Topklasse stronger than ever, and who benefits most from the new rules?

Kampong

At Kampong, they look back on the past season with great pleasure. As a newly promoted club, the Utrecht side immediately became national champions, and Kampong was also unassailable in the T20 Hoofdklasse. This resulted in promotion to the T20 Topklasse. "It was a perfect season," says captain Alex Roy. "The fact that we were so consistent was the deciding factor. Even when Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards weren't there due to commitments with the national team, we won our matches."

It is logical that Kampong adheres to the adage ‘never change a winning team’ and that the roster has seen hardly any changes. For instance, Australian Lachlan Bangs returns as an overseas batter, but his compatriot Lane Berry is absent due to study and work commitments. That is a blow, as Berry was in the top 5 of best batters with 684 runs. Nevertheless, Kampong still has enough quality left to successfully defend the title. "If we perform just as consistently, then that is certainly possible. But teams like VCC, Hermes DVS, RCC, and VRA are going to make it very difficult for us."

VRA

VRA finished last season strongly by becoming runner-up and claiming the T20 title. But for Teja Nidamanuru, that does not alter the fact that the Amsterdammers could have achieved more. "If we had been more consistent and hadn't lost a few crucial games, we could have become champions as well. That is immediately the objective for this season: to become more consistent and defend our T20 title." The Amsterdammers are losing bowler Ben Fletcher, who currently lives in England. Peter Ruffell will not be returning as an overseas player. The team has been strengthened by Sam Cassidy, the nephew of Jack Cassidy.

The new rules, which stipulate that the starting team may not exceed 28 points, do not seem to be having any effect at VRA. "We are staying below that limit, because Johan Smal is now seen as a local player and several talents are coming through from the youth ranks. What do I think of the new rules? Neither good nor bad. I have no opinion on them. The rules for the Topklasse are changed every year. I have decided not to pay attention to things you cannot change anyway." 

Rotterdam CC (formerly Punjab Ghausia)

Defending champion Punjab lost its crown last season. But that is not the only change for the Rotterdammers. A new full-sized pitch was already in place last season, but now a lighting system has been added. And that is not all. As the final part of the merger between Punjab and Ghausia, a new logo and a new name have been chosen. From now on, Punjab goes by the name Rotterdam Cricket Club (RCC). "I think it is a logical name and fitting given the merger," says captain Sikander Zulfiqar.

RCC was dealing with a kind of transitional year and mainly had to get used to the conditions. "Adapting to a new pitch is always difficult, but for this season that shouldn't be a problem anymore. We are aiming to become champions."

RCC is doing this with two new players: Zimbabwean Carl Mumba from VCC and overseas Ahmed Shafiq. In addition to the Zulfiqar brothers, Shoaib Minhas is once again a key player this season, while Jonathan Vandiar is available but will primarily focus on coaching. The talented Samir Butt is moving to VOC.

HCC

HCC could well become the big beneficiary of the rule change. The ‘Crown Lions’ have been playing with a fixed team for years, in which homegrown players are invariably preferred. "It won't cost us any effort to get below 28 points," says captain Boris Gorlee. "I am a fan of the points system. It is good that you can no longer win the league by getting five or six overseas." That is why the team from The Hague is doing things the same way again this season. 

Another plus is that Teun Kloppenburg is available again after his trip to South Africa. And HCC is making use of two overseas players. New Zealander Josh Brown, who had a strong season, is returning, and even more important is the arrival of Zac Worden. The Australian played a key role in 2022 when the team from The Hague last became champions. This comes at the expense of Oliver White, who has been thanked for his services. "We are going to do it the way we did in previous years. The foundation is there, and we will build on that. In doing so, we are looking primarily at ourselves and not so much at the strength of the opponent. Although we do want to stay close to the top teams. I think it is going to be an exciting competition because there are no weak teams left. There will be no more matches where you know in advance that you are going to win easily." 

HBS

HBS started last season weakly but finished strongly. It ultimately secured fifth place in the Topklasse. In the T20, the team from The Hague failed to maintain their position. "That was mainly because our overseas players had to go home and we were dealing with a lot of injuries," says captain Tayo Walbrugh. "That was a disappointment. We were not as good as we were on paper."

The goal of the 'Crows' is to participate at the highest level in both cricket variants in 2027. "But it is important how we get through the first three matches in the Topklasse. Then we play against the favorites for the title. If you start badly again, you have to focus immediately on staying up."

