Asides

ACC, Excelsior and HBS make it two out of two

Rod Lyall 13/05/19

Three more centuries in the second round of Topklasse matches on Saturday brought the total to six in nine games, suggesting that there may be a vintage season for batsmen in prospect.

The most encouraging from a Dutch point of view was Shirase Rasool’s maiden hundred for ACC against Quick Haag, while the most remarkable was perhaps Rupert Young’s in reply. The most predictable was that by Taruwar Kohli for Dosti United against HCC although, like Young’s, it proved to be in a losing cause.

Three sides made it two out of two on Saturday, with ACC the initial leaders on net run rate, followed by Excelsior ’20 and HBS Craeyenhout.

In the only match between first-round winners, Excelsior firmly deflated Voorburg’s balloon, beating the promoted side by seven wickets at Westvliet.

Electing to bat first, Voorburg appeared to be coasting at the first drinks break, having reached 82 for two and with last week’s centurion Matt Smit well set on 44.

But then Excelsior skipper Tom Heggelman turned from seam to spin, and in eight overs of complete mayhem the home side subsided to 94 for seven.

Umar Baker collected three of those wickets, going on to clean up the innings and finish with six for 46, but it was Lorenzo Ingram who removed the dangerous Smit, who had added just two more before he had the misfortune to glove a delivery which deflected from his pad as he tried to sweep, into the hands of Branton Parchment, lurking at slip.

There was some late resistance from Brandon Glover and Yasir Hamid, but in a disappointingly irresolute effort overall Voorburg were dismissed for 144.

Glover and Clayton Floyd looked dangerous when Excelsior replied, but a single wicket for the former was their only reward. Without ever seeming really comfortable Tim Etman played a crucial innings for his side, helped by a couple of missed chances, and in partnerships with Ingram – eventually forced to retire hurt after taking one in the ribs from Viv Kingma – and Parchment he steered them towards the win.

He eventually fell to a catch at slip by Tom de Grooth after Glover returned, but he had made 81 and only six were now needed, Joost Kroesen and Heggelman finishing the job with more than 16 overs remaining.

Shiraze Razool
Razool scores over cow

On the new artificial outfield at Nieuw Hanenburg ACC enhanced their run rate standing with a comprehensive 102-run victory over Quick Haag, built on a second-wicket partnership of 125 between Rehmat Zulfiqar, who made an aggressive 80, and Rasool.

The youngster has served a long apprenticeship, but in following up his fifty last week with an unbeaten 117 he reaped the reward for the hard work he has reportedly been doing over the winter.

Jean Marais contributed a quick 32, and ACC closed on 290 for seven.

Quick were soon in trouble with Bob van Gigch, Lesley Stokkers and Geert Maarten Mol all dismissed cheaply, but Young, after a cautious start, suddenly unleashed an extraordinary attack on the ACC bowlers, cracking six sixes in five overs and racing from 27 to 64.

Three more followed before he eventually fell to Aryan Kumar for 115, made at better than a run a ball, and Quick were all out for 188, with Brady Barends, Anis Raza, Devanchu Arya and Shreyas Potdar collecting a brace of wickets apiece.

HBS were also relatively untroubled in maintaining their unbeaten record, with a 72-run victory over Sparta 1888 at Sportpark Bermweg.

They got off to another flying start with an opening stand of 97 inside 17 overs, 74 coming from the bat of Tobias Visée, who faced just 43 deliveries and smashed ten fours and three sixes.

His partner, Zac Elkin, was much more circumspect, taking 117 balls to make his 58, but with Sharn Gomes and Navjit Singh going cheaply and Wesley Barresi making only 27, it took a brisk 31 from Zak Gibson to get the total up to 242.

Max Hoornweg and Usman Saleem claimed three wickets each, for 41 and 35 respectively.

Wessel Coster and Berend Westdijk, sharing the new ball, struck back for HBS, and at 39 for three Sparta were soon in trouble.

As they had against Voorburg, Mudassar Bukhari (35) and Atse Buurman (27) leant some solidity to the middle order, but once Westdijk had removed Bukhari and Barresi had accounted for Buurman the Sparta reply fell away, only skipper Joost Martijn Snoep’s unbeaten 24 enabling them to reach 170.

Westdijk finished with three for 20, with the spinners Julian de Mey and Barresi collecting a couple of wickets each.

The most exciting match of the day saw HCC snatch a final-over three-wicket victory over Dosti United, half-centuries by Adam Wiffen and Bryce Street enabling them to overhaul Dosti’s 229 for nine with two balls to spare.

Taruwar Kohli’s 108 not out was the highlight of Dosti’s innings, only opener Rahil Ahmed (42) and skipper Vinoo Tewarie (33) offering significant support.

The Amsterdam side were well placed at 140 for two, but once Tewarie had gone they lost their way, and with Hidde Overdijk taking four for 43 it was Kohli’s 126-ball innings which enabled them to set a decent total.

A 93-run stand between Wiffen (50) and Street (63) meant that HCC, too, reached 142 for two, but once they had been removed, by Kuldeep Diwan and Amitose Singh respectively, the home side’s middle order likewise failed to maintain the momentum, and it took hard-hitting cameos by Douwe Walhain and Ali Ahmed Qasim, the former finishing the game off with a winning six, to see their side to victory.

Round 2 Preview

Bertus de Jong & Rod Lyall 09/05/19

With VRA and VOC postponing their fixture this week until July 20th, we’ve just the four matches coming up on Saturday for the 2nd round of the Topklasse season. Though Dosti and HCC considered playing their fixture on VRA’s second ground, the match has instead been relocated to de Diepput, leaving the capital bereft of top division cricket this weekend.

BdJ:Coming off a nail-biting rain-affected win over last year’s champions VOC, which was eventually decided by a DLS margin of just one run, Dosti-United, in lieu of home advantage, will be hoping to carry some momentum into their game against HCC, who sank to a 6-wicket defeat away at HBS last week thanks in large part to the efforts of centurion Wesley Barresi. New acquisition Adam Wiffen had racked up an unbeaten ton of his own in that match, hitting 135 off 128 on Topklasse debut, a promising start for the 21 year-old who HCC will hope can fill the hole left by Jonathan Vandiar. Though HCC’s seam attack were made to look rather toothless by the rampant Barresi, they nonetheless picked up early wickets against a strong HBS top order, and could well do the same against Dosti’s historically more brittle line-up. Taru Kohli’s will be the wicket they want the most, though skipper Vinoo Tewarie was the man who saw his side home last week, knuckling down with the middle order to strike an unbeaten and eventually match-winning 47 off 71. Dosti will hope that Tewarie’s innings was a sign of things to come, and that the Amsterdammers’ local cohort can step up this season, to compensate for the club’s more conservative overseas acquisition strategy.

RL: With four overseas players in their line-up – Indians Taruwar Kohli, Amitoze Singh and Kuldeep Diwan and South African Anees Davids – Dosti are making full use of the collapse of the KNCB’s restrictions. While that wasn’t the decisive factor last week, it will no doubt stand them in good stead this season. HCC, though, also have four imports: Dutch resident Bharat Itagi, Dutch passport holder Adam Wiffen, Bryce Street and Matt Hay, and with their home-grown contingent looking more and more at home in the Topklasse, they, too, will be a force to be reckoned with. Barresi’s match-winning knock did emphasise the limitations of HCC’s attack, but in other respects the two Den Haag sides were pretty evenly matched until Barresi cut loose, and this may prove to be another hard-fought encounter.

BdJ: Meanwhile HBS Craeyenhout travel to Bermweg to take on Sparta 1888, who sank to a 25-run defeat at the hands of former Hoofdklasse rival VCC last week. Twin ducks from Sparta’s overseas signings Andrew Fletcher and Garnett Tarr did not help their cause at Voorburg, though one suspects the pair will acclimatise to Dutch conditions in time. The rest of the batting order at least have runs under their belt though, Mudassar Bukhari’s battling 47 keeping them in the game into the death last week. The seam attack’s lack of penetration will be more of a worry however, especially against an HBS top order that can quickly put the game beyond reach if early wickets fail to come.

RL: HBS were title contenders for much of last season, and with Sharn Gomes joined by lively seamer Zak Gibson and batsman Zac Elkin they will certainly not be less of a handful this time round. Gomes is a known quantity, and if none of the trio played a decisive part against HCC they all fitted into a side which is a well-balanced unit. Navjit Singh’s composed knock suggests that he is developing into a valuable allrounder, and the seam attack of which he is a quarter will trouble many opposing batsmen. Sparta, on the other hand, struggled to get into the game against a powerful Voorburg unit, and will be hoping that Fletcher and Tarr are able to play significant innings in their initial home match. The Sparta attack was able to make little impression on Voorburg’s top order, but it may be a different proposition at traditionally bowler-friendly Bermweg.

BdJ: Toward the top of the nascent table Voorburg CC will welcome Excelsior ‘20 to Westvliet, both sides looking to go two-from-two. Excelsior looked far from convincing last week on their way to a four wicket win over a Quick Haag side still waiting on their pros, but new signing Brenton Parchment seems to have taken to Dutch conditions like a duck to Dutch conditions. His all-round performance was the difference on Saturday in an otherwise forgettable encounter, though Umar Baker also did himself credit on debut at Thurlede. The question remains whether they will be able to trouble the thoroughly-acclimatised Matt Smit, who showed every sign of carrying over his intimidating form in the Hoofdklasse last season into the top flight. Smit’s 137-ball 110 meant much of the VCC batting remains untested in the Topklasse, though Noah Croes and Steve Nottle also looked unperturbed by the step up in divisions.

RL: Voorburg were indeed impressive on their return to the top flight, and Excelsior face a stiff test on their visit to Westvliet. With Parchment joining Lorenzo Ingram in Schiedam in succession to James Hilditch Excelsior have resisted the temptation to increase their overseas contingent, preferring to rely upon the ‘class of 2016’ who won them back-to-back championships. They may not have been at top pitch in last week’s miserable conditions, but they will certainly let us see whether Voorburg are as strong as they appeared to be in their victory over Sparta. Their reliance on their overseas players and the inconsistency of their top and middle order were issues even in Excelsior’s title-winning seasons, and they will need to resolve them if they are again to be in the mix for this year’s championship.

BdJ: Finally ACC will travel to Nieuw Hanenburg to take on Quick Haag who will start as underdogs in their own yard, looking for their first win and hoping to get it without the aid of the nigh-indispensable Jay Bista and his fellow Mumbaiker Prathamesh Dake. Stand-in overseas Rupert Young and Pieter Groenewald managed only ten runs between them last week, though the rest of the side’s performance was more promising than it appears on a scorecard. New skipper Daan Vierling, especially, showed some fight down the order as he dragged his side into three figures with the help of Doc Mol and Thijs van Schelven, the latter also looking back to his old self with the ball, giving away just 18 from his 8 overs and eventually bagging the wicket of match-winner Parchment, albeit by then too late. ACC will be riding high after their victory in the Amsterdam Derby last week, and the performances of youngsters Arjan Kumar and Shirase Rasool especially are a cause for optimism for the coming season. The Amsterdammers also have the advantage of their two overseas players having arrived in timely fashion, Bardy Barends’ return of 2-29 last week suggesting he knows what he’s about on a mat and Jean Marais still yet to lose his wicket in the unfamiliar conditions.

RL: Indeed, the decisive contributions of Kumar and Rasool last week suggested that ACC’s youth policy may be starting to bear fruit, and with Quick still waiting for Bista and Dake the home side will have to raise their game significantly on their new, artificial turf. The Haantjes don’t lack experience, but the old guard have struggled to hold their own in the top flight over the past year, and they will need to be at their best against the emerging talent of the Amsterdam side. It might be an exaggeration to see this game as an intergenerational battle, especially since ACC looked a more balanced outfit against VRA than they did last season and Quick have a couple of youngsters of their own, but Quick’s old hands such as Geert Maarten Mol, Lesley Stokkers and Jeroen Brand will have a lot resting on their shoulders as they attempt to hold the fort until reinforcements arrive from Mumbai.

