Netherlands name 15-player squad for World Cup Qualifier, Ackermann, Klaassen, van der Merwe not included
May 24, 2023
Amsterdam [Netherlands], May 24 : The Netherlands on Wednesday named their 15-player squad to take part in the upcoming ICC Men's World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.
Experienced wicketkeeper-batter Scott Edwards will once again lead the Netherlands squad and the team comprises a competitive group even though the list does not have some notable names.
Many key players - including veteran duo Roelof van der Merwe and Colin Ackermann - will miss the tournament due to playing commitments in England's County Championship, though young all-rounder Bas de Leede will travel for the tournament.
The Dutch sides' hopes of qualifying for the 50-over World Cup at the end of the year will likely rest with the likes of Max O'Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Teja Nidamanuru and Edwards with the bat, and Logan van Beek, Viv Kingma and Aryan Dutt with the ball.
Despite the absence of many performers, Edwards is confident his team has enough firepower to compete well during the three-week tournament.
"Coming off the back of a three-game series in Zimbabwe a few months ago, we have been really intentional in our preparation for the qualifiers and we are confident the squad we have picked can play a brand of cricket that will be successful in these conditions," Edwards said in an official statement released by Netherlands Cricket.
"We have a good mixture of experienced players along with some exciting young players who have performed well in the domestic Pro Series and club season leading into this tournament," Edwards added.
The Netherlands are in Group A for the Zimbabwe event and will start their Qualifier campaign against the tournament hosts at Harare Sports Club on June 20.
The Netherlands finished in 13th place in the recent ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League.
Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (c) (wk), Max O'Dowd, Logan van Beek, Vikram Singh, Aryan Dutt, Viv Kingma, Bas de Leede, Noah Croes, Ryan Klein, Teja Nidamanuru, Wesley Barresi, Shariz Ahmad, Clayton Floyd, Michael Levitt and Saqib Zulfiqar.
