The most crucial elements of the schedule are the six matches in the World Cricket League Championship, which will take them to Hong Kong next month, Kenya in October, and an unconfirmed location – probably the UAE – to play Namibia.
Starting the year in second place, just behind Papua New Guinea on the number of wins, the Netherlands will be eyeing the prize of top spot, with the prospect of a direct return to the ICC’s main ODI rankings table.
But in order to achieve that they will need to avoid a series of treacherous banana skins, all of them on foreign terrain. Hong Kong have developed into a strong well-balanced outfit and will present a special challenge on their own soil, while Kenya in Nairobi remain difficult opponents, as Hong Kong discovered to their cost in November.
The weather can be a further issue in both places, and with the Dutch having already lost two matches to rain, they cannot afford more rain-off matches.
Papua New Guinea play the UAE away in April and will then be at home to Scotland, while Hong Kong’s opponents in the penultimate round will be Nepal. That means that the meetings between PNG and Hong Kong in the final round, all of which is scheduled to be played in one country, may well be decisive, with the Dutch needing to win both matches against Namibia to stay in contention.
By comparison, the first-class Intercontinental Cup competition has faded in importance for Peter Borren’s side with Afghanistan’s overwhelming win in Voorburg, but it would be a mistake to underrate the significance of the clash between Ireland and the Netherlands at Malahide in August.
By that time Ireland will have played four-day rivals Afghanistan away at Greater Noida in a match which seems likely to decide which of the two gets the chance to challenge for Test status, but whatever the result of that game – and especially if Ireland come off second best – Afghanistan’s remaining matches against Hong Kong and the UAE and Ireland’s against the Netherlands and Scotland could well form part of a thrilling climax.
Looking forward, however, the Dutch will need to overcome their long-standing problems with the demands of first-class cricket if they are to remain among the leading Associates, and this year’s trio of games against Hong Kong, Ireland and Namibia will give them a chance to put that annihilation by Afghanistan behind them and focus upon building a team which can perform consistently in the Intercontinental Cup.
And then there’s Twenty20. This is, of course, where the Netherlands have had their biggest successes in recent years, beating England (twice) and Bangladesh, as well as twice defeating Ireland and reaching the final – eventually rained off – of the 2015 World T20 Qualifier.
The Desert T20 tournament is a welcome initiative, potentially providing some keen contests among the leading Associates, and Borren’s men will be keen to give a good account of themselves in a group phase which pits them against Oman, Scotland and Hong Kong, and which could see them facing the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan in the semi-finals next Friday.
None of this busy programme is scheduled to take place at home, and the question naturally arises what benefit the Dutch cricket public derives from all this activity.
Regaining ODI status is obviously vital if we are ever to see the return of events like South Africa’s 2012 visit to Amstelveen, and even attracting Full Members or their A teams to the Netherlands for T20 fixtures appears to be too great a challenge in an overcrowded international schedule.
There are plans for a European T20 tournament between the Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland towards the end of the summer, and it seems that some of these games will be played at home. There are many reasons why this needs to be a priority.
Paul van Meekeren’s breakthrough into English county ranks demonstrates that with talent and commitment Dutch-produced players can still make the grade, and with several more gifted young players carving out a place for themselves in the Topklasse, tournaments like this European event offer an environment in which these young talents can prove their mettle in front of a home crowd.