Team Netherlands ICC World Twenty20 2016 Tournament Preview and Guide
A side with as rich a pedigree as any in the ICC World Twenty20, with stirring performances and infamous upset wins almost expected from the power packed Dutchmen. With their mix of powerful hitters, strong pace bowlers and canny captaincy in the shape of Peter Borren many could fancy the Netherlands to upset the odds against a much fancied Bangladesh side and progress from Group A as they did two years ago after a famous victory over Ireland.
The Netherlands have been acclimatising and preparing for this year’s World Twenty20 for longer than any side with a lengthy camp in Bangalore helping them fine tune all preparations ahead of their crucial first match against Bangladesh in Dharamsala on March 9th.
**History:**One of the team’s greatest moment came in June 2009, having qualified for the ICC World Twenty20 via the qualifiers in Ireland the previous year. Facing England at Lord's in the opening match of tournament, the Netherlands pulled off a dramatic victory off the final ball. It was unable to reach the Super Eights but it had already made its mark in a dramatic fashion.
Five years later, in the 2014 edition, it chased down 190 in 13.5 overs against Ireland to qualify for the Super 10s, and returned to haunt England again, outplaying the team in all departments and beating it 45 runs - a significant margin in T20 cricket.
Group:Netherlands are in Group A alongside Bangladesh, Ireland and Oman.
Captain:Peter Borren
Coach: Anton Roux
**Preview:**Netherlands sealed its berth in the ICC World T20 2016 by first beating Namibia by four wickets to qualify for the final in the ICC 2015 Qualifier, and then sharing the title with Scotland. Ever since, it has had a successful tour of the United Arab Emirates before landing in Bangalore in India, for a preparatory camp for the big tournament.
The Dutch selectors chose to stick with the same Netherlands squad that tasted success in the UAE, with Logan van Beek, the allrounder, the only addition to the original squad. Van Beek has 129 runs at a strike-rate of 107.50, and 40 wickets from 45 Twenty20 games in his career.
Tom Cooper, who was part of Netherlands’ ICC World T20 2014 campaign, when the team became the only Associate nation to qualify for the Super 10 stage of the tournament, was later drafted in to replace Sikander Zulfiqar, who will remain with the squad as a reserve player to gain experience at the international level.
Stephan Myburgh, one of the heroes of that campaign, remains in the Peter Borren-led squad for the 2016 event.
**Strengths:**Netherlands will take pride in its performances in previous editions of the ICC World T20, and the addition of Roloef van der Merwe, the former South Africa allrounder, will only add to the pool of experienced campaigners. The Dutch side's week-long preparatory camp in Bangalore before the warm-up matches is bound to help the players, who are walking into the tournament high on confidence, having recently had a good tour of UAE. Netherlands has a strong batting line-up and is loaded with a number of good medium-pacers.
**Recent form:**Lost to Scotland by 37 runs, Beat UAE by 84 runs, Match abandoned against Scotland, Beat Ireland by 5 wickets, Beat Namibia by 4 wickets.
Star player:Stephan Myburgh
Stephan Myburg, with 224 runs in seven matches, was The Netherlands' second-highest run-getter in the ICC WorldT20 2014, and continues to be one of the key players in the side. A left-hand batsman and a right-arm offspinner, Myburg scored a fifty off 17 balls against Ireland, when his side needed to chase 190 in 14 overs to qualify for the Super 10 stage. Overall, he was the third-highest run scorer in the tournament after Virat Kohli and teammate Tom Cooper, and scored three fifties at an average of 32.00 and a strike rate of 154.48. Myburgh hit 26 fours - the most by any batsman in the tournament - and 13 sixes.
One to watch:Timm Van Der Gugten
The Australia-born Timm Van Der Gugten made his first-class debut for New South Wales in November 2011, and was called up to the Netherlands senior side the following year. He subsequently made his ODI and T20I debuts in March 2012, aged 21. A right-arm pace bowler, van der Gugten has been a regular for the Netherlands since his debut, and represented the team at the ICC World T20 2014, where he bagged nine wickets in seven matches, at an impressive economy rate of 6.76.
#That6 Hitter: Tom Cooper
Tom Cooper, included in the Netherlands squad for the ICC World T20 2016 as a last-minute replacement for Sikander Zulfiqar, has the reputation of hitting big sixes in limited-overs cricket. In the 2014 edition, he smashed a 15-ball 45 in a memorable chase of 190 in 13.5 overs against Ireland. With 10 sixes in seven innings, Cooper ended fourth in the list of batsmen with most sixes in the tournament, only behind teammate Stephan Myburg, Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli.
Key facts:
Roelof van der Merwe is a Johannesberg-born player who has represented South Africa in 13 ODIs and 18 T20Is between 2009 and 2010. He switched to playing for Netherlands to be able to play international cricket once again.
Peter Borren, the captain, had turned out for New Zealand in the 2002 ICC Under-19 World Cup.
Tom Cooper, who unavailable to play for Netherlands till recently due to his commitments in Australia's domestic league, was drafted into the squad as a last-minute addition.
Netherlands have played 9 ICC World Twenty20 matches, winning 4 of them and losing 5 matches
The Netherlands is placed in Group A alongwith Bangladesh, Oman, and Ireland with the matches taking place in Dharamsala. Its tournament opener, a crucial contest, is against the dangerous Bangladesh side on March 9. Only if it finishes on top of the group will it move on to the Super 10 stage.
“Bangladesh has fantastic cricketers, but so do we. Individuals and teams often place a lot of emphasis on the opposition rather than focusing on themselves. It’s more about enjoying the moment and allowing players to have fun. Bangladesh are going to be under as much pressure as us to go through to the second round,” said Anton Roux, the head coach.
What people are saying about them:
“This group has shown an immense amount of commitment to what we are trying to achieve on the field of play, and continued playing our brand of cricket. After a great season with Canterbury, the addition of Logan van Beek can only mean added value to the squad and we look forward to having him back.” - Anton Roux.
"I've played quite a bit of cricket, but I haven't played a lot in this setup. So in a way, I'm also a youngster in this setup. Also, a lot of the guys (in this squad) have played a lot of matches for the team, so they have the experience as well. I've just got a bit of different experience, and I'm happy to help out the team with that." - Roloef van der Merwe.
"Tom Cooper was part of the hugely successful 2014 World T20 team that progressed to the Super 10 phase as only Associate Member nation, so the current team will certainly benefit from Cooper's inclusion and experience to the current squad," - Jeroen Smits, Netherlands selector.
Pommie Mbangwa****Prediction–****Netherlands: Group Stage
I foresee a good tussle against Ireland but despite their success in this tournament in times past, this time is tougher for them. This is not to say that they can be underestimated, their side has been bolstered by the acquiring of Roelof van Dee Merwe's services and having playing this format for South Africa before moving, has some talent. He will be a good addition to the hard hitting Staphan Myburgh and the brothers Cooper, Tom and Ben who have done well for Peter Borren's side in the past.
Netherlands squad**:**Peter Borren (capt), Wesley Barresi, Logan van Beek, Mudassar Bukhari, Ben Cooper, Tom Cooper, Timm van der Gugten, Vivian Kingma, Ahsan Malik, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Michael Rippon, Pieter Seelaar. Reserve: Sikander Zulfiqar.
Fixtures**:Tuesday, March 9:**v Bangladesh, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
**Thursday, March 11:**v Oman, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
Saturday, March 13: v Netherlands, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
