There was to be no second Rotterdam miracle for VOC on Sunday as Voorburg made sure that this time they seized their chance of a place in next weekend’s final against VRA Amsterdam.

But this semi-final replay, while it could hardly be expected to rival Saturday’s hat-trick-to-tie, was nevertheless an absorbing encounter which went all the way to the final over.

In the end Voorburg’s margin looked comfortable enough, and they had wickets in hand throughout their innings as they chased VOC’s total of 200 all out.

That the home side achieved that score, after again opting to bat first, was mostly due to a fine solo performance from 21-year-old Daan van Everdingen, who has emerged this season as a reliable middle-order batsman. He came in with his side on 33 for three, and prolific batsmen Bas Zuiderent and Xavier Doherty having made nine runs between them.

Opener Maarten van Ierschot was still there, and he and Van Everdingen doubled the score before Van Ierschot was dismissed for 25 by Mohammed Rafi. From that point Van Everdingen took over, making 85 enormously valuable runs before he was ninth out with the total on 191.

He was the senior member of every partnership, and only two of the later batsmen reached double figures as Voorburg gradually worked their way through the order. Safaraz Gondel, who had earlier had both replacement opener Jelte Schoonheim and Doherty caught behind by Atse Buurman, finished with three for 42, while Tim de Leede took three for 35.

After the run-outs which had disrupted the beginning of Voorburg’s chase on the day before, John Sist and Gondel made a solid start this time, taking the score to 56 before Sist was caught behind by Zuiderent off Doherty for 19.

Ryan Le Loux now joined Gondel, and their stand of 62, if it did not absolutely settle the issue, certainly gave their side the upper hand. By the time Gondel was dismissed by Asaf Altaf for 58 Voorburg needed 85 off the final twenty overs with eight wickets in hand, in normal circumstances a leisurely dawdle.

But these were hardly normal circumstances, and when De Leede was trapped leg-before by Robbie de Widt a couple of overs later with only seven added to the total, the hearts of Voorburg’s supporters could have been forgiven for the odd palpitation.

What followed was a fighting team effort in which no-one played a really decisive role but together a succession of batsmen relentlessly made their way towards their target. When Le Loux departed for 44 with the total on 141, 60 were needed off fourteen, while 26 from Rafi brought his side to within 30 with seven left.

Buurman and Gijs Bins steadily knocked off the remaining runs, and the scores were again level when Doherty bowled Bins, bringing his tally to for the season to an amazing 45. But this time Voorburg still had four wickets in hand, and the final over was to be bowled by Ernst van Giezen.

The winning run came from the first ball, and Voorburg were in the final.

When they agreed on the new format for the Hoofdklasse proposed by the clubs last winter, the KNCB board could scarcely have dreamed that the semi-final weekend would produce the drama we have in fact seen. It was the best advertisement you could possibly want for this under-regarded sport, and it must be hoped that it may have won some new enthusiasts along the way.

We must also hope that next week’s final is an equally attractive spectacle. We shall see.