VRA and VOC maintained their position at the top of the Hoofdklasse on Saturday, opening up a two-match gap over Quick Haag, who lost at home to VVV Amsterdam.

VRA defeated Voorburg by nine wickets, with Victor Grandia, promoted to opener, making a maiden Hoofdklasse century and finishing with 112 not out from 95 balls. Earlier, Voorburg had reached 211 for six in the 47th over when rain, gentle at first and then torrential, drove the players from the field.

The lost time meant that the innings closed at that score, and by the time VRA were able to start their innings only 41 further overs could be bowled. Under the arcane rules of the Hoofdklasse, this meant that they had to make 181, but if they did so before the maximum number of overs had been bowled they needed to keep going until they made the full score. Thanks to Grandia’s superb innings and a belligerent run-a-ball 61 not out from Peter Borren, they got home with the full quota in the 31st over.

Voorburg’s total was mainly due to a fighting 113-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Ryan Le Loux (also promoted to opener), who made 87, and Adeel Raja (52). When Raja came to the wicket his side had slumped from 30 for no wicket to 41 for four, and VRA seamers Rashid Amin and Mike Smith were in full cry. But Le Loux and Raja gradually restored the innings, and by the time Le Loux was run out by a direct hit from Ryan Maron Voorburg had reached 154.

Raja and Wilfried Diepeveen saw the score through to 211 before Borren, again bowling well, had Raja caught at cover, but the rain intervened before another ball could be bowled. Voorburg were thus deprived of the final 16 balls of their innings – further evidence for the introduction of the Duckworth/Lewis system in the Hoofdklasse.

Rain also had some influence on the game in Schiedam, but less seriously. VOC, batting first, had reached 227 for two in the 43rd over when a shower stopped play, but they were able to return to bat through to the 49th over, adding another 59 runs to finish on 286 for five.

VOC again enjoyed a fine opening partnership between Michael Dighton and Maarten van Ierschot, and after the latter was out for 78 Dighton went on to complete his second century of the season, eventually being dismissed for 129.

Excelsior set about chasing this target with a will, Daan van Bunge reaching his half-century from just 27 balls as he and Mark Cleary went along at nearly nine an over. Cleary was out for 34, but van Bunge continued to finish with 92; once he was out, however, the Excelsior innings fell apart, and they were all out in the 38th over for 173. Chris Smith, Ernst van Giezen and Mohammad Kashif took three wickets each for VOC.

The surprise of the day was at Nieuw Hanenburg, where Quick Haag succumbed to VVV. Quick found runs hard to come by, and were bowled out for 132 in 46 overs, Mohammad Sadiq having the best figures with three for 18 Only opener Lesley Stokkers among the Quick batsmen was able to resist for long, but he was finally seventh out with the score on 104.

VVV’s reply was dominated by Mudassar Bukhari’s 65, in the course of which he reached his half-century off only fifteen balls; in total he faced 23 balls, hitting nine sixes, including four in one over from Jeroen Brand. After he went, Mohammad Sadiq ensured the win with 29 not out, VVV reaching their target in 23 overs.