Logan van Beek has not played for Netherlands since the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh © Getty Images
Canterbury-born allrounder Logan van Beek has been named in Netherlands’ 15-man squad for the World T20 in India, which starts from March 8. Van Beek had played seven matches in the previous T20 World Cup in Bangladesh for five wickets and 78 runs, but has not played for Netherlands since. In terms of recent match practice, van Beek had played ten matches in Canterbury’s title-winning Ford Trophy campaign.
Netherlands coach Anton Roux welcomed back Van Beek and said that he was happy with the team’s performance in the UAE, where they won their Intercontinental Cup and World Cricket League Championship matches against UAE in addition to playing two T20Is against the hosts and Scotland.
“After a very successful tour of the UAE, I am happy to announce an exciting group of Dutch cricketers that will represent The Netherlands in India at the WT20,” Roux said.
“This group has shown an immense amount of commitment to what we are trying to achieve on the field of play, and to continue playing our brand of cricket. After a great season with Canterbury, the addition of Logan van Beek can only mean added value to the squad and we look forward to having him back. Being able to showcase our skills on the world stage in a tournament like this is a wonderful opportunity that we are very grateful for, and we intend to add more magical memories for the boys in orange. For some this will be a last shot at World Cup glory and for some it will be a first taste of cricket in magical India, which means it all adds up for some exciting times for all involved.”
Opener Michael Swart, who was part of Netherlands’ recent tour to the UAE, though, has been left out of the squad. He had hit an unbeaten 60 in Netherlands’ seven-wicket win over UAE in the ICC World Cricket League championship. However, Swart had managed only 35 runs and two wickets in the subsequent two T20s.
Tim Gruijters Tom Heggelman, and Eric Szwarczynski who all were part of Netherland’s previous World T20 squad did not find a place either. The squad for India includes 18-year-old Sikandar Zulfiqar who made his T20I debut for Netherlands against UAE earlier this week.
The top eight teams have a direct entry into the main draw of the World T20 but Netherlands, who are ranked 12th, will have to go through a qualifying round. They are placed in Group A of the first round with Bangladesh, Oman, and Ireland and will play one match with each team, in Dharamsala. Their tournament opener is against Bangladesh on March 9. Only if they finish on top of the group will they move on to the main tournament.
Squad: Wesley Barresi, Logan van Beek, Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Ben Cooper, Timm van der Gugten, Vivian Kingma, Ahsan Malik, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Michael Rippon, Pieter Seelaar, Sikander Zulfiqar.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo