With five rounds of matches to go in the Hoofdklasse, the battle for places in the play-offs continues to intensify. Leaders VRA Amsterdam need just one more win to be certain of a place in the final four, although even at this stage it would take an extraordinary sequence of events to see them missing out.

Second-placed VOC Rotterdam can be pretty confident as well, but for the remaining contenders every point is now vital, with at least five sides - and conceivably as many as seven - fighting for the last two spots.

The most crucial of Sunday's matches again involves Quick Haag, who slipped to fourth after losing to Voorburg last week and who will drop a further place if they lose to Hermes-DVS in Schiedam. The danger for Quick is that the pattern of recent seasons, when they have under-performed when it really mattered, reasserts itself, and that a squad which looked like one of the strongest candidates before the campaign began misses out on the semi-final place that seemed pretty likely a few weeks ago.

Both sides in this encounter have strong seam attacks, and with left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar beginning to return to something like his best form Hermes maybe have the edge in variety. Robin ter Plegt is bowling as well as ever, and with Erik Hartong and Ruud Nijman also performing effectively the bowlers don't give much away, especially at home.

Injuries and other availability problems are stretching Hermes' resources, however, and only Nicky Statham is making runs with any consistency. Coach Pankaj Joshi is having a miserable season after last year's triumphs, and Quick’s batting line-up looks a good deal stronger than their hosts'.

Two other sides within striking distance of the play-offs have contrasting tasks: HBS Den Haag must face VOC in Rotterdam, while VVV Amsterdam are at home to the current favourites for the wooden spoon, neighbours ACC.

HBS benefited from the presence of Alexei Kervezee for the past two matches, and he played a key role in their defeat of VVV last week. With Gareth Hopkins still involved in the Emerging Players' Tournament in Queensland and Billy Stelling doubtful through injury, they will need to produce a huge effort against VOC in a fixture which will have more than two points riding on it. It was the equivalent match last season which was abandoned after unpleasant scenes and awarded to VOC.

VOC were unable to play last week after Excelsior's ground was again unfit, but they remain in second spot and seem likely to be the greatest threat to a third consecutive title for VRA. It would be a huge surprise if HBS were to pull off the win, but the Den Haag side has been consistent only in its inconsistency so far, and they scored a remarkable win over the Rotterdammers when the two sides met in May.

ACC gave themselves an improved chance of avoiding relegation when they beat HCC last Sunday, and must repeat the trick this week if they are to create the momentum they need to keep them in the Hoofdklasse. VVV, by contrast, will have been disappointed to be beaten by HBS, and they simply have to win games like this if they are to have a chance of making the play-offs.

Their batting is always dangerous but often brittle, and there's no doubt that they are a better-looking outfit when Nolan Clarke is available. Mudassar Bukhari, Mohammed Hafeez and Mohammed Sadiq are all capable of making quick runs, but they need at least one big partnership among these players in order to accumulate a winning total.

The impression remains that ACC are too dependent on a small number of players, but Rehan Younis contributed a crucial innings against HCC, and if he and others can give more support to captain-coach Chris Slattery, Scott Fraser, Bas van der Heijde and Jan Balk the side could have a fair chance of putting pressure on other relegation-threatened teams, such as HCC and Excelsior.

After their shock defeat by ACC, HCC have a tough fixture this week, at home to VRA. The Amsterdam side came unstuck at De Diepput last season, suffering their second and final defeat of the campaign, but HCC will need to play with more conviction if they are to provide a threat this time.

The Hagenaars narrowly lost a close, exciting match in Amstelveen in May, but that defeat proved the trigger for a startling decline which has seen them steadily drop from second to ninth. The batting remains a source of considerable concern, and they need Shane Deitz, the first batsman in the Hoofdklasse to pass 500 runs this season, to play a decisive role. Apart from a 77 not out against VVV, however, his last four innings have produced only 55 runs, and when he goes cheaply, HCC lose.

With Victor Grandia still unavailable, VRA's already thin seam resources would have been reduced to potentially disastrous levels were it not for the emergence of Sohail Bhatti, who demolished Hermes last week. If he is unlikely to produce another performance like that, his pace and accuracy make a big difference, and with Peter Borren and Mangesh Panchal providing a solid core, the attack certainly cannot be written off.

Having risen to third place in the table, Voorburg will be determined to consolidate their position this Sunday when they are at home to Excelsior '20 Schiedam. With four matches rained off already, Excelsior badly need to pick up a couple of wins to get themselves clear of relegation worries, and this may be a much closer battle than the teams' respective positions in the table suggest.

Tim de Leede's return to batting form has greatly strengthened the Voorburg side, which has won five out of six matches since John Sist took over the captaincy. They have a balanced attack, and they currently look like a good bet for the semi-finals.

For Excelsior, too much depends on coach Mark Cleary, and they are another side which needs more consistency from the rest of the team if they are to get to safety. On the other hand, the fact that they have played fewer games means that each win makes a proportionately greater difference to their percentage, and a good winning run at this stage could even bring them into contention for a place in the play-offs.

This week’s guesses (one out of four last week!): VOC, VRA, Quick, Voorburg, VVV.