The 2007 Hoofdklasse season could hardly have got away to a more thrilling start, with the match between HCC and Voorburg going down to the last ball and ending in a tie. 

Chasing Voorburg's 221 for nine, HCC went into Sarfraz Gondel's final over needing nine to win, but Jeroen Smits, playing despite an eye injury sustained on the squash court, and Ed Sleijffers could manage only eight. These two clubs had more than their share of tight finishes last year, but this was an extraordinary conclusion on the season's opening day.

Coach Ryan Le Loux's 78 was the mainstay of the Voorburg innings, with Wilfried Diepeveen the next highest scorer on 22. The HCC bowlers shared the wickets, with Bernard Loods the most successful with three for 36.

Tom de Grooth hit a solid 47 to get the HCC reply off to a good start before being bowled by Le Loux, and then a sixth wicket stand of 68 between Jacob-Jan Esmeijer and Fred Bos got the total up to 178 in the 43rd over.

Once Bos was out a flurry of wickets gave Voorburg the advantage, and at 202 for nine with three overs left HCC's chance seemed to have gone. Smits and Sleijffers took seven off the next over (13 needed of two), and just four off the 49th. A succession of twos got them to 220 with one ball left, but that yielded just a single and the match was tied.

Le Loux took three for 46 for Voorburg, while Gondel's one for 27 off ten overs helped earn his side a share of the points.

Another of the day's sensations was the collapse of Excelsior against Quick Haag. Having fought back from a score of 114 for one to bowl Quick out for 216, Excelsior were then demolished by Edgar Schiferli (pictured above), who took five wickets in six overs, including Daan van Bunge and Luuk van Troost, to reduce the Schiedam side to 16 for five.

Mark Cleary, supported by skipper Marcel Schewe, led a partial revival with a fighting 29, but when Geert Maarten Mol had him caught behind by Sean Clingeleffer (one of three catches for Quick's new coach) any realistic possibility of recovery departed. Schiferli returned to end the innings, finishing with six for 11 off 6.3 overs, and Quick won by 115 runs.

Earlier, Clingeleffer (45) and Darron Reekers (59) had put on 92 for the second wicket in what proved to be a match-winning partnership. Reekers' knock, coming off 49 balls with three fours and three sixes, was characteristically aggressive, while the coach played a more circumspect role.

Henk-Jan Mol (33) and Lesley Stokkers (25) added 60 for the fourth wicket, but once they were gone wickets fell steadily, Cleary, van Troost and van Bunge picking up two each.

HBS Den Haag included five teenagers in their side to take on champions VRA in Amstelveen, and were predictably overwhelmed. On a wicket which was never easy for batting, Eric Szwarczynski's not-out 135 was the innings of the day: he batted for three and a quarter hours, faced 152 balls and hit twelve fours in making his maiden Hoofdklasse century.

HBS received some early encouragement when Ferdi Vink removed Wesley Barresi in the second over, but Tjade Groot and Szwarczynski put on 83 for the second wicket, and after Groot was dismissed for 42 skipper Darrin Murray (65 off 64 balls) and Szwarczynski added a further 113. Peter Borren weighed in with 30 off 21 balls and the Amsterdam side reached 313 for six.

All the HBS bowlers came in for punishment, but Sjoerd Weurman bowled a fine opening spell, conceding just 18 runs in six overs, and took three wickets in the closing stages of the innings to finish with three for 55.

The visitors never seemed likely to get close to this total, although Billy Stelling and Sebastiaan Smit got them away to a reasonable start with an opening stand of 35. When Victor Grandia trapped Stelling leg-before, however, a steady procession of wickets followed, and the side were soon 72 for six, Remco de Graaff picking up two wickets for 23 on his Hoofdklasse debut.

A spirited partnership between Taco Risselada and Rasul Abed got the score past the hundred, but then four wickets fell for two runs, Adeel Raja finishing with three for 35 as VRA won by 195 runs.

VOC Rotterdam proved too strong for Hoofdklasse returnees ACC, but the Amsterdammers didn't go down without a fight, and will have taken heart from some aspects of their performance.

They were soon in trouble at 31 for three after winning the toss and electing to bat, but Bas van der Heijde and coach Chris Slattery got them back into the game with a fine stand for the fourth wicket.

Van der Heijde went on to make 80 after Slattery was dismissed for 44, but ACC were eventually all out for 187 in the 49th over. VOC coach Xavier Doherty and veteran spinner Robbie de Widt were the chief destroyers with three wickets each, with Bas Zuiderent collecting four stumpings.

When they removed much of the VOC top order and the Rotterdam side were a shaky 58 for four it seemed as if an upset could be on the cards, but Zuiderent and Doherty steadied the ship with a valuable partnership for the fifth wicket, and although the former was out for 34 Doherty stayed till the end, finishing with 70 not out as VOC won by five wickets.

In Schiedam, a splendid innings of 95 by Mudassar Bukhari ensured that VVV Amsterdam secured a four-wicket victory over Hermes-DVS.

The home side began steadily after being put in, with Lou Borrani contributing 32 and Jasper Beijer then anchoring the innings with 67. For VVV, coach Mohammad Hafeez took four for 42.

But it was Bukhari's knock that was decisive, and despite a three-wicket haul for seamer Robin ter Plegt the Amsterdam side reached their target with four overs to spare.