Bertus’s predictions: HCC, HBS, Voorburg, ACC.

Rod’s predictions: Dosti, HBS, Voorburg, ACC.

Scorecard | ACC vs VRA | 05.05.19

ACC I Vs VRA I
1-Innings Match Played At Het Loopveld West, 05-May-2019, Topklasse
ACC I Win by 7 wkts
Round 1
Toss won by VRA I
Umpires AND van den Dries – R Kaulingfreks
Scorers DC Schinkel – K Holdsworth
Home Side ACC I
Points Awarded VRA I 0, ACC I 2
VRA I 1st Innings 139/10 All Out (Overs 44.4)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
V Singh lbw b SA Zulfiqar 2 7 0 0
ES Szwarczynski lbw b BL Barends 2 11 0 0
BN Cooper c&b MA Raza 5 23 1 0
MW Lake b A Kumar 8 32 1 0
LA Turmaine b A Kumar 2 12 0 0
PW Borren c N Dubal b BL Barends 81 99 8 2
E van den Burg* b A Kumar 1 14 0 0
MB Lees+ run out RU Zulfiqar/JL Marais 21 45 3 0
TK Long c JL Marais b CM Knoll 3 7 0 0
B Graber c&b A Kumar 0 13 0 0
HG Mia not out 1 3 0 0
extras (b0 lb4 w9 nb0) 13
TOTAL 10 wickets for 139
FOW
1-8(V Singh) 2-8(ES Szwarczynski) 3-17(BN Cooper) 4-24(LA Turmaine) 5-27(MW Lake) 6-38(E van den Burg) 7-97(MB Lees) 8-107(TK Long) 9-129(B Graber) 10-139(PW Borren)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
SA Zulfiqar 3 1 5 1 4 –
BL Barends 9.4 1 29 2 1 –
MA Raza 6 2 10 1 1 –
A Kumar 9 2 28 4 2 –
G Tims 2 1 8 0 1 –
SM Zulfiqar 10 0 31 0 – –
CM Knoll 5 0 24 1 – –
ACC I 1st Innings 143/3 (Overs 36.4)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
MA Raza b HG Mia 9 16 1 0
RU Zulfiqar c MB Lees b LA Turmaine 34 56 3 0
SR Rasool c LA Turmaine b HG Mia 56 82 3 2
SM Zulfiqar* not out 17 43 2 0
JL Marais+ not out 18 23 1 0
A Kumar dnb
CM Knoll dnb
BL Barends dnb
SA Zulfiqar dnb
G Tims dnb
N Dubal dnb
extras (b1 lb2 w6 nb0) 9
TOTAL 3 wickets for 143
FOW
1-26(MA Raza) 2-85(RU Zulfiqar) 3-120(SR Rasool)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
HG Mia 9 1 32 2 1 –
B Graber 5 0 23 0 2 –
LA Turmaine 10 0 36 1 – –
PW Borren 7 0 21 0 1 –
TK Long 5.4 1 27 0 2 –

Scorecard | HBS vs HCC | 05.05.19

HBS I Vs HCC I
1-Innings Match Played At Craeyenhout, Den Haag, 05-May-2019, Topklasse
HBS I Win by 6 wkts
Round 1
Toss won by HBS I
Umpires HM Butt – Ali Mohammed
Scorers MAP Wiegers – K Pattiselanno
Home Side HBS I
Comment Rain stopped play, HBS 34-2 (8 overs); revised DLS target 244. Rain stopped play, HBS 98-3 (22.1 overs); revised DLS target 236.
Points Awarded HCC I 0, HBS I 2
HCC I 1st Innings 246/7 Closed (Overs 50)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
BR Itagi c ZW Elkin b F Khan 22 43 4 0
AO Wiffen not out 135 128 11 3
AJ Staal* c WT Coster b F Khan 5 24 0 0
BE Street lbw b F Khan 11 13 1 0
BHG Gorlee lbw b J de Mey 12 31 0 0
HC Overdijk b J de Mey 3 5 0 0
MW Hay b BA Westdijk 30 39 2 0
DL Walhain lbw b FJ Vink 3 3 0 0
AA Qasim not out 12 13 1 0
LJF Lagas+ dnb
RR Bijloos dnb
extras (b0 lb2 w9 nb2) 13
TOTAL 7 wickets for 246
FOW
1-51(BR Itagi) 2-71(AJ Staal) 3-101(BE Street) 4-129(BHG Gorlee) 5-135(HC Overdijk) 6-189(MW Hay) 7-194(DL Walhain)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
BA Westdijk 9 0 51 1 4 1
ZN Gibson 6 1 33 0 1 –
WT Coster 3 0 20 0 – 1
F Khan 10 1 40 3 4 –
Navjit Singh 6 0 17 0 – –
J de Mey 7 0 31 2 – –
FJ Vink 9 0 52 1 – –
HBS I 1st Innings 236/4 (Overs 43.4)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
ZW Elkin lbw b HC Overdijk 13 20 1 0
TP Visée*+ b AA Qasim 16 13 3 0
SP Gomes lbw b AA Qasim 10 20 1 0
Navjit Singh c BE Street b MW Hay 55 99 7 0
W Barresi not out 126 93 11 5
WT Coster not out 11 17 0 0
FJ Vink dnb
ZN Gibson dnb
J de Mey dnb
F Khan dnb
BA Westdijk dnb
extras (b1 lb2 w1 nb1) 5
TOTAL 4 wickets for 236
FOW
1-24(TP Visée) 2-34(ZW Elkin) 3-46(SP Gomes) 4-184(Navjit Singh)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
AA Qasim 9 0 40 2 – 1
HC Overdijk 7 2 29 1 – –
RR Bijloos 7 0 33 0 – –
BE Street 8 0 52 0 1 –
MW Hay 9 0 54 1 – –
BR Itagi 3.4 0 25 0 – –

