Cricket: Dutch set for a competitive build-up to T20 World Cup

The Netherlands are set to return to international cricket for the first time since their historic ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup campaign in October and November last year with a tour to Nepal starting on February 15.

The tri-series, which involves hosts Nepal and Namibia, will be the first set of fixtures of the eight-team World Cricket League 2’s new cycle with the top four teams eventually qualifying for the World Cup Qualifier in 2026.

The first leg of the tour will see each team playing four ODIs followed by a T20I series that runs from February 27 to March 5. The T20I leg will end a 15-month gap since the Dutch last played in the shortest format: a historic 16-run win against South Africa at the 2022 T20 World Cup.

The Netherlands are set to return to international cricket for the first time since their historic ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup campaign in October and November last year with a tour to Nepal starting on February 15.

The tri-series, which involves hosts Nepal and Namibia, will be the first set of fixtures of the eight-team World Cricket League 2’s new cycle with the top four teams eventually qualifying for the World Cup Qualifier in 2026.

The first leg of the tour will see each team playing four ODIs followed by a T20I series that runs from February 27 to March 5. The T20I leg will end a 15-month gap since the Dutch last played in the shortest format: a historic 16-run win against South Africa at the 2022 T20 World Cup.

The Dutch lost all their five fixtures against the SA20 teams but managed to close out the tour with a seven-wicket win over the Lions. Following the camp, several squad members in vice captain Max O’Dowd, Vivian Kingma, Noah Croes and Shariz Ahmad stayed back to train at the Gary Kirsten Academy in Cape Town.

“There were loads of different things the guys wanted to try and play around with and those fixtures were the opportunity to give it a go,” O’Dowd told Dutch News from Cape Town before flying out to Nepal.

“We tried a bunch of different options with guys like Noah (Croes), Teja (Nidamanuru), Michael Levitt and Vikram Singh opening the batting. The key takeaway was that things can happen so quickly in T20s. If your execution and your strategy plans aren’t right, the best players in the world are going to get you.

“[A key focus has been on] gaining clarity in what our options are. Sometimes in T20 cricket you can overthink ideas and you end up doing things you don’t have to do.

“Another focus has been on upskilling ourselves in certain areas which are going to be important in the West Indies where you can play on slower wickets. We try to incorporate a bit of everything but a lot of it is understanding what you require in the powerplay, overs 7-10, 11-15 and then at the death.”

Squad for Nepal tour

The ODI squad, which landed in Kathmandu on Sunday morning, is headlined by maiden senior call-ups for fast-bowler Kyle Klein and Hermes DVS Schiedam’s all-rounder Olivier Elenbaas.

Left-arm quick Fred Klaassen, who is set to play his first competitive fixture in eight months having recovered from a stress fracture, and Timm van der Gugten, a veteran of 50 Internationals, have been included in the T20I squad while left-arm spinner Daniel Doram will travel as a reserve.

Fast bowlers Paul van Meekeren (personal reasons) and Brandon Glover (injury) withdrew after being initially included. Logan van Beek and Colin Ackermann will miss the tour owing to commitments with Wellington and Durham while Bas de Leede, who was named as the ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year, will fly to Harare after the ODIs to join Durham’s pre-season camp.

Head coach Ryan Cook, who coached the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to back-to-back titles in the SA20, will be joined by assistant coaches Ryan van Niekerk and Heino Kuhn.

League 2: Scott Edwards (C), Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Shariz Ahmad, Wesley Barresi, Noah Croes, Aryan Dutt, Olivier Elenbaas, Sybrand Engelbecht, Viv Kingma, Kyle Klein, Bas de Leede, Michael Levitt, Roelof van der Merwe, Teja Nidamanuru.

T20Is: Scott Edwards (C), Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Shariz Ahmad, Wesley Barresi, Noah Croes, Aryan Dutt, Sybrand Engelbecht, Viv Kingma, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Roelof van der Merwe, Teja Nidamanuru, Fred Klaassen, Timm van der Gugten, Daniel Doram (reserve).