New Zealand international Kruger van Wijk, born in South Africa is to be the player coach in 2013 at Hermes DVS.

Nederlandse Vereniging van Cricket Scorers (NVCS) was officially founded on 19 December.

After a long period with an interim KNCB Board comprising only two members, a new board of six members (soon to be seven) has been installed.

Dutch international wicketkeeper-batsman Wesley Barresi will be playing for Quick Haag next season, his new club has announced.

The annual meeting of the top clubs this week will again confront a series of tricky questions about structure and scheduling.

The cumulative StatsZone for the top Dutch domestic competition has been extended to cover the 25 years between 1988 and 2012, and based on the scorecards of more than 2500 matches.

Primary schoolchildren in Nijmegen were the pioneers on Thursday as the KNCB launched the Cage Cricket format in the Netherlands.

The school from Zoetermeer again went through the day undefeated, beating Over Betuwe College from Bemmel in the final of the eight-team national finals day in Deventer.

By winning this season's Hoofdklasse title, the Den Haag-based 'Crows' have earned a return to the top flight after a three-year absence.

Saturday's Topklasse final pits the two form sides, Dosti Amsterdam and Excelsior '20 Schiedam, against each other in a match which will see an historical first whoever wins.

An unbroken stand of 136 between Daan van Bunge and Fred Klokker saw Excelsior home against ACC on Sunday, after the seamers had restricted their opponents to 171 for nine.

An unbeaten 115 from opener Mohammad Wasim saw Topklasse debutants Dosti Amsterdam into next week's final with a two-wicket semi-final victory over ACC in Amstelveen on Saturday.

ACC and Dosti Amsterdam will make a third attempt to play their semi-final on Saturday, with the loser due to face Excelsior '20 Schiedam on Sunday.

Persistent showers all but ruined the first weekend of the Topklasse play-offs, but Excelsior '20 Schiedam were able to keep their title hopes alive by eliminating defending champions VRA Amsterdam.

With ACC at home to Dosti Amsterdam and VRA Amsterdam entertaining Excelsior '20 Schiedam, Saturday's semi-finals should be well worth watching - if the rain stays away.

A seven-wicket victory over the South in Rotterdam on Wednesday gives the North a 2-1 victory in the best-of-three T20 series.

With three matches to play, HBS Den Haag and Bloemendaal will be fighting it out for promotion to next season's Topklasse.

The final day of round-robin matches saw three of the top four sides losing, Dosti claiming second place, and a remarkable individual performance by Hermes-DVS Schiedam's Greg Todd.

The top four sides meet the bottom four in the final round of round-robin Topklasse matches, with VRA and Dosti still vying for second place.

ACC, VRA and Dosti make up an Amsterdam trio in the Topklasse play-offs, with Excelsior '20 Schiedam the only semi-finalists from outside the capital.

The semi-finalists for this season's Dutch championship may be settled by Saturday's Topklasse matches, while for VOC Rotterdam it's effectively the last chance to avoid relegation.

A magnificent century from Graeme van Buuren and nine wickets for Mudassar Bukhari were the highlights of ACC's double weekend, but Dosti Amsterdam and Excelsior '20 Schiedam also won twice to keep up the pressure on the leaders.

For the six sides separated by a single point, matches on Saturday and Sunday will have a big effect on their chances of reaching the play-offs.

Da Costa's Diamonds repeated their Women's Challenge success in Utrecht on Thursday, beating the Cruisers by five wickets.

Six months into their initial appointments, the KNCB's two Regional Development Officers discuss their experiences and their ideas for the future.

This week's Topklasse round is on Saturday, with VRA Amsterdam meeting Excelsior '20 Schiedam and HCC facing ACC in two crucial fixtures.

The Topklasse race rounded the turn this weekend, and it ended with one point separating the top six sides - and a tie between Excelsior '20 and Dosti.

Halfway through the Hoofdklasse campaign, Bloemendaal have a narrow advantage over main rivals HBS den Haag and Voorburg, with rood en Wit Haarlem just a little further back.

Matches in both Saturday and Sunday kick off the second half of the Topklasse season this weekend, with many key games in the programme.

