BABETTE DE LEEDE: DUTCH DETERMINED TO SEIZE ‘AMAZING’ OPPORTUNITY AT ICC WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP

• This column by the Netherlands captain Babette de Leede is for editorial use giving credit to the ICC

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 is an amazing opportunity for us as a team to show the world the talent we have got.

We can’t play cricket full-time in the Netherlands, so everyone needs to combine cricket with their study or job. It would be great if some of us could get a chance in franchise cricket and could potentially live off a cricket salary.

By playing at our first ever World Cup, we also hope to grow women’s cricket in the Netherlands, to raise awareness about a sport that is not very well-known in the country, and to inspire young boys and girls showing them the possibilities of being a cricket player in the Netherlands.

We hope to get a lot of exposure and excite people about us as a team as well as the sport itself.

The fact the competition is happening in England is also very special. It is almost like a home World Cup for us, with conditions similar to those in the Netherlands in terms of pitches and the weather. We expect a big orange crowd at all of our games consisting of friends, family, and other fans of Dutch cricket. It will be a unique experience which we are very much looking forward to.

Our goal is to win at least two games and end in the top eight, so that we automatically qualify for the next T20 World Cup.

It is great to have the opportunity to play against some of the best teams in the world for the first time.  Playing as the newcomer and underdogs, as the lowest-ranked team, might work in our favour to surprise some teams and cause some upsets. In any event, it will be valuable for us to meet some of our idols and learn from them.

Our preparations are going well, and we are training very hard. Because the Netherlands is a small country and we're all from the same region, we can train together every week.

We also have our weekly inter squad games called the Super Series. Hopefully it is an advantage for us to be in season and playing games regularly.

The prize money from this competition is very important, in particular for us as an associate country. Expanding the World Cup from 10 to 12 teams gives teams like ours great opportunities to qualify for the World Cup and to grow the game. Hopefully this means we can get full time cricket contracts soon, and train even harder.

Our biggest strength is that we really play as a team. We know each other very well, we are friends off the field, and we want each other to succeed.

The team is also very talented. In the Qualifier, different players stood out in every game which was great to see. I expect the same in the World Cup. Seamer Isabel van der Woning (our fast bowler) and top-order batter Sterre Kalis have been in particularly great form since the Qualifier, so I am very excited to see them shine at the World Cup.

Our journey here started at the previous Global Qualifier in Abu Dhabi in 2024 – we played okay, but not well enough to qualify.

After that tournament, we realised what needed to be done to qualify for the next World Cup. We had one goal and trained very hard, and our cricket improved a lot.

Last summer, we played the European Qualifier in the Netherlands with Ireland, Italy, and Germany. We qualified along with Ireland for the Global Qualifier in Nepal in January this year.

We played the Emerging Nations Trophy in November 2025, a great initiative from the ICC and a very important part of our preparation for the Qualifier. The combination of having everyone motivated with one goal and the increase in the number of games grew our cricket a lot.

The T20 format is a hugely exciting one to play in and the shorter the game, the more action and the closer the game will be.

The level of women's cricket has been increasing a lot over the last few years and that is very exciting. Personally, however, I love ODIs as well and I would love to play a Test one day. In the meantime, we will be doing our best to seize the opportunity in front of us as we make our debut at this prestigious competition.