Netherlands to face tough time in ODI Cricket World Cup

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 11 Sep 2023

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Simon Lewis 11 Sep 2023

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Netherlands squad includes Engelbrecht and recalled duo of Ackermann and Van der Merwe.
This will be the Netherlands’ fifth appearance at the Cricket World Cup.
The 2023 Cricket World Cup will be hosted by India from 5 October to 19 November 2023.

Expired

Colin Ackermann hits over the top against South Africa. (credit: Brenton Edwards / AFP via Getty Images)

Netherlands set to struggle

Currently ranked 14th in ODI cricket, Netherlands are the lowest-ranked side in this year’s World Cup and, despite having some talented players in their squad, are likely to struggle to pick up any wins. Left-arm seamer Fred Klaassen will miss the competition because of a stress fracture, and Tim Pringle has also pulled out through injury.

Netherlands set to struggle
World Cup history
Qualification for 2023
Netherlands squad for CWC 2023
Fixtures

"Tim Pringle picked up a couple of niggles, so he won't be coming to the pre-World Cup camp in Alur," said head coach Ryan Cook. "He's obviously coming back from quite a big operation and we have been tracking his progress."

The 21-year-old failed to impress for the Netherlands in last year’s T20 World Cup, but he is rated as a promising talent.

Colin Ackermann, Paul van Meekeren and Roelof van der Merwe all missed the World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe as they had county cricket commitments to honour, but have all been included in the squad, with Michael Levitt, Vivian Kingma and Clayton Floyd all missing out.

Another South Africa-born player, batter Sybrand Engelbrecht, has also been included in the 15-strong squad. Engelbrecht will be 35 in the World Cup and averages 45.53 in List A cricket at a strike rate of 78.89.

World Cup history

The Netherlands first qualified for the World Cup in 1996, but had to wait for their next World Cup appearance in 2003 to pick up their first win, a 64-run victory over Namibia in the Dutch side’s 11th World Cup outing. They picked up their second (and last) World Cup win in 2007 when they outplayed Scotland by eight wickets.

Their last World Cup was in 2011, which was a miserable tournament for them, losing heavily in almost all of their matches. Wesley Barresi was part of the 2011 squad and is the only member of the current squad with World Cup experience.

Qualification for 2023

The Netherlands and Sri Lanka won their ticket to the World Cup after ending first and second in the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in June and July. Sri Lanka topped the group stages with the Netherlands in second place, with Sri Lanka winning the final between the two sides by 128 runs.

Despite having some talented players in their squad, the Netherlands are all but guaranteed not to progress from the Group stage. They are likely to lose all of their matches, although have the potential to pull off one or two upsets.