The team from The Hague said a surprising farewell to Jayden Rossouw, who took the most wickets (38) in the Topklasse. He is leaving for neighbour Quick. HBS is more in need of an all-rounder and settled on Kent Goedeke, a South African with a German passport. His compatriot Lehan Botha is returning. HBS wants to rejuvenate the squad and always leaves a spot in the lineup open for a player coming through the youth ranks. Joris van Oosterom and Azzam Khan seem to have the best chance of securing that spot. However, the Hague-based club still has many veterans on its roster, including Roelof van der Merwe, Heino Kuhn, Wesley Barresi, and Mudassar Bukhari. "But Van der Merwe and Kuhn will play very little due to, among other things, the Dutch national team. Barresi will only be available at the end of the 50-over competition and during the T20 due to work commitments, and we will ease Bukhari back into the team after his comeback. They will not take the place of our youth players." 

Hermes DVS

Unlike HBS, Hermes DVS had a great start last season but then collapsed. Ultimately, it was good enough for a sixth-place finish. "We never faced relegation worries, but the fact that we had to think about that should never have happened after such a start. We threw away our season a bit because of a bad spell," says captain Sebastiaan Braat.

The squad has undergone few changes. Daniel Doyle and Ashley Ostling are returning. Pace bowler Oliver Herrington, an Englishman who plays for Belgium, and South African wicketkeeper David Rushmere, who is a candidate for the Dutch national team, have also been brought in as reinforcements. Niels Woermeijer has retired, and Asad Zulfiqar is only available for the T20 and for emergencies. "We want to do better than last year, because we want to finish in the top 4. I think the new rules are good. I applaud the fact that more Dutch players are getting a chance and that the top division is not becoming an overseas extravaganza." But it could become a real headache, because how do you compensate for players away for the national team? Suppose this happens to me and Olivier Elenbaas. We both count as a 1. Just try finding the same quality for that number. That could well become a problem.” 

Voorburg CC

Much more can be expected from VCC than the disappointing seventh place of last season. The Voorburg side struggled with many injuries and was hit harder than any other club by the absence of internationals. Big names like Bas de Leede and Michael Rippon are expected to propel VCC back to the top of the Topklasse. Aaditt Jain from VOC replaces Viv Kingma, who is making the reverse move, and Luuk Kroesen is a signing from relegated Excelsior’20. Udit Nashier has returned to VRA and Carl Mumba left for RCC. Gavin Kaplan is unavailable (for the time being), but the Voorburg side can call upon Donald Glover, the brother of international Brandon and holder of a Dutch passport. "This season, players from the Dutch national team are more available for their clubs," says Noah Croes. "We need to maintain the momentum more, because last season we were second after ten matches and then dropped back. We have to try to prevent that this time." 

VOC

VOC is a cat with nine lives. A clear relegation candidate, a much worse net run rate than rival Excelsior’20, and yet surviving the relegation battle by winning the deciding match against ACC. "Sometimes you also need a bit of luck," says captain Tim de Kok. "But we fought for it too." The Rotterdammers did the same in the T20, but it just didn't quite work out there. Arnav Jain's final delivery fell just a meter short of keeping Kampong from promotion in the deciding match and avoiding relegation. 

"Besides staying in the Topklasse, becoming T20 champion in the Hoofdklasse is the big goal. That would be a unique achievement, because no other club holds all the titles. Becoming champion in both 50-overs and T20 in the Top and Hoofdklasse, and the European title as well." 

VOC will have to achieve that performance with a heavily changed squad. Overseas players Christiaan Oberholzer and Scott Janett will not be returning. The Dane Taranjit Singh Bharaj is no longer with the team either. The same applies to Arnav Jain, who has moved to Spain for his professional career. His brother Aaditt has left for VCC. New Zealanders Ethan Price, a left-handed batter and spin bowler, and Caleb Montague, a wicketkeeper, are the new overseas players. Asief Hoseinbaks (Dosti) and Ahsan Malik (Sparta) are returning to VOC, and Samir Butt comes from RCC. Viv Kingma, who left VCC after many years, will likely act primarily as a coach, and Pierce Fletcher is available more often as a player. The Rotterdammers are viewed as relegation candidates from the outset. "It will be a tough season, but you never know what might happen. We have shown before that we can survive."