Rood en Wit Haarlem ended their 125th anniversary season with the disappointment of relegation on Sunday, when they were outplayed by Excelsior ’20 Schiedam and beaten by 103 runs.

Rain delayed the start by an hour and a quarter, leading to a reduction of the match to 46 overs a side. Playing without coach Mark Cleary, who had already returned to Australia, Excelsior batted first, compiling a solid 205 for seven.

Zaffar Ahmad led the way with a patient 57, and he and Daan van Bunge put on 77 for the third wicket before van Bunge was out for 35, made from 36 balls. In the closing stages, after Ahmad was finally stumped, Luuk van Troost kept the scoreboard moving, making a 36-ball 44 to ensure that Excelsior set a target of 200-plus.

Enoch Nkwe was the most successful of the Rood en Wit bowlers with four for 44 from nine overs.

Nkwe’s importance to the team was again underlined when the Haarlem side batted, as he took on the Excelsior bowling in an opening stand of 36 with Rif Bakas. But once Nkwe was bowled for 26, the first of three wickets for Tommy Heggelman, wickets fell at regular intervals.

A turning-point was the run-out of Bakas, Ali Haider hitting the stumps direct from side on, and despite a 37-run stand for the sixth wicket between Jason Atkinson and Pim van Liemt it was obviously only a question of time.

Spinners Farhad Akram and Daan van Bunge gradually worked their way through the lower-order batsmen, and the innings closed on 102 in the 31st over. Akram took three for 21, and van Bunge two for 11.