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After the second and third days of play, the first contours are starting to emerge. In pool A, favorites Punjab and HBS are still unbeaten, while the same goes for VCC in pool B. The Amsterdam clubs are in trouble, while Salland got its first win. And an icon of Dutch cricket made his comeback.
The top duel of the weekend was the battle between Punjab and HCC, who are likely to meet again in the remainder of the competition (play-offs), according to https://onlinecricket.bet/cricket-satta-bazar/. On the small field of the Summer Complex, HCC started batting, but the Hague players made too few runs. Despite the performance of Australi n player coach Zac Worden (67 runs), the 'Kroonleeuwen' stuck at 198 all out. Two Afghans played an important role in that low score. Sharafat Khogyani took six wickets as a debutant, while Samiullah Salarazai retired three HCC players. At bat, Stephan Myburgh (58) and Rehmat Zulfiqar (50), with a partnership of 86, provided a solid foundation for the win, which was eventually secured by Teja Nidanamuru (43 not out) and Saqib Zulfiqar (13), giving Punjab a win by 6 wickets difference.
ACC and Sparta 1888 were looking for their first win and it was eventually achieved by the Capellenians. Sparta 1888, with Khalid Ahmadi (4 wickets) in the lead, started the bowling strongly, as five Amsterdam players were dismissed within 14 overs. ACC got no further than 101 all out. A total that should have been no problem for Sparta 1888, but captain Mudassar Bukhari's team was poor at bat. Adil Raza (40) and Mamoon Latif (37) ensured that Sparta 1888 was spared a slip. Mees van Vliet's three captured wickets could not change that
HBS faced the weaker opponents on paper in the first three games. Winning against Kampong was therefore required, but that did not come easy. The 'Kraaien' had trouble breaking the partnership (103) of Rasha Alphonse (91) and Colin Briggs (54) and were also unable to clear the tail of the batting order. This allowed the Utrechters to unnecessarily add many extra runs to their total. At bat, HBS also struggled despite Tobias Visée's (106) first century of the season. Tayo Walburgh was dismissed after only one run, then Wesley Barresi (34) and Gavin Kaplan (47) kept HBS on track. But with eight runs to go, Julian de Mey was killed and the Hagenaars were left with only two wickets. In the end, Kyle Klein's two boundary runs (2x four) allowed HBS to breathe a sigh of relief.
Punjab strengthened their lead with an easy win over ACC, which already looks like the first candidate for the relegation pool with Dosti. Captain Anis Raza scored a reasonable total of 32 runs, but the Amsterdam batsmen lost especially against Samiullah Salarazai (4 wickets). The Rotterdammers could afford to give opening batsman Stephan Myburgh the day off. Teja Nidamanuru produced 43 runs not out, just like against HCC. For ACC, the only thing worth mentioning was that Mees van Vliet, just like against Sparta 1888, took three wickets.
Like Punjab, HBS remains unbeaten after three games, although the victory against Sparta 1888 was not without a struggle. Opening batsmen Julian de Mey and Tobias Visée were given a duck behind their names, so Tayo Walbrugh (56) and Gavin Kaplan (40) had to ensure that the 'Kraaien' would put a defendable total on the scoreboard after all. Khalid Ahmadi kept the damage to a minimum with four captured wickets: 139 all out. But then Sparta 1888 was again unconvincing at bat. Ahmadi's highest score (23 not out) speaks volumes. International Ryan Klein (5 wickets) pulled out the win for HBS.
HCC stays in the same league as Punjab and HBS thanks to a win at Kampong. Kampong, still waiting for their first win, failed to put enough runs on the scoreboard. Shaheryar Butt was the most productive with 29 runs, but the Utrecht players were unable to match the bowling of Hidde Overdijk (4 wickets). The same Overdijk (40 not out) and Zac Worden (65 not out, his third half century in as many games) ensured the second victory for the 'Kroonleeuwen'.
The surprise of the weekend was Salland's first-ever win in the top division. And at least as surprising was that it happened with Steven Lubbers in the ranks. The 69 (!) year old former captain of the Dutch national team and the only player with 1000 runs and 500 wickets in the top league, last played on the highest level at VRA in 2003. Lubbers (0 runs not out) rounded off the batting, with the half centuries of Venkamatran Ganesan (56) and Sahir Naqash (55) making a big contribution to the total of 203. Still, this total would not have to be an unbridgeable deficit for VOC in form. But when Max O'Dowd (17), Scott Edwards (23) and Pieter Seelaar (29) are sidelined early on, things get difficult. That proved to be the case, as 37 runs in the last four overs was too much of a good thing. And so the former captain of Orange (Lubbers) won from the current one (Seelaar).
Rarely will Excelsior'20 have won so easily from rival VRA, where Aryan Dutt was missing due to injury. The Amsterdammers were at the bottom of the order at bat. Peter Borren, Mitch Lees and Leon Turmaine did not produce a single run and then winning becomes difficult. Especially when Brett Hampton, on his comeback (ten years ago he became champion with Excelsior'20), made his mark on the game. The New-Zealander took his first four wickets of the season. Roel Verhagen was out after 13 runs in the second inning, but Tim Etman (40 not out) and Tom Heggelman (7 not out), who returned from an injury, finished the job. And the Schiedammers needed only 67 balls to do so.
VCC lived up to its favorites status by not giving Dosti a chance. After only fourteen overs, the Amsterdammers had lost five wickets. Viv Kingma, Phillipe Boissevain, Delano Potgieter and Shariz Ahmad (all 2 wickets) distributed the captured wickets nicely among themselves. Then came the long-awaited moment when the top batsman of the top league, Janneman Malan, made his appearance at the wicket. The South African international kept it at fifteen runs on his debut and now knows that grass wickets are a bit slower in the beginning of the competition in the Netherlands. After Bas de Leede picked up the pace, Potgieter (18 not out) and Boissevain (2) made sure the points stayed at Westvlietweg.
In the Amsterdam clash, the question was which club would be the first to get rid of the hatred zero. It was VRA by a large margin, winning by 183 runs. Peter Borren (58), Vikram Singh (49) and Eduard Visser (40) took their responsibility and set a high total. And because Dosti has been lacking in batting this season, the win was already a fact after the first inning. Dosti threw in the towel after 70 runs, partly due to captured wickets of the returning Aryan Dutt (2) and Anish Shah (his first two in the top class).
Excelsior'20 was careful not to make the same slip as VOC, but Salland could not repeat the stunt of a day earlier. The Deventer players came to no more than 123 all out, having to acknowledge their superiority three times to Joost Kroesen. The Schiedammers, with Luuk Kroesen (38) and Lorenzo Ingram (31 not out) taking care of the highest totals, then finished off the job professionally.
VCC is the only unbeaten team in pool B after the win at VOC. Bas de Leede (62), Musa Nadeem Ahmad (52, his first half-century for his new club), and Delano Potgieter (49) had a big share in the total of 233. Max O'Dowd (59) and Pieter Seelaar (39 not out) tried what they could, but the Voorburgers took the wickets when they had to and when Arnav Jain (31) retired, the game was decided. That the last batsman Bobby Hanif did not reach the wicket due to injury and VOC was de facto all out, was perhaps symbolic of the poor weekend of the Rotterdammers
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