In a remarkable day’s cricket on Saturday, Hermes-DVS Schiedam cruised to victory over Kampong Utrecht, becoming the only unbeaten side in the Topklasse,  while three of the bottom four beat higher-ranked opponents to sharpen the battle to avoid relegation.

The round was all the more historic because for the first time in the 135 years of the Dutch competition, two hat-tricks were recorded in the top flight on the same day.

After they won the toss at the Loopuyt Oval and elected to bat, Kampong’s innings was held together by Australian overseas Lane Berry, whose 97-ball 119, with 12 fours and three sixes, saw them to 224 for seven before the last four wickets fell for the addition of just two runs.

Berry and Lorenzo Ingram both fell to Sahil Kothari, who claimed two for 21 in his eight overs, while Hikmatullah Jabarkhail cleaned up the tail to finish with three for 30.

Ash Ostling and Daniel Doyle-Calle gave Hermes a great start with an opening stand of 125 in just 18 overs, and after Doyle fell for 72, caught by Pierre Jacod off the bowling of Alex Roy, Ostling continued in company with Asad Zulfiqar, ensuring a nine-wicket victory with ten and a half overs to spare. Ostling ended on 92 and Zulfiqar on 44.

If the top-of-the-table clash turned out to be a comfortable win, the four remaining matches were to varying degrees more hard-fought.

The most surprising was at the Zomercomplex, where VOC Rotterdam were seemingly down and out at the halfway point, having been dismissed for 164 by cross-town rivals  Punjab-Ghausia in another disappointing effort with the bat.

That they reached that total was largely due to Christiaan Oberholzer, who came in at 2 for two in the third over and batted through to the end, making a dogged 85.

Of the rest of the side, Scott Janett and Siebe van Wingerden both contributed 22, but no-one else reached double figures, while for Punjab Mubashar Hussain celebrated his return to the first team with three for 24 and Musa Ahmad claimed three for 20.

Then, after Van Wingerden had removed both openers, Jelte Schoonheim ripped through Punjab’s middle order, removing Mohsin Riaz, Burhan Niaz and Sikander Zulfiqar to perform the first Toplasse hat-trick for three years and leave the defending champions reeling on 30 for six.

Muhammad Asif Gondal, also in the side for the first time this season, and Fawad Shinwari turned the ship around with a seventh-wicket partnership of 74, but when Aaditt Jain returned to remove Gondal for 34 it was left to Shinwari to try to assemble the remaining 61 runs in company with the tail.

He and Aaliyan Mahmood added another 28, but then Oberholzer trapped Shinwari in front for 52, and when Roman Harhangi began the final over eight were still required the last pair together.

They managed two of them, but then Mahmood attempted a leg-side scoop and stand-in keeper Tim de Kok, dropping back, took the catch which gave VOC their first victory of the season, by just five runs.

They remain at the foot of the table, however, since Sparta 1888, also winless after three games, beat VRA Amsterdam in an equally tense encounter at the Bermweg.

157 out of VRA’s total of 204 came from a single partnership, that for the third wicket between Patrick Gouge (69) and Johan Smal (86), after Ahsan Malik had reduced the Amsterdammers to 4 for two, and after Juandre Scheepers dismissed Smal and Malik removed Gouge in the next over the innings again fell away, only Adam Constant (18) able to reach double figures.

Malik’s three for 36 was matched by Scheepers’ four for 33, while Joost-Martijn Snoep maintained the pressure in the middle overs, his ten overs conceding only 23.

Sparta battled to achieve what was a fairly challenging target in the Bermweg conditions, but Kyle Klesse’s unbeaten 75 saw them home by four wickets with ten deliveries to spare, Khalid Ahmadi chipping  in with a 27-ball 38 which got his side back in touch with the required rate and took them to within five runs of victory.

The tightening in the middle of the table was furthered by the victory of HBS Craeyenhout over at De Diepput, which was transformed by a 177-run stand for the fourth wicket between Tayo Walbrugh and Lehan Botha, and more particularly by the latter’s devastating 90-ball knock of 119, which included eight fours and as many sixes.

At 56 for three after 20 overs HBS were toiling somewhat, but then Botha unleashed a formidable attack, reaching 50 from 49 deliveries and needing only another 29 balls to go to three figures,

Walbrugh was more restrained at the other end, but he batted to the end for an unbeaten 93, sharing a stand of 57 with Navjit Singh (27) along the way and enabling his side to reach 285 for seven, the day’s highest total.

Having chased down 327 last Monday HCC began confidently enough, Tonny Staal and Boris Gorlee putting on 100 for the second wicket in just twelve overs, but once Staal fell for 37 and Benno Boddendijk removed Gorlee for 79, the innings lost some of its momentum.

At 209 for five they were still in with a chance, but then Wesley Barresi came back to claim three wickets with his off-breaks, ending with four for 56, and the final wicket fell at 233, giving HBS a 52-run victory.

At Westvliet, Voorburg were seemingly cruising to the win as they chased Excelsior ‘20’s 255 all out, but then leg-spinner Joost Kroesen took a hand, trapping centurion Gavin Kaplan, Nirav Kulkarni and Tom de Leede LBW with successive deliveries to post the day’s second hat-trick.

An opening stand of 168 between Cedric de Lange (68) and Kaplan had set up a Voorburg win, and when Kaplan reached his first hundred of the season and his fifth for the club it appeared to be as good as over.

Kroesen’s triple coup, however, which became four when he bowled the veteran Usman Malik, gave Voorburg a few nervous moments before Udit Nashier and Patrick Charumbira knocked off the remaining runs with two and a half overs to spare.

Kroesen, who only bowled a total of 11 overs in the past two seasons, finished with four for 41, but his intervention came too late to save his side.

Earlier, Antum Naqvi had hit his maiden Topklasse century, his 121 the key to Excelsior’s competitive total, assisted by Jason Ralston in a crucial ninth-wicket partnership of 59; Mees van Vliet (three for 49) and Charumbira (three for 35) had done much of the damage for Voorburg.