I've always been intrigued how nostalgia operates. Visiting an old haunt can be akin to walking into a time machine. Music can consume an individual with sentimentality. Meeting acquaintances from the past can revive emotions within.

I'm often overridden by the above when I see the colour orange. I am taken back to 1998, when as a teenager I was on a family European sojourn during the midst of World Cup football fever.

As an Australian, I needed to throw my support behind a team because my country was a round-ball novice at the time and had failed to qualify for the tournament in France.

I eventually settled on the Netherlands. Why? I wanted to support a team that hadn't won a world cup. Plus, my favourite player Dennis Bergkamp was on their team. Honestly? I was mesmerised by the distinguishable and dazzling jerseys. I loved the sea of orange that filled the stands of a Netherlands match. It was aesthetically pleasing to me.

Despite my football fandom waning since, the Dutch soft spot remains 15 years later.

I've never previously identified orange with cricket, apart from vaguely remembering orange cricket balls unsuccessfully being used in the late ‘90s during a trial of day/night Sheffield Shield matches in Australia.

But the iconic attire has been gracing cricket grounds for some time. The Netherlands has long been a mainland European power in the bat and ball sport, highlighted by several appearances in cricket's world cup.

The Netherlands are currently ranked 12th in the ICC's ODI rankings. In a major fillip for Dutch cricket, South Africa will play an ODI against the Netherlands in Amstelveen next month.

Few within the cricket world would be aware that it is the Dutch women who have outshone their male counterparts.

Unlike the men, the Dutch women boast prestigious possession of Test status and have consistently ranked in the top 10 in ODI rankings.

For the past four years, they have performed admirably in the Women's County Championships, testament to the development of women's cricket in the Netherlands.

Leonie Bennett is embodiment of the recent success. The precocious spin bowler made her international debut at 17 and is part of a new breed hoping to thrust the Netherlands into cricket prominence.

Despite being arguably continental Europe's best, cricket is still considered a novelty in the Netherlands. It is not a sport that attracts mainstream media coverage. Bennett was born into cricket fanaticism due to her British heritage and beloved sports in the Netherlands such as football and hockey have failed to sway.

Bennett, a member of the Netherlands' European Cup winning team, believes the allure of international cricket could entice more to wield a willow.

"I'm really proud and have a lot of pride when I play for the Netherlands," she says. "Cricket is getting more popular but we still only have about 150 women playing, which isn't enough. "We are starting to go to the schools and provide clinics. Last year we had the first schools' tournament, which was fantastic."

In non-traditional cricket countries, the sport is typecast as complex and laborious. It's difficult to attract new followers when despondently derided with unwanted stereotypes.

Bennett (19) believes it is integral to simplify the sport to the uninitiated.

"Cricket is a great game but it can be difficult to understand if you are not brought up with it," she says.

"That's why it is important for us involved in cricket to help people understand it in simpler terms. The logic behind the game can be difficult to grasp. Many find the fact you don't have to run if you hit it as initially confusing."

For now, cricket still occupies the bottom rungs of the Netherlands' sporting hierarchy. But I can envisage an orange bloom infiltrating the mainstream cricket consciousness.

Cricket is set to become even more colourful.