The Diamonds were too strong for the Cruisers in the first match of the Women's Challenge Series in Utrecht on Wednesday, winning by 23 runs.

With only nine teams remaining, it’s time for a concerted effort to stem the continuing decline in the women’s game.

A new four-match series between two combined sides will start on Wednesday, with a 40-over game in Utrecht.

A three-wicket victory over Quick Haag puts ACC back at the head of the Topklasse table as co-leaders Hermes lose to Excelsior by one wicket on Sunday.

With the Schiedam derby and the clash between VRA Amsterdam and HCC topping the bill, the first round of the Topklasse concludes this Sunday.

The Dutch governing body has taken a series of steps to reorganise the women's competitions after the withdrawal of two of the eleven teams.

VRA Amsterdam beat HCC in the final on Saturday to claim their third Twenty20 Cup title in as many seasons.

National champions as recently as 2007, Rood en Wit is no longer able to field a women's team, signalling a real crisis in the Dutch women's game.

The KNCB has announced that its domestic competition will be sponsored for the next three years by international maritime company SMT Shipping.

ACC suffered their first defeat of the Topklasse campaign at the hands of Hermes-DVS on Sunday, and an unbeaten 128 from David Wiese enabled Dosti to beat VRA.

The climax to this season's newly-named E.on Twenty20 Cup on 23 June will take place at Excelsior '20's Thurlede ground, and be sponsored by energy company E.on.

A 90-run win over VOC Rotterdam keeps ACC two points clear at the head of the Topklasse, with a Wesley Barresi century and a fine double from Tom Heggelman the highlights elsewhere.

A last-ball Rotterdam win by a single run got the new Dutch regional competition off to a great start, but it was disappointing that Den Haag were only able to field nine for their match against Haarlem/Voorburg.

With leaders ACC away to bottom-of-the-table VOC, it is the battle between HCC and Excelsior '20 which may be the most significant of Sunday's Topklasse matches.

François Le Clus and Graeme van Buuren were the stars as ACC beat HCC on Saturday, with other wins for VRA Amsterdam, Hermes-DVS Schiedam and Quick Haag.

As the only sides with two wins out of two, ACC and HCC will be battling to go clear at the top when they meet at Het Loopveld West on Saturday.

A four-team regional competition for under-19 sides will make its entry into the Dutch domestic calendar next month as the KNCB looks to foster the development of the best young players.

With VRA and Excelsior both losing on Sunday the Topklasse competition looks set to be a lot more even than it was last season.

Maarten Fontein, chairman of the group set up by the KNCB to look for members of a new Board, replies to CricketEurope's account of last week's meeting between the group and club representatives.

Last year's finalists, VRA Amsterdam and ACC, meet in the second round of the Topklasse competition on Sunday, with Excelsior '20 and VOC Rotterdam facing tricky away matches at Dosti and HCC.

A full round of matches on Friday evening will settle some of the group issues in the Dutch Twenty20 Cup, but the big game is probably the HCC-Dosti clash on Saturday afternoon.

But the reaction of the clubs to the rejection on Tuesday evening of the Fontein committee's approach was to take up the reins themselves in finding a new Board.

Schools from Oss, Bemmel, Epe and Almelo reached the national finals day from regional tournaments in the Bilingual Schools Challenge in Nijmegen and Deventer this week.

VRA Amsterdam and Excelsior '20 Schiedam seem certain of places in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 Cup, but it was Shane Deitz of HBS Den Haag who stole the show on Sunday with his second hat-trick of the season.

With rounds on Friday evening and Sunday, the group phase of the T20 Cup begins to reach its climax this weekend.

Some fine lower-order partnerships were the highlight of Thursday's opening round of matches in the Dutch Topklasse.

The Topklasse and Hoofdklasse competitions get under way on Thursday, a public holiday in the Netherlands, with champions VRA Amsterdam travelling to Rotterdam to take on VOC.

Former Dutch international Zulfiqar Ahmed will play in the same side as his 15-year-old triplet sons when ACC meet Dosti Amsterdam in Thursday's opening Topklasse round.

Centuries by Tom Cooper and David Wiese and a hat-trick by Luuk van Troost were among the highlights of an eventful day's cricket in the Twenty20 Cup on Sunday.

