Back in the top flight after a spell of twelve years in the Eerste Klasse, Sparta 1888 will largely be relying on the squad that won them promotion as they begin the battle to stay up.

But for VVV Amsterdam, who narrowly avoided relegation last season, personnel changes over the winter mean that it will be a very different side that attempts to finish further up the table in 2008.

Apart from their new coach, former Pakistan Test batsman Mohammad Wasim, who will take over from New Zealander Luke Vivian, Sparta’s only acquisition over the winter has been Rood en Wit’s Farhad Sardha, who returns to his old club and joins brother Akram in the Cappelle aan de IJssel squad.

But former coach Andrew Bailey, now a Dutch resident and a key member of last season’s promotion-winning side with both bat and ball, will again play a crucial role. And so will brothers Suleiman and Luqman Tariq, who moved to Sparta from Excelsior last year and quickly fitted into the team.

Again led by Jankees Dommershuisen, the batting will feature not only Wasim, Bailey, Luqman Tariq and Akram Sardha, but promising youngster Usman Ishfaq and his brother Amir, while another teenage member of the squad is seamer Karan Pawa.

The Sparta side did well to make a late run last season and make sure of promotion, but without Vivian’s hard hitting – his remarkable 1143 runs were more than their next three most prolific batsmen combined – their chances of staying up are likely to depend to a great degree on the efforts of Mohammad Wasim.

They may also depend on how well VVV are able to meld together a winning combination after the mass departures which have taken place.

No fewer than seven members of last season’s side will no longer be available. The biggest loss, obviously, is Dutch international Mudassar Bukhari, who will be turning out for HBS Den Haag this year.

Although Nolan Clarke only played nine matches last year, he averaged more than 30 with the bat, and his influence, too, will be missed. So will that of skipper Sajjad Hussain, who has moved to Dosti Amsterdam along with wicketkeeper Baber Bhatti and spinner Naveed Akhtar.

Akhtar is one of a trio of bowlers – the others being Zamir Sidhu and Maninder Singh – who have moved on after just one season at VVV.

On the other hand, a core of the old side remains, with Zishan Akram taking over the captaincy, Mohammad Hafeez back as coach, and Rizwan Akram and Mahmood Sadiq providing a vital element of continuity.

The Amsterdam club has also picked up several players to help fill the gaps, including Dosti pair Raj Verma and Kamran Shafiq, former BCC players Nadeem Irshad and Nazakat Khan, and 19-year-old opening batsman Shahrukh Akhtar, who moves along the Kalfjeslaan from ACC.

Jagan Narayanamoorthy will take over the wicketkeeping duties, having played a handful of Hoofdklasse games last year.

While they have always had the ability to upset top sides during their three years in the top division, VVV had found it hard to string together a consistent run of performances which would be needed to make them contenders for the play-offs. It remains to be seen whether their new-look squad will be able to succeed where their predecessors have fallen short.