The lone Associate nation competing in this
competition is Netherlands, which qualified after placing second behind three
Full Members, namely Ireland, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe, in the World Cup
qualification. They have only ever made four appearances at the tournament, and
this is their first since it was last held on the subcontinent in 2011. They
made their debut in 1996 and dropped each of their five games. Since then, they
have participated in three tournaments (in 2003, 2007 and 2011), winning two
games (against Namibia in 2003 and Scotland in 2007).
Due to the uneven distribution of international
cricket matches, Netherlands frequently go lengthy stretches without playing
much, hence there isn’t much to say here. In July, during the qualifiers, they
played their last competitive match, and they made a statement by defeating
West Indies in a Super Over after the scores were tied at 374. They beat
Scotland by chasing 278 in just 43 overs to secure their spot in India.
Teja Nidamanuru is one of many Dutch cricketers who
compete against the finest in the world while working a day job; he is a
product manager for a technology business. He has been amazingly successful at
both. During the series against Zimbabwe in March of this year, he struck the
Netherlands’ first ODI century since 2014, and he followed it up with a second
one three months later in their victory over the West Indies. Nidamanuru has
the capacity to construct an innings, making him both the ideal strike-rotation
partner for the diligent Scott Edwards as well as the foundation around which
more naturally aggressive players like Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, or Logan
van Beek may bat. He was born in southern India’s Vijayawada so this tournament
will be a homecoming of sorts for him.
An outstanding all-around player in the making is Bas
de Leede. At the age of 18, he made his international debut, and leagues like
the ILT20 and the Hundred have shown interest in him. He has taken the most
wickets for the Netherlands in 2023 (15 at an average of 22.13), and during the
qualifications against Scotland, he struck his first ODI century, securing
Netherlands’ passage to India.
Wesley Barresi and Roelof van der Merwe, who are 39
and 38 years old, respectively, might view this competition as the format’s
final outing. The only current team member who has participated in a 50-over
World Cup is Barresi, who also announced his retirement in February 2021.