Hyderabad: The Netherlands are all set to start their World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 6 and their chances of lifting the coveted Trophy are obviously slim considering they are going to be pitted against quality teams. However, their prize lies in the participation only as the Dutch side has made it to the competition by outplaying two-time champions, West Indies. They have failed to get past a Test-playing nation in the marquee event so far with their victories coming only against Namibia and Scotland in 2003 and 2007 respectively.
Strength
The set of all-rounders possessed by the Netherlands will be their biggest strength as the players can contribute with both the bat and ball. They have named six all-rounders in the squad so the overall balance of the team is taken care of. Bas de Leede will be the leading all-rounder for the Dutch side with an experience of scoring 765 ODI runs and scalping 24 wickets.
Apart from him, Teja Nidamanuru and Max O’Dowd are also handy all-rounders as the duo can showcase their ability with both the bat and ball. Max O’Dowd averages 37.35 in ODI cricket and he can provide some stability at the top of the order. Further, they have a trio of Colin Ackermann, Shariz Ahmad, and veteran Roelof van der Merwe, who can contribute to both departments.
Weakness
Roelof van der Merwe is the experienced spinner in the side but there is none who can hunt in pairs with the Dutch spinner except for Aryan Dutt. Even Aryan has an average performance of taking 20 wickets from 25 matches with a bowling average of 48.25 even after playing most of the time against associate nations. Fred Klassen’s absence from the team might also affect the pace unit of the team. The bowler might have been effective for the Dutch team with the new ball as well as in the death overs. Thus, the bowling unit is a major area of concern for them.
Opportunity
