The sports complex of Het Loopveld in Amstelveen was the location for extraordinary scenes on Sunday, as two Hoofdklasse matches ended with dramatic turn-arounds after a prolonged break for rain.

Visiting sides Quick Haag and VRA Amsterdam were clearly behind on a Duckworth/Lewis calculation against ACC and VVV Amsterdam respectively when the weather intervened, but once the players returned to the field they were both able to turn defeat into victory with some inspired cricket, leaving their opponents to ponder on what might have been.

In a sense, Quick needed to save the game twice, for after ACC had won the toss and elected to bat, Zulfiqar Ahmed (76) and Scott Fraser (42) apparently put their side in control with a fine century partnership for the third wicket. But Quick fought back, and from 130 for two the home side collapsed to 187 all out, Edgar Schiferli taking three for 32.

Given that the Quick players had been celebrating their victory in the Nachenius Tjeenk Twenty20 Cup finals on Saturday evening, it was perhaps unsurprising that they were struggling a little, and by the time the rain stopped play they were 96 for five in reply, well behind the D/L target at 28 overs.

They went back onto the field with seven overs to play and a revised target of 150 – 53 runs at nearly eight an over. Bobby van Gigch was batting well, but with Mohsin Ghaznavi dismissing Jeroen Brand off the last ball of the penultimate over, Quick were seven down with 16 runs still needed.

Schiferli had joined van Gigch, and four runs came from the first four balls of Rehan Younis’ over, leaving Schiferli on strike needing two sixes to win the match. The first was smacked over the sight screen, and then the second went over wide mid-on to complete a remarkable win and take Quick back into third place in the Hoofdklasse table. Van Gigch finished on 56 not out.

The scenario just along Kalfjeslaan at the VVV ground was different only in the sense that VRA were defending rather than chasing when the rain came. Their opponents had gradually taken control of the game after a century from Ryan Maron – his second of the season – had taken the leaders to 251 for four in the 46th over.

He was given great support by Wesley Barresi (38) and Peter Borren (53) as he made 111 from 125 balls with 17 boundaries, but then VVV’s replacement coach Rauf Wain took four for 54 as the last six VRA wickets fell for just 15 runs in the space of 26 balls.

At 61 for three in reply, VVV were in some trouble, but a fine 80-run partnership between Mohammed Sadiq and Wain brought them back into the game, and they were ahead of the D/L target, despite the loss of Wain, at 173 for four when the players were forced from the field. After a long delay nine overs were lost, so VVV had a revised target of 223 to win, off 8.1 overs.

Sadiq was still there on 60, but when he was smartly stumped by Barresi off the bowling off Jeroen Oskam from the first ball he faced after the resumption, the game saw a remarkable reversal. Barresi caught VVV skipper Sajjad Hussain off Sohail Bhatti in the following over, and then took two more catches off successive balls in Bhatti’s next to reduce VVV to 193 for eight.

Zishan Akram took the fight to the VRA attack, hitting 20 from 15 balls, and with 18 needed from the last two overs VVV still had a chance. But the last pair were now together, and although Akram could hit another six off the first ball of the penultimate over, his next blow found Tjade Groot on the midwicket boundary, who dived forward to take the catch. VRA had survived.

If the matches elsewhere could not quite compete with the dramatic events in Amstelveen, there were nevertheless some fine individual performances, and results which will have a crucial influence on both the relegation battle and the composition of the final four.

VOC Rotterdam kept up their pressure on VRA with a 35-run victory over Voorburg, an outcome which sees the latter side drop to fourth in the table, level with Hermes-DVS, who had a comfortable win over HBS Den Haag.

At Voorburg, VOC began very cautiously, Maarten van Ierschot and Tony Barca making just 57 off the first 20 overs, but once they were out for 35 and 33 respectively, Bas Zuiderent and Xavier Doherty upped the tempo with a fine third-wicket partnership. Doherty was out for 63, but Zuiderent went on to make 102, his first century of the season. For Voorburg, Adriaan Kroonenburg took three for 53.

Ryan Le Loux made 30 in Voorburg’s reply and then Mohammed Rafi held the middle part of the innings together, but when rain stopped play here the home side were 145 for six and in serious trouble. Rafi went on to make 73 after the resumption, but it wasn’t enough, and with Doherty, the leading wicket-taker in the competition, taking three for 30, Voorburg were eventually dismissed for 222.

Hermes kept their chances of reaching the play-offs alive with a seven-wicket victory over HBS, a result which leaves the Den Haag side in a relegation battle with VVV and ACC.

HBS made 179 for nine in their fifty overs, Gareth Hopkins contributing 31 and Billy Stelling 71, while Pieter Seelaar took three for 31 for Hermes.

The home side lost Lou Borrani early, but then Pankaj Joshi and Nicky Statham had a century partnership which put the issue beyond doubt. Joshi was eventually out for 72, but Statham, despite a thumb injury which is likely to keep him out of next week’s Intercontinental Cup game against Bermuda, was still there at the end with 61 not out.

HCC’s chances of staging a last-minute recovery to reach the play-offs suffered a near-terminal blow when they lost to Excelsior ’20 for the second time this season. Mark Cleary, whose century had won the earlier match for Excelsior, made 104 this time, Luuk van Troost contributing 45 as the Schiedam side made 259 in exactly fifty overs.

With Cleary and Jo Henneke taking two wickets each, HCC were soon 12 for four in reply, and although Shane Deitz made 62 before being run out and Jacob-Jan Esmeijer contributed 52, Excelsior were not to be denied, the HCC innings finishing on 186 with more than 10 overs left.