Netherlands in search of new heroes for CWC Qualifier success
Netherlands captain Scott Edwards has the monumental task of leading the Dutch side riddled with several absentees in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier. However, the captain doesn't need to look too far back for confidence, having led the team out of the First Round into the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
In the absence of several key players due to commitments in the UK, including the experienced Roelof van der Merwe and Colin Ackermann, Netherlands will be in search of fresh faces that would be keen to make an impression on the world stage.
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One such name is Noah Croes, who is in line for a full debut after a maiden national call-up. Having previously played club cricket with Edwards, the wicketkeeper-batter could prove to be an ace up the skipper's sleeve at the Qualifiers.
On the verge of Netherlands debut, the 23-year-old praised the leadership qualities of Scott Edwards and credited the Dutch skipper for seamless integration into the team.
"The great thing about Scott is he leads by example," Croes said speaking to the ICC. "He’s got a presence within this group but having played with him and grown up with him, he’s a very deep thinker, he thinks a lot about the game and he’s a very good tactician.
"It’s great to play with him again. It would have been six or seven years ago that we were at Richmond, so now, training together, doing drills, it feels like we are back training at Richmond together.
"He’s grown a lot and is doing a really good job. He’s still Scott to me, he’s not the Dutch captain, it’s really good and he’s facilitated that. He keeps backing me and telling me to keep expressing myself so he’s given me a lot of confidence."
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Hailing from Melbourne but born in Amsterdam to a Dutch father, Croes embraces his bilingual upbringing. The youngster may have drawn some playful teasing from his teammates, courtesy of his Australian accent while speaking Dutch, but Kroes is thoroughly enjoying his time in Zimbabwe, which was a mere dream few months ago.
“I reached out to Scott and asked ‘What do you reckon? How is the environment? What do you think, is it worth coming over?’,” said Croes.
“He said it was a no-brainer and told me to come over and it’s all happened pretty quickly since that chat. I’m back at the same club I was at in 2019, that feels really comfortable and I was able to play some good cricket at the start of the year and I got selected, which is awesome.
“It was very unexpected. If you’d have asked me three months ago if I was going to be in Zimbabwe, playing the qualifiers, I would have dreamt about it. It’s been a really cool experience so I’m just drinking it all in.”
Playing Sri Lanka in a warm-up match on Tuesday was a special moment for the 23-year-old, who will be looking to add a few more of those by the time the Qualifier ends.
The Dutch now have their sights set on their opening match against Zimbabwe on 20 June and will be determined to make a strong start against the hosts. Croes exuded confidence in the team's potential, suggesting that they have the ability to spring a few surprises.
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"The vibe within the group and the confidence we have, and the style we want to play, we definitely think will hold up at this tournament," he added.
“The great thing about the squad is that we are so flexible and a lot of guys play different roles and complement each other. And we have a lot of guys in form. Tournaments like this are funny, if you get on a roll, stuff starts to happen so hopefully we can hit our straps come the 20th when we play Zimbabwe and keep the momentum running.
“We know it’s going to be tough, there are a lot of good cricket teams we are going to play against, but the feeling is really good.”
With just three wins in 24 matches, Netherlands finished bottom of the Cricket World Cup Super League. Looking to qualify for the showpiece event for the first time since 2011, Netherlands have a mountain to climb in the Qualifier.
v Zimbabwe, June 20 - Harare Sports Club
v USA, June 22 - Takashinga Cricket Club
v Nepal, June 24 - Takashinga Cricket Club
v Scotland, June 27 - Takashinga Cricket Club
Netherlands have made four appearances in the final stages of the Cricket World Cup, with the first one coming in 1996.
However, they have been unable to progress beyond the group stages. Now, they are determined to break that barrier and secure their first appearance in the tournament since 2011.
Netherlands have several players absent due to UK commitments but they will be glad that Bas de Leede is in the squad. They will be hoping he can bring his form from the Vitality Blast – where he has the likes of Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone on his list of wickets – to the Qualifier.
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He was one of the key performers when Netherlands made it to the Super 12 stage in the T20 World Cup last year, picking up 13 wickets in eight matches while also contributing important runs with the bat.
Scott Edwards (c), Max O'Dowd, Logan van Beek, Vikram Singh, Aryan Dutt, Viv Kingma, Bas de Leede, Noah Croes, Ryan Klein, Teja Nidamanuru, Wesley Barresi, Shariz Ahmad, Clayton Floyd, Michael Levitt, Saqib Zulfiqar.