Newly promoted Kampong are Dutch cricket champions!
Published at 17 July, 2025Kampong are champions of the Dutch Topklasse. This is remarkable, as the Utrecht club had just been promoted. This has only happened once before in cricket history: PW in 1939.
In a season with many international matches, Kampong proved by far the most consistent team, especially when internationals Scott Edwards and Max O’Dowd were on international duty. Kampong lost only two matches and finished with 27 points from sixteen matches.
At the heart of this success is a sophisticated ‘purchasing’ policy. In addition to strong homegrown players like Alex Roy, Pierre Jacod, and Damien van den Berg, Kampong welcomed several top players, including Scott Edwards, Max O’Dowd, and Lane Berry from VOC, as well as 26-year-old left-handed all-rounder Lachlan Bangs from Melbourne Stars. Lorenzo Ingram joined from Excelsior ‘20, and Akhil Gopinath from Salland.
Lane Berry scored 639 runs at an average of 53.25 per match. Lorenzo Ingram had a stellar season with 416 runs and 23 wickets, as did Pierre Jacod, who scored 340 runs (an average of 68) and took 26 wickets.
Scott Edwards (248 runs at 82.67) was often unavailable due to international commitments, leaving the captaincy to Alex Roy, who took 23 wickets at 16.83, and the wicketkeeping to Damien van den Berg.
In his congratulatory message, KNCB chairman Guido Landheer praised "Kampong's thorough approach, with a focus on men, women, and youth, which is now paying off, especially given the homegrown players in the first team. Kampong last won the national championship in 1992. They played at the Hoofdklasse level for several years, and it's a major achievement to win the national title immediately after promotion. That hasn't happened in 86 years, since PW achieved it in 1939. A huge compliment to Kampong's long-term approach, which has a strong Board and a fantastic manager in former international and club icon Floris Jansen."
Photo credit: SportSnap/ Perry Biemans
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