It’s going to be an unprecedently busy weekend in Dutch cricket, with two full rounds of Topklasse matches alternating with the Clydesdale Bank 40 League matches against Essex and Middlesex in Amstelveen.

The VRA club, indeed, is hosting what is virtually a cricket festival, with home games against leaders Excelsior ’20 and their Schiedam rivals Hermes-DVS on Saturday and the Monday Pentecost holiday respectively. Having postponed last Sunday’s match against HCC, the Amsterdam club are a game behind the champions, but both will go into their clash on Saturday with an unbeaten record to defend.

All three sides seem likely to be among the leading contenders for a top four place, and both matches are therefore vitally important. Much may depend on how well VRA’s four internationals – skipper Peter Borren, Eric Szwarczynski, Tom Cooper and Atse Buurman – stand up to the demands of four consecutive days of 50-over cricket.

With Ed Cowan having made a strong impression with the bat and Daan van Bunge and Usman Malik also making plenty of runs, Saturday’s match will pit two of the strongest batting line-ups in the competition against one another, and several days of sunshine may ensure that conditions in the Amsterdamse Bos give them every opportunity to demonstrate their class.

Hermes-DVS, who are at home to HCC on Saturday, also face a crucial double weekend. Their defeat at the hands of Rood en Wit last week was a considerable setback, and they will need a good performance against HCC to regain their momentum before taking on VRA. They were, of course, without Nick Statham and Pieter Seelaar for their match in Haarlem, and they will welcome them back for this weekend’s games.

HCC’s last-over defeat by Excelsior in a rain-reduced match on Ascension Day was a disappointment for them, but they did enough to show that they will be in the hunt for a spot in the play-offs. How their somewhat brittle batting copes with the Hermes attack at Sportpark Harga will be a crucial factor on Saturday, while their encounter with VOC Rotterdam on Monday will give a clear indication of just how competitive they are actually going to be.

Momentum is not an issue for VOC, who have posted good wins over Quick Haag and ACC in their last two games, but they may face a bigger test this week, when they are at home to Rood en Wit and then travel to De Diepput to take on HCC.

Jelte Schoonheim has evidently relished his pinch-hitter role for the Rotterdammers, and with Michael Dighton and Bas Zuiderent together in their top order they have the power to trouble any attack in the competition.

Rood en Wit, on the other hand, have taken a little time to settle, but their victory over Hermes will have given them greater confidence as they face VOC on Saturday and then entertain Quick Haag on Monday. Shahbaz Bashir’s allround contribution has so far been vital, and it was also encouraging for them to see skipper Jarrod Englefield hitting form with the bat, as well as Paul van Meekeren’s return from injury.

Their battle with VOC will be another key game with longer-term implications (to be honest, aren’t they all?), but they will also need to make sure of the points against Quick if they are to maintain a challenge for a play-off place.

With three defeats apiece so far, Quick and ACC find themselves anchored at the foot of the table, and their clash at Nieuw Hanenburg on Saturday will almost certainly open up a clear gap between one of them and the rest of the field.

Apart from Jonathan Boult Quick’s batting has struggled, and ACC have similarly been over-dependent on Ryan Maron. With well-balanced attacks, both sides have the capacity to recover from their poor starts to the season, and whichever one takes the points on Saturday will also take heart for the battles to come.

Neither, though, has an easy assignment on Monday: Quick travel to the Spanjaardslaan to take on Rood en Wit, while ACC face the journey to Schiedam to face Excelsior.

This week’s tips:
Saturday: Hermes, VOC, Quick, VRA.
Monday: Excelsior, Rood en Wit, VRA, VOC.