Scorecard | VOC vs Dosti | 04.05.19

VOC I Vs Dosti United I
1-Innings Match Played At Hazelaarweg, Rotterdam, 04-May-2019, Topklasse
Dosti United I Win by 1 runs
Round 1
Umpires RJ Akram – P Muthucumaru
Scorers N Kaulingfreks – R Seetal
Home Side (neutral)
Comment Match reduced to 31 overs. Rain stopped play, VOC 88-3 (22.2 overs); match reduced to 28 overs. Revised DLS target 150. Rain stopped play, Dosti 129-5 (25.1 overs). DLS par score 128. Dosti won by 1 run (DLS).
Points Awarded VOC I 0, Dosti United I 2
VOC I 1st Innings 143/7 Closed (Overs 28)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
SP van Lent+ b K Diwan 15 26 2 0
MP O'Dowd c Arief Hoseinbaks b Asief Hoseinbaks 45 64 4 0
ZDA van Baren c&b Asief Hoseinbaks 3 14 0 0
SA Edwards run out W Masood 19 28 1 1
PM Seelaar* not out 38 23 5 1
JD Schoonheim lbw b K Diwan 6 6 0 0
CL Rutgers b K Diwan 1 4 0 0
RR Upadhyaya b K Diwan 2 4 0 0
PJ Fletcher not out 0 0 0 0
DM Mullett dnb
A Said dnb
extras (b1 lb3 w10 nb0) 14
TOTAL 7 wickets for 143
FOW
1-46(SP van Lent) 2-52(ZDA van Baren) 3-79(MP O'Dowd) 4-98(SA Edwards) 5-120(JD Schoonheim) 6-122(CL Rutgers) 7-143(RR Upadhyaya)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
A Davids 4 0 34 0 4 –
TS Kohli 3 0 19 0 1 –
K Diwan 6 1 16 4 2 –
M Hans 6 1 23 0 1 –
Asief Hoseinbaks 6 0 20 2 – –
W Masood 3 0 27 0 – –
Dosti United I 1st Innings 129/5 (Overs 25.1)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
RI Ahmed+ c PM Seelaar b A Said 4 11 1 0
TS Kohli lbw b PJ Fletcher 3 21 0 0
VAB Tewarie* not out 47 71 4 0
A Singh c SA Edwards b MP O'Dowd 26 26 2 1
K Diwan c PM Seelaar b PJ Fletcher 28 17 3 1
A Davids lbw b ZDA van Baren 3 4 0 0
W Masood not out 2 2 0 0
S Ghori dnb
M Hans dnb
Arief Hoseinbaks dnb
Asief Hoseinbaks dnb
extras (b0 lb0 w15 nb1) 16
TOTAL 5 wickets for 129
FOW
1-7(RI Ahmed) 2-20(TS Kohli) 3-68(A Singh) 4-115(K Diwan) 5-127(A Davids)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
A Said 5 0 25 1 4 1
PJ Fletcher 5 2 9 2 5 –
PM Seelaar 5.1 1 17 0 – –
RR Upadhyaya 3 0 20 0 – –
MP O'Dowd 4 0 35 1 2 –
JD Schoonheim 2 0 17 0 2 –
ZDA van Baren 1 0 6 1 – –

Scorecard | Excelsior vs Quick | 04.05.19

Excelsior 20 I Vs Quick Haag I
1-Innings Match Played At Thurlede, Schiedam, 04-May-2019, Topklasse
Excelsior 20 I Win by 4 wkts
Round 1
Toss won by Excelsior 20 I
Umpires AND van den Dries – WPM van Liemt
Scorers EM Heggelman – JWM Krulder
Home Side Excelsior 20 I
Comment Match reduced to 37 overs
Points Awarded Quick Haag I 0, Excelsior 20 I 2
Quick Haag I 1st Innings 146/7 Closed (Overs 37)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
S Diwan c BA Parchment b TJ Heggelman 4 13 1 0
LW Stokkers c DA Woutersen b BA Parchment 16 26 3 0
R Young b GG Kroesen 5 20 0 0
GMC Mol c DA Woutersen b UF Baker 22 35 0 1
JA Brand b BA Parchment 0 6 0 0
PC Groenewald b BA Parchment 5 7 1 0
D Vierling*+ st DA Woutersen b UF Baker 24 57 2 0
MB van Schelven not out 29 40 1 1
S Ekelmans not out 11 23 0 0
S Mansoor dnb
GN Trappenburg dnb
extras (b4 lb2 w19 nb5) 30
TOTAL 7 wickets for 146
FOW
1-20(S Diwan) 2-37(LW Stokkers) 3-37(R Young) 4-39(JA Brand) 5-57(PC Groenewald) 6-90(GMC Mol) 7-114(D Vierling)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
TJ Heggelman 6 1 20 1 4 –
RWA van Troost 1 0 10 0 2 –
S Bhatti 4 0 10 0 2 –
BA Parchment 7 1 35 3 2 –
GG Kroesen 3 0 23 1 5 –
UF Baker 8 1 21 2 1 –
LT Ingram 8 1 21 0 2 –
Excelsior 20 I 1st Innings 147/6 (Overs 34.4)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
TC Etman c S Ekelmans b GN Trappenburg 4 9 0 0
SG Shankar c MB van Schelven b S Mansoor 0 3 0 0
LT Ingram b GMC Mol 27 28 3 1
BA Parchment c GN Trappenburg b MB van Schelven 49 77 7 0
J Kroesen lbw b S Diwan 1 7 0 0
DA Woutersen+ b JA Brand 31 33 3 1
RWA van Troost not out 13 48 0 0
GG Kroesen not out 1 3 0 0
TJ Heggelman* dnb
UF Baker dnb
S Bhatti dnb
extras (b0 lb0 w21 nb0) 21
TOTAL 6 wickets for 147
FOW
1-3(SG Shankar) 2-7(TC Etman) 3-55(LT Ingram) 4-56(J Kroesen) 5-111(DA Woutersen) 6-142(BA Parchment)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
GN Trappenburg 3 0 10 1 1 –
S Mansoor 3 0 14 1 1 –
JA Brand 6 0 32 1 – –
PC Groenewald 1 0 12 0 – –
GMC Mol 8 0 27 1 5 –
S Diwan 4.4 0 24 1 10 –
MB van Schelven 8 1 18 1 – –
LW Stokkers 1 0 10 0 1 –

