The KNCB (Netherlands Cricket Board) has announced the roster for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which will take place next month. Because of the tournament’s conflict with the T20 Blast, the majority of the Dutch contingent hired by the counties will not be traveling there.
The majority of the squad for the Dutch team, captained by goalkeeper Scott Edwards, is made up of players who compete in the native Topklasse league.
For players who remain abroad, Wellington’s Logan van Beek will rejoin the team, while Durham’s Bas de Leede will also be going to Zimbabwe, though it is believed he will only be there as long as the Dutch are still in the running for qualifying.
Tom Cooper is reportedly unavailable, along with Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Shane Snater, Timm van der Gugten, and Brandon Glover who will all stay with their respective counties.
The opportunities for young players that were imposed by absences were encouraging to High Performance Manager Roland Lefebvre.
“It is a well-balanced team, coming off the back of a very successful T20 WC in Australia and two competitive Super League series against Zimbabwe and South Africa. The unavailability of several of our more experienced County players has allowed a number of young players to be included in the squad and we look forward to seeing them perform at the highest level.”
Michael Levitt, a South African-Dutch youth who has started the batting for Voorburg CC this season, is set to make his debut, giving the top of the order another option in addition to veteran openers Max O’Dowd and Vikram Singh.
As a backup keeper, Levitt’s Voorburg teammate Noah Croes has also been called up. The Dutch will not lack for keeping reserves because veteran Wesley Barresi and just qualified Teja Nidamanuru both still have spots in the team. However, Barresi is more likely to play as a specialized bat.
Tim Pringle, a left arm spinner for Northern Districts, is sidelined, therefore fellow southpaw Clayton Floyd is chosen over Daniel Doram, a left arm spinner for Sint Maarten and the Leeward Islands, who hasn’t trained with the team since 2013. Floyd will be fighting for a spot in the slow bowling competition alongside wrist spinner Shariz Ahmed and offie Aryan Dutt.
The two young players impressed during the Netherlands’ Super League campaign, which was also hampered by availability concerns. Saqib Zulfiqar, a leg-spinning all-rounder, is back with the team even though his triplet siblings Sikander and Asad were not included in the 15-man roster.
Ross ter Braak, a left-arm seamer who had been practicing with the team recently and had raised the possibility that he would put on Orange like his brother Dan, is also missing. Thus, the seam section will be fully made up of right-armers, with van Beek, de Leede, Vivian Kingma, Ryan Klein, and Singh all making the cut as well. Singh and Levitt are also pace alternatives.
Ryan Cook, the team’s head coach, returns from his IPL responsibilities to lead the team. He will once again be assisted by fellow Gary Kirsten Academy alumnus Ryan van Niekerk and former South Africa international Heino Kuhn, who has spent this season stationed in the Netherlands with previous club Amsterdamsche CC.
The team will fly to Harare in two weeks after departing, stopping first in Pretoria for a friendly matchup with Scotland and Nepal. On one side of the draw, the Netherlands will play in Group A alongside top seeds West Indies, hosts Zimbabwe, Nepal, and the United States, while Sri Lanka will play in Group B together with Ireland, Scotland, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. In the Super Sixes, when there are two World Cup spots available, the top three teams from each group advance to play.
Edwards said “Coming off the back of a three-game series in Zimbabwe a few months ago, we have been really intentional in our preparation for the qualifiers and we are confident the squad we have picked can play a brand of cricket that will be successful in these conditions. We have a good mixture of experienced players along with some exciting young players who have performed well in the domestic Pro Series and club season leading into this tournament.”
Netherlands Squad: Scott Edwards (c), Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Michael Levitt, Wesley Barresi, Bas de Leede, Noah Croes, Teja Nidamanuru, Shariz Ahmed, Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Clayton Floyd, Ryan Klein, Vivian Kingma.