As the snow slowly disappears and it becomes slightly more believable that the new cricket season is only three months away, several clubs in the new-look Dutch Topklasse have revealed that they are reappointing last year’s player-coaches.

The first to go public with the news was Hermes-DVS Schiedam, who will again have the services of Shanan Stewart. The Canterbury batsman had a prolific first season in the Netherlands last year, finishing second in the national averages with 831 runs at 55.40.

South African Ryan Maron will be back at ACC for his fifth season in Dutch cricket and his second at the club, having previously played for three years at their city rivals VRA. Although his run tally was down a little in 2009 on his aggregate the previous year, he still made 611 runs at 38.19, including a century against his former club.

Another returnee will be New Zealand international wicketkeeper-batsman Gareth Hopkins, who returns to Quick Haag for a second season. He played 14 matches for Quick last year before he was called up on national duty, making 367 runs at 30.58; his previous spell, at HBS Den Haag, was similarly cut short, but before leaving he made 423 runs in 12 matches at 38.45.

With South African allrounder Enoch Nkwe again back at promoted side Rood en Wit Haarlem, at least half the coaches in the Topklasse will have had previous experience of the Dutch competition. This will be Nkwe’s fifth season in The Netherlands, and his second in the top flight.

He first came to Rood en Wit in 2005, helping them win promotion with 934 runs and 42 wickets. In the following year’s Hoofdklasse he made 649 runs at 46.36, and took 13 wickets.

Nkwe was absent through injury in 2007, but in the two seasons since he has scored 1693 Eerste Klasse runs at 80.61, and taken 46 wickets at an average of 18.96.

The four remaining clubs have yet to make any announcement concerning their coach appointment for 2010.