This season’s Nachenius Tjeenk Twenty20 competition gets under way on Friday evening with two matches in the Rotterdam group.

With seventeen teams participating, one group again has five teams, and because of changes in the composition of the Eerste Klasse, this year it will be the Rotterdam pool which has two extra rounds of fixtures.

The remaining three groups will be involved for the first time next week.

This Friday’s games see VOC taking on Sparta 1888 at Capelle aan der IJssel, while Hermes-DVS will be at home to Schiedam neighbours Excelsior ’20.

Both Sparta and VOC will be taking advantage of the rule allowing an additional overseas player in this competition: VOC will include Tasmanian Chris Free, a clubmate of former coach Michael Dighton and of last year’s Quick Haag coach Sean Clingeleffer at North Hobart, who is playing in the second eleven and hit a century last weekend, while Sparta will welcome back last season’s coach Luke Vivian.

Vivian was instrumental in gaining promotion to the Hoofdklasse for the Capelle club, making 1143 runs in the Eerste Klasse at an average of 76.20 and including five centuries, and his hard hitting will again be a significant factor in Sparta’s attempt to progress beyond the group phase.

The two Schiedam clubs will not be fielding a special overseas import, although Excelsior’s Australian exchange player Alex Holbrook arrived this week and will turn out for the club for the first time on Friday evening.

Hermes gained the upper hand over Excelsior in their Hoofdklasse clash last weekend, but Twenty20 is a different proposition, and Excelsior have a potential matchwinner in coach Mark Cleary.

But Hermes won the Rotterdam group last season, eventually reaching the final, where they went down to Quick Haag.

One thing is certain: like all Schiedam derbies, this match will be keenly contested, weather permitting. The forecast for Friday evening is far from promising, and there is a strong chance that these games will be rain-affected.

There is again €20,000 prizemoney at stake in the NT Twenty20 Cup, with €10,000 going to the winners, €5,000 to the runners-up, and €2,500 to the losing semi-finalists.

The national finals day is scheduled for 9 August, at a venue to be determined.