[by Mark Mulready] After some overnight rain and continued showers throughout the morning, our 10-man team arrived at Voorburg to find that the turf wicket was not playable. Fortunately, the artificial wicket was in good shape so we could play. Captain Shreyas lost the toss and VCC invited us to bowl, no doubt trying to take advantage of the wet conditions and a slippery ball.
We were able to get an early breakthrough when Mees bowled Babette de Leede in his first over. Some tight bowling from the team slowed the run rate considerably as Rutgers and Foget rebuilt the VCC innings cautiously. After a couple of rain interruptions Rutgers was eventually bowled by Jake for 51 and Cordesius was caught by Mees off the bowling off Ammar for 12. Foget made 54 n.o. as VCC finished with a total of 153 runs from 30 overs. A good team bowling and fielding effort given the difficult conditions and wet ball.
Luke and Jamie opened the batting and set about the run chase with good positive intent before Luke was caught behind for 12 in the 5th over with the score on 33. Shreyas joined Jamie at the crease and they set about building a match winning partnership, eventually passing the VCC total in the 25th over. Both played sensibly, defending the good balls and punishing the loose ones. Jamie scored 57 n.o. and Shreyas ended at 44 n.o. (see picture above).
The win means that the team finished equal first with Kampong at the end of the regular season according to the KNCB website. We should know more in coming weeks about the final series, but in the meantime, we wish all our Dutch Lions the very best for their upcoming matches and happy summer holiday to all.