The two Amsterdam sides dominated the Topklasse in 2011, but VRA and ACC start the new season with profoundly differing circumstances.

The first two regional tournaments in the Bilingual Schools Cricket Challenge take place in Voorburg and Utrecht, with schools from Zoetermeer and Culemborg taking the honours.

The first two regional tournaments in the Bilingual Schools Challenge take place this week, with 15 schools battling it out in Voorburg and Utrecht.

Saturday's Twenty20 Cup round pits two of the strongest Topklasse sides against one another in Schiedam, with VRA visiting Rood en Wit in a clash of two of last week's winners.

A change of use for the local centre for asylum seekers has dealt a blow to the new Zeemacht club in Den Helder to expand to two teams this season.

Of last season's top four VOC Rotterdam look stronger this year, but HCC may depend on their overseas players as they seek to rebuild a seriously depleted side.

With two 7-wicket victories Hermes-DVS Falcons got their T20 Cup campaign off to a great start on Sunday, while a hat-trick by Shane Deitz for HBS was the outstanding individual performance.

The Dutch Twenty20 Cup kicks off on Sunday with four clubs each hosting two games as the new-look domestic fixture list comes to life.

Having finished outside the top four last year, Quick Haag and Excelsior '20 Schiedam will be keen to do better this season, with Excelsior likely contenders for the championship.

Four clubs in Rotterdam and Schiedam joined forces on Sunday to introduce cricket to an enthusiastic group of more than 40 girls aged from seven to 14.

Squads have been announced for the first two matches in this season's Durant Sports North-South series and for an A-team visit to Wales in early June.

Promoted side Dosti Amsterdam and last year's seventh-placed side, Hermes-DVS Schiedam, will not find life easy in which is likely to be an extremely competitive Topklasse season.

The Amsterdam Knight Riders retained their Pakistan Community Championship in Voorburg on Sunday, winning all their four matches and beating Den Haag Greens in the final.

A restructured domestic programme means that the T20 competition will take centre-stage in May, with the finals on 23 June.

School-based clinics are taking place all over the Netherlands this week, with the onus now on the clubs to take full advantage of the possibilities the Schools Challenge offers.

The Den Haag club has also announced that former coach Shane Deitz will be returning to Craeyenhout to advise on development policy - and perhaps to turn out for the first eleven as well.

Topklasse side Quick Haag have announced that they will have batsman-wicketkeeper Tim Clarke in their squad alongside player-coach Amol Muzumdar for the coming season.

As the programme of school-based preparatory clinics gets under way, the full scope of the Bilingual Schools Cricket Challenge becomes evident.

KwaZulu-Natal Inland allrounder Rudy Hillermann will be the Schiedam club's player-coach next season, and will again be playing with team-mate and Dutch international Stephan Myburgh.

Former New Zealand international Peter Fulton will be player-coach for the Haarlem club as they return to the Dutch Hoofdklasse.

PE teachers from 30 Dutch secondary schools got to grips with cricket in Utrecht on Friday as the Bilingual Schools Cricket Challenge became a reality.

Two former player-coaches at VOC Rotterdam are likely to make their T20 international debut against India on Wednesday, one of them as captain.

The launch of the KNCB's ambitious Youth Plan on Saturday found club representatives in the mood to work hard at 'Developing Cricket Together'.

Hannah Hofman (30) and Subir Shrestha (28) have been appointed to the Amsterdam, and Utrecht, East and South regions respectively, starting on 1 February.

20-year-old Quick Haag and former youth international wicketkeeper-batsman Stijn Allema has decided that he can no longer combine cricket with his career as a student in Amsterdam.

CricketEurope's cumulative StatsZone covering the top domestic division now covers a 15-year period between 1997 and 2011, including more than 500 additional matches.

Topklasse club VOC Rotterdam has announced that 20-year-old NSW pace bowler Timm van der Gugten will turn out for them next season.

The KNCB Appeals Committee has dismissed ACC's protest against the participation of VRA seamer Berend Westdijk in last season's final play-off, but ACC is not ruling out further action against the Bond.