Scorecard | VCC vs Sparta | 04.05.19

Voorburg I Vs Sparta I
1-Innings Match Played At Westvliet, Voorburg, 04-May-2019, Topklasse
Voorburg I Win by 25 runs
Round 1
Toss won by Sparta I
Umpires J Hilhorst – DJ Kalloe
Scorers CC Schinkel – AO Smelt
Home Side Voorburg I
Comment Match reduced to 37 overs. Rain stopped play, Sparta 49-3 (10 overs), match further reduced to 44 overs; revised DLS target 225. Rain stopped play, Sparta 190-9 (42 overs). Voorburg win by 25 runs (DLS).
Points Awarded Voorburg I 2, Sparta I 0
Voorburg I 1st Innings 229/3 Closed (Overs 47)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
TN de Grooth* c AF Buurman b U Saleem 7 24 0 0
ML Smit c A Raza b JM Snoep 110 137 6 1
N Croes+ lbw b JM Snoep 59 86 6 0
SM Nottle not out 39 34 1 0
BD Glover dnb
C Floyd dnb
Y Hamid dnb
DI Humphrey dnb
N Gigani dnb
ST Mulder dnb
PRP Boissevain dnb
extras (b0 lb2 w12 nb0) 14
TOTAL 3 wickets for 229
FOW
1-28(TN de Grooth) 2-152(N Croes) 3-229(ML Smit)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
M Bukhari 10 2 46 0 3 –
MB Hoornweg 10 0 55 0 5 –
U Saleem 9 0 29 1 – –
AT Fletcher 9 0 37 0 1 –
JM Snoep 5 0 30 2 – –
M Singh 4 0 30 0 3 –
Sparta I 1st Innings 190/9 Closed (Overs 42)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs Bls 4s 6s
AT Fletcher c SM Nottle b BD Glover 0 5 0 0
A Raza b ST Mulder 32 27 5 0
TIM de Kok c TN de Grooth b Y Hamid 33 49 2 1
G Tarr c ML Smit b ST Mulder 0 5 0 0
G Singh c TN de Grooth b Y Hamid 20 30 4 0
M Bukhari b ML Smit 47 59 3 1
AF Buurman+ b C Floyd 18 40 2 0
JM Snoep* st N Croes b C Floyd 15 25 0 0
M Singh b BD Glover 3 7 0 0
U Saleem not out 3 4 0 0
MB Hoornweg not out 1 0 0 0
extras (b4 lb1 w12 nb1) 18
TOTAL 9 wickets for 190
FOW
1-0(AT Fletcher) 2-49(A Raza) 3-49(G Tarr) 4-90(G Singh) 5-100(TIM de Kok) 6-136(AF Buurman) 7-176(M Bukhari) 8-184(JM Snoep) 9-188(M Singh)
Bowler Overs Maid Runs Wkts wd nb
BD Glover 8 1 27 2 2 1
Y Hamid 6 0 29 2 6 –
ST Mulder 6 1 19 2 – –
PRP Boissevain 9 0 45 0 – –
C Floyd 8 0 40 2 2 –
DI Humphrey 3 0 11 0 – –
ML Smit 2 0 14 1 – –

Dosti ambush the champions, but Voorburg stake their claim

Rod Lyall 06/05/19

The opening weekend of the 2019 Topklasse campaign turned out to be as incident-filled as some seasons might not manage in the first month, as freezing cold, intermittent rain and occasional bursts of sunshine provided the context for some thoroughly entertaining cricket.

It also revealed the true extent of the New Order created by the collapse of the KNCB’s attempts to limit the number of foreign players per team, which is less than some may have feared but still more than many will have hoped.

With three matches played on Saturday and the remaining two on Sunday, only one game proved free of the influence of Messrs Duckworth, Lewis and Stern, with ACC dismissing Amstelveen rivals VRA for 139 at Het Loopveld on Sunday and knocking off the runs in 36.4 overs for the loss of three wickets.

Here it was two local youngsters who made all the difference: seamer Aryan Kumar took four for 28 as VRA collapsed to 38 for six at one stage, and then Shirase Rasool hit a maiden Topklasse half-century, making 56 on the way to ACC’s comprehensive victory.

Top-scorer for VRA was former national captain Peter Borren, whose 81 constituted an almost single-handed attempt to rescue his side; keeper Mitch Lees, who shared in a 59-run seventh-wicket stand, was the only other player to reach double figures.

The other Sunday game was a fluctuating affair which featured contrasting unbeaten centuries by opener Adam Wiffin for HCC and Wesley Barresi for HBS.

Batting throughout his side’s innings, Wiffin made 135 not out from 128 deliveries, hitting 11 fours and three sixes. Farshad Khan claimed three wickets for HBS and Julian de Mey two, and at 135 for five it seemed as if HCC might struggle to get far past 200.

But then Matt Hay chipped in with 30 in a sixth-wicket stand of 64, and as Wiffin cut loose in the closing stages he was well supported by Ali Ahmad Qasim, and HCC finished with 246 for seven.

