming off the back of a comfortable win over a motivated VOC last week, and comprehensively outclassed the Schiedammers in their Round 8 fixture. Raynard van Tonder was notably sidelined for that encounter, but while he’s found a degree of form of late he’s had limited support from the rest of the order (nor much cooperation when chancing risky singles). While on the bowling side Jason Ralston and Sam Rahaley both looked in good rhythm last weekend, HCC’s middle order resilience was also on show, and early wickets may not be enough for the hosts at Thurlede on Sunday.

RL: Having found themselves on 49/6, 72/7 and 37/4 in their last three games, HCC will be hoping for a more solid start this time, and although Oliver White delivered on being switched to an opening role against Kampong it availed little as the rest of the top order again went cheaply. Jason Ralston’s season has distinctly picked up after a relatively quiet start, and he will likely provide a stiff test for Tonny Staal and Co. On the other side of the balance sheet, Excelsior have had top-order problems of their own, the return of Tim Etman not having yielded quite the results they might have hoped, and they have nothing like the strength in depth with the bat that their visitors can boast. The Lions’ bowling unit, too, has been better balanced than their hosts’, although the success with the ball of leg-spinner Joost Kroesen and, more recently, the occasional contributions of skipper Roel Verhagen, have been useful when all else has failed. A depleted Excelsior, however, will need to be at their very best if they are to overcome HCC and give themselves a chance of staying up.

BdJ: Both winless now since Round 11, either Hermes DVS or Voorburg will (weather permitting) end a five-match losing streak and thereby secure safety on Sunday, while the other will head into the final round at real risk of relegation despite their strong starts to the season. Voorburg’s late season has inevitably suffered from the absence of their internationals for long stretches, compounded by an injury to pace spearhead Viv Kingma, with the remaining seamers hemorrhaging runs at close to six an over in his absence. The looming loss of Alejo Nota, Tom de Leede and especially Cedric de Lange to the U19’s for the final round, when they will face champions Kampong, means defeat this Sunday could carry dire consequences. The pressure will be on senior internationals Noah Croes and Michael Levitt to make up for missed matches, and on the seam section to deliver some measure of control. Any win will be enough for VCC to reach the safety of 16 points, but their positive net run rate is unlikely to be of use to them should they be stuck on 14. For Hermes any win likewise means safety, but in case of defeat every run and ball will count. The hosts’ reliance on Daniel Doyle-Calle for the former has been an increasingly telling vulnerability, especially given Ashley Ostling’s current lean patch. One could easily imagine the Spanish skipper making hay against a profligate VCC attack, but should he fail again Hermes may quickly find themselves in damage-limitation mode.

RL: On paper, Voorburg had the strongest 18-man squad in the competition, but national team call-ups have been exacerbated by injuries to Kingma and Carl Mumba and the premature departure of Peter Hatzoglou, and they have not been able to field a stable A team when the internationals were away. Lacking big names but relatively free of national team demands – Aryan Dutt aside on both counts – Hermes have now lost five on the trot, balancing their run of five wins back at the start of the season, one factor being the decline in the wicket-taking capacity of Hikmatullah Jabarkhail, which was crucial during that initial winning streak. The reduction in the size of next season’s competition means that this game is rather more than the mid-table jostle it would otherwise have been, and with another raid on their playing resources impending for the final round the points here are much more vital for Voorburg than for their opponents, whose last game is against woodeen-spooners Sparta.

BdJ: On to the day’s dead rubbers then, with Hoofdklasse-bound Sparta 1888 headed to the Zomercomplex to take on silver medal hopefuls Punjab-Ghausia. The Spartans have looked keen to do some damage on their farewell tour, and having made a mess of Excelsior’s net run rate last week would doubtless be delighted to knock Punjab off the podium on Sunday. Such pressure as there is on Sunday will probably be on the hosts, but despite the danger posed by a side with nothing left to lose, it’s worth noting Sparta have yet to win a game away from home this season. Even if their hopes of retaining the title are gone, the 2024 champions look to be finishing strong, sending first Voorburg and then Hermes down toward the danger zone last weekend. the Punjab top order has been consistently producing runs, and even if the bowling has lacked for penetration at times it’s likely to be more than enough to see off Sparta’s brittle batting line-up.

RL: Little to add to that, really: Punjab have settled back into a solid match-winning formula, built on the most dependable top order in the competition and a very effective spin attack, while the thinness of Sparta’s resources has beeen increasingly apparent as the campaign has continued. Kyle Klesse’s batting has been one of their few successes, although if any new-ball can cause problems for Punjab’s top five it’s former international Ahsan Malik, coming off a short run these days but still capable of claiming early wickets. Had Punjab not lost three of their first four games the climax to the competition would have been a lot more interesting, but they will want to finish the season in style, and a win for Sparta here would be one of the shocks of the campaign,

BdJ: Finally our newly-crowned champions Kampong start their lap of honour by welcoming VRA to Maarschalkerweerd. The hosts may be forgiven for treating the game as something of a celebratory occasion in the circumstances, and there’s every chance some of the senior players make way for some lesser lights. That said, the likes of Lane Berry and Lachlan Bangs have lately been clearing the ropes with consistency regardless of the circumstances, and one imagines they’ll be aiming to put on a show for the home crowd again. Conversely, while VRA may be happy enough with safety at this stage too, their underperforming internationals are likely to take any chance to improve their season statistics fairly seriously. Neither sometime skipper Vikram Singh not current incumbent Teja Nidamanuru will relish the prospect of finishing the season with an average in the teens, and Sunday represents their penultimate chance to address the issue.

RL: I’ve never understood the concept of a ‘dead rubber’: quite apart from team pride, surely no cricketer ever wants to get out cheaply or throw away runs by a ton, and equally surely both sides here have plenty to play for. A Kampong celebration would be somewhat deflated by a home defeat, while VRA, having clambered out of the relegation zone in recent weeks, will want to prove that their more elevated position is a fairer reflection of their quality. This could, therefore, be one of the showpiece fixtures of the season, with a panoply of talent on display, if both sides approach it in the right spirit.

BdJ’’s picks: HBS, HCC, Voorburg, Punjab, Kampong

RL’s picks: HBS, HCC, Voorburg, Punjab, Kampong.