Indian summer as Dutch youth season closes
On a mid-September Sunday that would have graced any June, the KNCB closed its youth season this week with a gala day's cricket at Bloemendaal, near Haarlem.
After the miserable weather that had dogged the closing weeks of the scheduled season, two finals could be played, Rood en Wit Haarlem taking the under-13 title from Quick Haag, while ACC won the under-18 competition with a victory over HCC.
The under-18 final featured several players with first-team experience in the Hoofdklasse or Eerste Klasse. Reinforced by three members of the Quick Haag squad, who were unable to field a full under-18 side this season, ACC made 175 for seven in their 45 overs, largely due to an opening stand of 88 between Steven de Bruin (44) and Lesley Stokkers (32). Gonzalo Bouter was the most successful of the HCC bowlers with four for 30.
HCC got away to a good start in reply, Thijs Fischer (who also played Hoofdklasse cricket for Quick in the first part of the season) making a rapid 48, but once he was out the ACC spinners took over, Maninder Kamboj taking four for 23 and Stokkers five for 12 as HCC were dismissed for 116.
The matches were followed by an awards ceremony, at which the achievements of young Dutch cricketers from under-12 to under-19 were recognised.
Making the presentations, the KNCB's manager of youth cricket, Roland Lefebvre, paid tribute to the hard work done by players, clubs, coaches and managers, but stressed that more needed to be done. In a season in which Ireland dominated European youth tournaments but the Dutch Lions recorded several encouraging victories over Scotland, Lefebvre acknowledged that there was still room for improvement at both domestic and international levels.
'As soon as you stand still,' he said, 'you are in fact going backwards, and we all need to work harder to ensure that our standard continues to improve.'
He emphasised that much of the responsibility lay with the players themselves.
'Winter's a time for skill development,' he pointed out, 'and if you wait until the summer to start working again, it will be too late.'
Lefebvre reminded the older players of the challenge of the 2008 qualifying tournament, to be held in Malaysia, for the next ICC Under-19 World Cup. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, and are keen to do better next time.
Among the many awards presented, there were 'Fast Track' awards at under-15 and under-17 level, acknowledging achievements over the season as a whole. From the under-15 squad the winners were Stijn Allema (batting), Tim Gruijters (bowling), and Govert van der Kamp (fielding). Among the under-17s, the awards went to Alexei Kervezee (batting and all-rounder), Maninder Kamboj (bowling), and Karel Vieler (fielding).
Kervezee also won the batting award at under-19 level, with Pieter Seelaar taking the bowling award andChris Davey the award for fielding.
