Supers 12s: All You Need to know about the Netherlands Cricket Team

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The Netherlands Cricket Team represents the Kingdom of Netherlands and is run under the Royal Dutch Cricket Association. Since at least the 19th century, cricket has been practiced in the Netherlands, where it was regarded as an important sport in the 1860s.

Although football has long since overtaken cricket in popularity among Dutch people, there are now about 6,000 cricket players in the country. The Netherlands became an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1966, and the first national association.

Netherlands participated in all eleven ICC Trophy/World Cup Qualifier competitions, taking first place in Canada in 2001 and placing second twice (in 1986 and 1990). The Netherlands also took part in 1996, 2003, 2007, and 2011 Cricket World Cups, and starting in 1995.

The national team competed in the domestic NatWest Trophy tournament in England. They participated in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in first-class cricket in 2004, drawing with Scotland in Aberdeen and losing to Ireland in Deventer by an innings.

Formation in the 19th Century – Netherlands Cricket Team

Cricketing Links between the Netherlands and England Teams

During the Napoleonic Wars in the nineteenth century, British soldiers brought cricket to the Netherlands. In the 1870s, further clubs formed. In 1881, the Netherlands national team played its debut match. Despite having 22 players on the field, they were however defeated.

Early century games

In 1901, the team made another trip to England. On the tour, they participated in five games, losing three and drawing two. The initial international match, played in 1905 versus Belgium, ended in a tie. Due in part to the Dutch sympathizing with the Boers in the Boer War and not being drawn to an English-related sport, cricket saw a drop in popularity in the first decade of the 20th century, especially among young players.

The Dutch touring group ‘The Flamingos’ was founded in 1921 and later went on multiple trips to England. English teams continued to tour during this time as well. Dutch cricket is thought to have reached its peak in the 1930s.

1990’s

The Netherlands hosted the ICC Trophy in 1990, the first competition held outside of England, and once again came in second place to Zimbabwe. They defeated a West Indies XI by five wickets in 1991, an England XI by seven wickets in 1993, and South Africa XI by nine wickets in 1994. The Dutch finally made it to the World Cup in 1994 after placing third in the ICC Trophy. Although they were eliminated in the first round of the 1996 World Cup, they played well against England.

The Netherlands Cricket Team in the 21st Century

The Netherlands eventually took home the ICC Trophy in 2001 after defeating Namibia in Toronto. Thus, they earned a spot in the 2003 World Cup. They again fell short of making it past the opening stage of the competition, although they did win their first one-day international match against Namibia.

The Netherlands came fifth in the 2005 ICC Trophy, earning a spot in the 2007 Cricket World Cup and one-day international status until the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier. They were supposed to play Kenya in their first one-day match with this new status in March 2006, but this match was postponed due to a Kenyan trip to Bangladesh. Instead, they played Sri Lanka in their first ODI at home (and 12th overall) while playing under this status. The two-game series was however won by Sri Lanka 2-0, with a then-record ODI total of 443-0.

When the Netherlands Cricket Team surprise the world

The Netherlands Cricket Team took part in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in August 2008. This was their first time participating in the Twenty20 International games. Based on their run rate, they took first place in Group B. The Netherlands and Ireland split the trophy after defeating Scotland in the semifinals. The final was postponed due to the weather. In the opening game of the ICC World Twenty20 2009, the Netherlands surprised the cricketing world by defeating England.

Ahead of their last game, the Netherlands had one win and one loss in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. They needed to chase down Ireland’s total in 14.2 overs or fewer in order to defeat Zimbabwe and Ireland on net run rate. This appeared unexpected given that Ireland scored 189. However, they were able to reach 193/4 in 13.5 overs because of their aggressive and excellent batting, securing their place in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 Super 10. Despite losing their first three games in the group, including a 39/10 defeat to Sri Lanka, they managed to surprise England in their final match.

The team’s honors

Netherlands Cricket Team	Honors
ICC 6 Nations Challenge	Runners-up – (2000)
ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier	Champions (2008, 2015 and 2019)Runners-up (2022)

Predictions for the T20 World Cup 2022

After a terrible competition in which they lost three of their first three games and were ultimately bowled out for 44 by Sri Lanka. Netherlands proved the value of their extremely jam-packed summer schedule by making it to the Super 12.

Tim Pringle’s left-arm spin and the strong speed attack of Paul van Meekeren and Fred Klaassen. Along with Timm van der Gugten, allow the Netherlands to pose a threat to opposing batting lineups. Paul van Meekeren has also been timed at 91 mph during this tournament.

Colin Ackermann and Tom Cooper, an experienced middle-order combo, must improve on their first-round performances in order to answer the question of whether they can score enough runs.