Qasim and Hidde Overdijk grabbed three early wickets when HBS replied, but with the target reduced to 236 from 45 overs after two brief interruptions for rain, Navjit Singh (55) shared a partnership of 138 with Barresi, who dominated the bowling from the time he arrived at the crease, hitting a match-winning 93-ball 126 not out, which included 11 fours and five sixes, and HBS took the points with eight deliveries remaining.

The closest match of the weekend was at Hazelaarweg on Saturday, where overnight rain caused the match between VOC and Dosti to be reduced to 31 overs before the start. An interruption during the VOC innings caused a further reduction to 28 overs, from which the home side made 143 for seven.

Max O’Dowd gave them a solid start with 45, and Pieter Seelaar contributed a not-out 38 from just 23 balls, while Kuldeep Diwan, one of Dosti’s four overseas players, took four for 16.

The Dosti target was adjusted to 150, and VOC appeared to have the upper hand when Rahil Ahmed and Taruwar Kohli were both dismissed by the time 20 was on the board.

But skipper Vinoo Tewarie anchored the innings with 47 not out, and with smaller contributions from Amitoze Singh and Diwan, they had reached 129 for five in 25.1 overs when further rain brought an end to proceedings.

That was just one run ahead of the DLS par score at that stage, and thus Dosti were the winners by the narrowest of margins.

Matt Smit
That’s hundred for Matt Smit!

Fielding a side with no fewer than six overseas players, three of them the bearers of Dutch passports, Voorburg demonstrated the power of their batting line-up by compiling 229 for three in their 47 overs, with opener Matt Smit making 110 before he fell to the final ball of the innings.The rain also brought a premature end at Westvliet, but in this case promoted side Voorburg had established an unambiguous advantage over Sparta 1888.

He shared in stands of 124 with Noah Croes (59) and 77 with Steve Nottle (39 not out), while the only successful Sparta bowlers were Joost-Martijn Snoep with two wickets and Usman Saleem with one.

Pace man Brandon Glover then removed Andrew Fletcher in the first over of Sparta’s reply, and although Ali Raza hit a brisk 32 and Tim de Kok a patient 33, and the target was eventually reduced to 225 off 44 overs after another shower, it was only former international Mudassar Bukhari who showed any real sign of keeping his side in the game.

When he was bowled by Smit for 47 to make it 176 for seven the game was effectively over, and at 190 for nine after 42 overs when the rain descended again, Sparta lost by 25 runs. The wickets were shared, with two apiece for Glover, Yasir Hamid, Stef Mulder and Clayton Floyd.

The rain had also left its mark on Thurlede, where the match between Excelsior ’20 and Quick Haag was reduced to 37 overs before the start.

Put in to bat, Quick struggled against the Excelsior attack, with West Indian international Brenton Parchment taking three for 35 on his Topklasse debut and only Geert Maarten Mol (22) among the top order showing any real resistance.

New skipper Daan Vierling (24) and Thijs van Schelven (29 not out) managed to get their side up to 146 for seven, but this never seemed likely to be enough, even in difficult conditions for batting.

At 56 for four, with key batsman Lorenzo Ingram among those back in the dug-out, Excelsior were making heavy weather of the chase, but Parchment’s 77-ball 49 was the decisive factor, and in a low-scoring game his 55-run stand with David Woutersen (31) laid the foundation for the win.

By the time Parchment fell to Van Schelven only five runs were needed, and Rens van Troost and Gijs Kroesen saw their side home by four wickets with 14 deliveries to spare.

Round 1 Preview

Rod Lyall & Bertus de Jong 03/05/19

The 2019 competition opens with a split round over the Liberation Day weekend, with three matches taking place as originally scheduled on Saturday and two moved to Sunday. In a further adjustment to the normal programme, Saturday’s matches will start at 10:00 in order to allow for the observance of the national commemoration in the evening, while those on Sunday will commence at 12:00.

RL: Much attention will focus on Voorburg’s Westvliet ground, which was in its first season when the club last played in the top flight. Their guests on their return will be Sparta 1888, who made a winning start last season on their own return to top-division cricket. Saturday’s match will give us a first glimpse of Voorburg’s side, impressive as it unquestionably is on paper, while Joost-Martijn Snoep and Mudassar Bukhari will have the task of quickly moulding their reshuffled outfit into a winning combination. The return of Viv Kingma to Westvliet adds a good deal to the Voorburg attack, and it would come as no surprise if the home side take the points.

BdJ: Also expecting a winning return to the Topklasse here for VCC, who have arguably just been biding their time in the second division in the last couple of seasons to build a side capable of making an immediate impact. Even with Bas de Leede’s departure for England this Voorburg side has the look of top four contenders rather than also-rans, though Sparta’s strength is perhaps tough to guage given the personnel changes over the winter. In Fletcher and Tarr they have two batsmen with proper first-class pedigree, and should they both take quickly to Dutch conditions Sparta may yet take an early lead again this season, but such rapid adjustment has generally been rare in batsmen new to the country.

RL: Defending champions VOC Rotterdam will be at home to Dosti Amsterdam at the Hazelaarweg on Saturday, and despite the loss of Fred Klaassen and Umar Baker from their attack they will start as clear favourites. They were not always completely convincing last season, especially with the bat and early in the season, but they settled into a formidable combination as the campaign went on, and although the pace attack will look different they will still be a force to be reckoned with. Dosti are likely to rely heavily on their overseas players, but will also be hoping that Vinoo Tewarie and Rahil Ahmed among the batsmen and Mahesh Hans, Asief Hoseinbaks and Wahid Masood among the bowlers can play a greater role. If that happens this could be an intriguing game to watch.

BdJ: Hans and the wily Mohammad Hafeez will likely be key to Dosti’s hopes of upsetting the defending champions in the season opener as they memorably did a year ago, though this time they’re taking on the title holders in their own yard, where they went unbeaten last season. It remains to be seen whether VOC persist with their tactic of preparing dry, turning wickets again now that they are a spinner lighter, but either way if Vinoo Tewarie hopes to grab two points off the better-fancied VOC in the first game again, a good start might be winning the toss.

