Global Game: Netherlands rise to ninth spot in CWC Super League

The three-match ODI series in Utrecht saw 30 points up for grabs, with both sides jostling to avoid the relegation zone in the bottom half of the table.

The first match was a final-ball thriller, with the Dutch defending 195 on a tricky pitch at the Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd’s first men’s ODI. It was also the first match to be broadcast live on Dutch television, and the TV audience could not have hoped for a better introduction to the game as their team fought all the way home through a see-sawing encounter.

Electing to bat first, the hosts were off to a steady start, with recalled veteran Stef Myburgh and in-form Max O’Dowd linking up for 32 before Myburgh’s lack of footwork saw him prod at a delivery from seamer Craig Young and present a simple chance to Lorcan Tucker behind the stumps. After reaching 49/1 in the first powerplay, the Dutch innings fell in a heap as wily offspinner Simi Singh and young speedster Josh Little combined to wreck a middle-order that was significantly weakened by the unavailability of county-contracted batters Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate and Roelof van der Merwe. First, O’Dowd and Ben Cooper were both pinned LBW, O’Dowd by a Singh off-break that turned into his front leg and Cooper by a sizzling yorker from Little. The Irish quick had Captain Pieter Seelaar beaten for pace and he feathered one through to Tucker, then Scott Edwards got cramped for room and chopped onto his stumps to leave the Netherlands reeling at 53/5, having lost 4 wickets for 4 runs. Bas de Leede and Saqib Zulfiqar resisted stoutly for 49 runs, before Andy McBrine got rid of them both - first with the ball as de Leede chipped a soft catch to midwicket, then with a runout as Zulfiqar suffered a brain-fade and forgot to ground his bat after pushing a regulation single to cover. This brought an unlikely hero for the Dutch to the crease in Timm van der Gugten. The Glamorgan seamer looked to be batting on a different surface to his top-order colleagues and swung fearlessly as he blasted 49 off 53 deliveries, including an eloquent blow off a George Dockrell long hop which sailed over cow corner and into the waste processing facility in the adjoining lot. Joining Logan van Beek for a 72-run alliance, he gave himself and his colleagues something to defend with the ball.

While the Netherlands’ batting lineup was missing a number of stars, their bowling attack was rich with quality players. Fred Klaassen and Logan van Beek blitzed through the top order to have the visitors in trouble at 11/3, but the main threat in Paul Stirling remained at the crease. George Dockrell, in his second coming as a batter at number 4, played a patient 11 (38) to support Stirling, before Brandon Glover’s rapid pace was too much and uprooted middle with a sharp delivery that cut back across the right-hander. Pieter Seelaar removed Lorcan Tucker with a classic left-arm orthodox dismissal, the ball sliding across and then straightening into the pads. Ireland, at 69/5, were in a similar mess to their opponents in the first innings, and it was Simi Singh and Paul Stirling who set about rebuilding with a 66-run stand. The usually aggressive opener played a patient hand on the challenging surface, but Timm van der Gugten turned the momentum back to the home team when Stirling drove hard to cover and Seelaar grabbed an impressive low catch. Singh became the senior partner and McBrine supported him in a 43-run partnership as Ireland inched closer to victory, but the drama was not over yet. With 19 runs needed off the last four overs, Seelaar brought himself back on to bowl the 47th, and he swung the game back towards the Netherlands again - conceding just a single, and removing both McBrine and Barry McCarthy. With 12 needed off the last over by van Beek, Simi Singh ran himself out for 45 to leave Josh Little and Craig Young to finish the job. Despite a deft scoop past short fine leg by Little, the Irish simply ran out of the road and van Beek held his nerve on the last ball to jam it outside off and prevent anything more than a single.

The second match was less dramatic, as Ireland repeated their strong bowling performance but improved with the bat. Again opting to bat at the toss, Pieter Seelar’s men struggled against a fiery spell from Josh Little, and a canny display from Craig Young. The seamers grabbed 4/39 and 4/18 respectively, and it was Little’s left-arm pace barrage that blew the top off the Dutch innings. He was on a hattrick after Myburgh chopped on and Cooper fended a ripping bouncer through to Tucker, then he removed the main man O’Dowd with a superlative delivery that cut away from the bat to peg back the top of off stump. Regularly clocking into the 140 km/h range, his extra pace allied with an uneven bounce in the pitch had the Dutch looking all at sea. Young meanwhile accounted for the middle order with Seelar and Edwards prodding edges through to Tucker, before the Dutch tail again rallied to try and post a defendable total. Logan van Beek and Brandon Glover both slapped some boundaries to get the runs up past 150, but with Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie both firing, it would not be enough.

Van Beek struck early again in the Dutch defence, with the recalled William Porterfield still looking well out of form as he played around a quicker one, but Stirling was joined by Andy Balbirnie, who was obdurate in his defence as he acclimatised to the pitch. Stirling once more appeared to be playing a different game as he posted a brisk half-century laced with boundaries through the offside, and by the time he stepped down the track and holed out to midwicket off the bowling of Seelaar, the Irish skipper Balbirnie was well set and in no mood to let the 10 Super League points slip away. His 63* came off 127 deliveries, while Harry Tector also played it safe as the pair collected singles and made sure not to repeat the mistakes of the last game by conserving wickets.

The clash between the two sides went to the final game for the series decider. With an all-round performance, Netherlands dominated Ireland in the third game to take the series 2-1. The Dutch restricted Ireland to 163/10 with Fred Klaassen and Logan van Beek picking three pieces each before Stephan Myburgh laid down the platform for a comprehensive chase with 74.

Ireland won the toss and opted to bat. The veteran Kevin O’Brian was knocked over by Klaassen for nought. The Ireland side soon found themselves stuttering at 28 for the loss of three wickets with Paul Sterling (5) and skipper Andy Balbirnie (13) back in the hut. The Irish innings was resuscitated with an 89-run stand built by Harry Tector and George Dockrell for the fourth wicket. Van Beek returned to provide the hosts with another breakthrough as Beek cleaned up Dockrell for 40. Thereafter, the implosion of the Ireland innings was triggered with the loss of Tector who battled 100 balls for his 58 but nicked the ball to give Beek his second wicket. Then, the Ireland lower order fell like dominoes and managed 163/10 in 49.2 overs with Simi Singh remaining unbeaten for 21*.

In response, Stephan Myburgh provided the hosts with a positive start as he smashed a six on the first ball of the chase. With the momentum going their way, Myburgh’s catch was dropped too while he was on 10, which proved to be a costly error. Myburgh and Max O'Dowd scripted together an opening stand of 66 in 14.4 overs. The off-spinner, Simi Singh was introduced in the attack and snared the wicket of O'Dowd for 36 as Simi went through his defence to clean him up. Ireland found another wicket of Scott Edwards who went back without troubling the scoreboard, caught in the slips. Bas de Leede alongside Myburgh sealed the game for the Netherlands with a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket that left van Beek to smash the winning boundary to take home the series 2-1 and 20 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League points.

Global Game is a collaboration between the ICC and Emerging Cricket.