RL: Excelsior ‘20, who entertain Quick Haag at Thurlede in the third of Saturday’s matches, will be keen to put a slightly disappointing 2018 behind them and return to the winning ways which took them to the title in the two previous seasons. Lorenzo Ingram has been joined in Schiedam by West Indian Test batsman Brenton Parchment, who has the most distinguished credentials of any of this year’s overseas players, and surrounded by a talented bunch of young players who are now three years older and more experienced than they were when they first claimed the championship, they should prove too strong for a Quick side which tailed off badly last season.

BdJ: Well word is Quick are still waiting on overseas signings Jay Bista and Prathamesh Dake, who are both apparently going under the hammer at the Mumbai T20 tomorrow when Quick might prefer them to be taking the field, while both Lorenzo Ingram and Brenton Parchment have arrived in good order for Excelsior. Given Bista kept Quick afloat more-or-less single-handedly last season it would be a remarkable upset if they were to knock over a full-strength Excelsior tomorrow without him. That said, it would presumably be a major confidence boost if they managed it. Skipper-in-exile Tim Gruijters has apparently arranged for his Canterbury Country team-mate Rupert Young to fly over and bolster the Quick batting, whilst the veteran Edgar Schiferli is understood to have taken the team in hand over the winter, subjecting them to a remorseless and unrelenting fitness program, and is reportedly mulling a return to competitive cricket to continue pushing his side on the field. They are still far from favourites tomorrow, but it could just be that the 2014 champions surprise everyone this season.

RL: On Sunday ACC, with South Africans Jean Marais and Brady Barends making their Topklasse debuts, will take on VRA Amsterdam at Het Loopveld in the first of this season’s traditional derbies. The Bos-dwellers turned out to be the strongest of VOC’s challengers last year, and although they will be without Daan ter Braak this season they have the most experienced outfit of all: Peter Borren and Eric Szwarczynski have more than 7000 top-flight runs each, and will again provide the core of the batting. Het Loopveld, though, can be a tricky place to visit, and the Amsterdam derby in recent years has generally been a hard-fought affair.

BdJ: Het Loopveld may take some getting used to for visitors, but this VRA side have generally felt quite at home there. Last season they skittled the home side for 112 and then knocked off the runs for the loss of just two wickets in half their allotted overs, despite a 3-ball duck for Peter Borren who generally makes hay on the ACC mat. Somewhat perversely, the visiting side will be more familiar with the “conditions” at ACC than two of the home side’s key players, with Marais and Barends likely having little experience on artificial pitches. That said, VRA are traditionally slow starters in the Topklasse and will be without Quirijn Guinning, who took 2-17 in the team’s last encounter at het Loopeveld.

RL: The other Sunday game pits HBS against HCC at Craeyenhout. The only first-round match which pits two teams from the top half of last season’s table against one another, this promises to be an absorbing duel. With New Zealander Zak Gibson and South African Zac Elkin joining Sharn Gomes at Craeyenhout HBS promise to be at least as strong as they were last year, while HCC will have Gibson’s compatriot Matt Hay joining Ryan Ninan to support their crop of young locally-produced players, led by allrounder Hidde Overdijk, Tonny Staal and Boris Gorlee in the batting and Ali Ahmed Qasim among the bowlers.

BdJ: HBS carry form and home advantage into their opening fixture after the match-up was belatedly relocated, and are firm favourites on paper. Despite the loss of Jaron Morgan, the Crows only look to have got stronger over the off-season, whilst HCC have put their faith in their maturing cohort of youth players. Word is that Ninan will not in fact be back at all for HCC this season, and indeed he was absent for both their warm-up matches. Heavy defeats in both suggest HCC’s young side has yet to really find their feet under new skipper Tonny Staal, and they will either need everything to click for them if they are to take home 2 points from Craeyenhout or Ali Ahmed Qasim to put on a repeat of his performance at the crows’ nest from last season.

Rod Lyall’s tips: Voorburg, VOC, Excelsior, VRA, HBS.
Bertus de Jong’s tips: VCC, VOC, Excelsior, VRA, HBS.

Season preview 2019 – Part 2

Bertus de Jong 03/05/2019

Logo HCCWith a youthful looking squad and an absent Jonathan Vandiar, HCC were more-or-less targetting a mid-table finish last season, and got it. The side is a year older this time round, and may revise their expectations upwards somewhat, even if rumours of Vandiar’s return proved only half-true (that is to say, he’s back in the country but headed to Punjab Rotterdam).

Bryce Street, the seam all-rounder brought in as Vandiar’s replacement, did an admirable job last season filling those considerable shoes with 649 runs at 41 and 23 wickets, and the addition of 21 year-old left-handed opener Adam Wiffen, who comes across from Worcestershire and has already drawn the attention of national team coach Ryan Campbell, means HCC’s top-order looks a deal stronger than last summer.

With two young overseas signings and the retirement of skipper Mark Jonkman over the winter,HCC will be reliant on the increasing maturity of youth graduates Hidde Overdijk and Tonny Staal, both now 23 and hovering around the fringes of national selection, and u-19s bat Boris Gorlee. Staal, returned from a season at Balcatta CC in Perth Grade Cricket, will be the league’s second-youngest captain, and if rumours that overseas spinner Ryan Ninan’s is in doubt prove accurate, HCC’s leadership group will look very young indeed.

Should Ninan stay away, HCC’s slow-bowling options will also be limited to part-timers or fringe players, though even without Jonkman the seam section of Qasim, Bijloos, Overdijk and Street is an enviable one. Consecutive defeats in their two warm-up matches against VRA and Excelsior do not augur well, however. A slow start last season left them fighting an uphill battle all Summer, and Staal’s side have no more time to settle in. There’s plenty of young talent at de Diepput, but they’ll need to hit the ground running if they are to mount a serious challenge this season.

LogoExcelsiorAfter two championships on the trot in 2016 and 2017, Excelsior ‘20 finished a disappointing 4th last season, 5 wins behind VOC at the top of the table. A comparatively quiet season (by his standards) for star overseas Lorenzo Ingram rather exposed the Schiedammer’s reliance on the Jamaican left-arm spinning all-rounder, especially in terms of batting. Ingram’s tally of 611 runs was more than 200 clear of the next contributor, Tim Etman. The likely absence this season of opening bowler and lower-order trouble-shooter James Hilditch, who has been roped in as Assistant coach for the national team, is also likely to put more pressure on the young core of the side to step up this season.

That said, the signing of former West Indies test bat Brenton Parchment, probably the most eye-catching acquisition of the season will likely do more than a little to shore up the batting. Joost Kroesen’s unbeaten 80 in a warm-up against Hermes also suggest he may have put a disappointing 2018 behind him, and skipper Tom Heggelman also has runs under his belt heading into the season opener against Quick Haag.

Umar Baker arrives from VOC to share in Ingram’s slow-bowling duties, whilst Parchment is also capable of sending down some serviceable off-spin. Heggelman meanwhile leads a sprightly but occasionally expensive pace attack further comprising Sohail Bhatti, Gijs Kroesen and Rens van Troost, and will at least be spoiled for options when cycling through his attack.

With the addition of Parchment and Baker the Schiedammers arguably have a stronger side than they did in either of their championship seasons, but last season it was above all the failure of the promising youngsters in the side to kick on that cost them a shot at defending their title. Good seasons for one or both of their Jamaican overseas will likely be enough to keep them in contention this time round, but the Thurlede faithful will be hoping above all that their maturing youth cohort come into their own this season.

 
LogoHBSHBS-Craeyenhout’s big-hitting top order couldn’t quite carry them into Topklasse title contention last year, despite Sharn Gomes, Wesley Barresi, Toby Visee and Jaron Morgan all crossing 500 runs in the season. Even with the departure of Morgan the top order remains the most intimidating in the league, however, and with Western Province opener Zac Elkin coming in to play foil to the ever explosive Visee at the top of the order the batting may even have gained a degree of stability.

New Zealand under-19s seamer Zak Gibson also joins the Crows, taking some pressure off spearhead Berend Westdijk who will likely be skipping a few games this season owing to work commitments. With Farshad Khan and Wessel Coster coming off the back of solid seasons, the HBS pace attack looks in good shape, whilst the spin attack comprising Wesley Barresi (who has taken to his new role as off-spinning all-rounder with all the zealousness of a convert) paired with the ever more impressive Julian de Mey looks equally sound. With allrounders Navjit Singh and Ferdi Vink also impressing last season, there’s no obvious weak links in this HBS side.

After claiming the national T20 title last season, the Crows were disappointed to discover that qualification for the new European Championship competition hinged on final Topklasse standings. It’s not out of the question that they’ll make doubly sure of their place in the next edition by the simple expedient of winning both this time round.

 
logo VRAAfter two seasons in a row as runners-up, VRA will be looking to end their seven-year title drought this season. They fell short by just one win last time round, and again a slow start to the season was in part to blame as opening losses to Quick and Excelsior left them playing catch-up for much of the season. They’ll be looking for a stronger start this time round, though with only a single serious warm-up against HCC ahead of the season opener against ACC on Sunday they risk again going in under-cooked.

They did bet HCC comfortably however, with rather unheralded overseas signing Brandon Graber bagging four wickets. South African seamer Graber comes in to replace the departing Vivian Kingma (who was largely sidelined by injury last season) and is one of a number of somewhat low-profile additions to the VRA roster that nonetheless look to have shored-up a side that often struggles with player availability, with Englishmen Matt Lake, Graeme Scott and Thomas Long also joining the side.

Headed the other way is opening bat Daan ter Braak, who won’t be returning for another season. His departure leaves a 600+-run gap in the batting and whilst new skipper Emile van den Burg would doubtless be delighted if Lake were to fill it, VRA will likely be looking first to the veteran Eric Szwarczynski to bounce back from a disappointing 2018 and cover the shortfall. Given a batting line-up that also includes Ben Cooper and former captain Peter Borren, VRA need not rue ter Braak’s departure unduly if the senior players deliver.

Borren will doubtless have a role to play with the ball too, though with Graber, Quirijn Gunning and Haseeb Gul in the side as front-line seamers and a solid spin section in Adeel Raja and Leon Turmaine he will hope to have more competition for the VRA lead wicket-taker title than he did last season. All told the Amsterdammers head into 2019 with a balanced side and a deeper bench than they have in the past couple of years, and going one better this time round is far from out of the question.

LogoVOC2018 champions VOC Rotterdam will have to mount their title defense without the services of new-ball spearhead Freddy Klaassen, the left arm quick having been picked up by Kent over the winter. The loss of their lead wicket-taker inevitably takes some of the sting out of the VOC seam attack, with more responsibility falling on the shoulders of Dirk van Baren, Bobby Hanif and newcomer Ashiqullah Said, as well as Pierce Fletcher, especially at the death.

VOC have never been over-reliant on pace however, their unbeaten home record at the spin-friendly Hazelaarweg last year largely built around the slow-bowling trio of Umar Baker, Max O’Dowd and skipper Pieter Seelaar. With Baker departing for Thurlede, O’Dowd and Seelaar will be all the more crucial to VOC’s fortunes both with bat and ball.

Together with keeper Scott Edwards, O’Dowd and Seelaar provided the bulk of VOC’s runs last season. VOC will hope that Corey Rutgers (the trio’s former analyst with the national side and VOC’s main overseas player) will be able to contribute more from the top of the order after a shattered finger rather limited his effectiveness last season.

As much as the absence of Klaassen, it is the strengthening competition that poses the biggest obstacle to a successful title defense for VOC – with their nearest rivals bagging some judicious signings and newcomers VCC arriving in the top division with an intimidating roster – but bar Klaassen the principle components of last season’s success remain in place.