The format of this World Cup is such that it is highly difficult for the Associate teams to qualify. But against all odds, the Netherlands has made it to the biggest event. Their qualification means that the 2-time champion and the most dominant side of the early ODI days will no longer be part of the World Cup. Nevertheless, the Netherlands deserves to be here and did so in a great fashion.
Now, coming to what they can do at the biggest stage. They have a pretty settled top order of Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, and Wesley Baressi; they might not be as aggressive as the other teams in the tournament, but they certainly have the ability to lay a good foundation for the middle order and the lower order to build on it.
The middle order was bit of problem, but with the recent exploits of 2 of their most promising players - Teja Nidamanuru and Bas de Leede, they seem to have found the solution. Nidamanuru and de Leede have been scoring big runs of late and they recently scored a century each in the World Cup qualifiers. Colin Ackermann is another amazing player with a good record. He might still not be able to make it to the first-choice playing xi, but his experience will certainly be of great help at some stage in the tournament.
Skipper Scott Edwards will be playing the role of the finisher. He has all the shots in his book to take the team to a good total. Roelof van der Merwe would lend him the support in the final overs. It would great help to these 2 if the other other lower order players step up in the finishing role. Edwards also doubles up as the wicket-keeper and Baressi will be his backup behind the stumps.
Logan van Beek will be leading the pace attack which also consists of the exciting Ryan Klein and Paul van Meekeren. de Leede will also add to that attack, as his pace will be a good addition to the pace attack.
In the Indian conditions, their spin strength will definitely be tested. Their spin attack has a good variety with the likes of Shariz Ahmed, Aryan Dutt, Roelof van der Merwe, and Saqib Zulfiqar. The experience of van der Merwe will give them an advantage in the spinning conditions. If the conditions favor spin, they might even go with 3 spinners in the paying xi in addition to the part-time spin of players like Ackermann and Nidamanuru.
They also have an uncapped player, Sybrand Engelbrecht, who has experience of playing in South African domestic cricket. He can be a utility player in both batting and bowling.
Expectations: They will certainly not be able to make it to the top 4, but the fact that they made it this far in itself is a great achievement. They are expected to finish in the bottom 2.
15-man Squad:
Batsmen
Max O'Dowd
Vikramjit Singh
Teja Nidamanuru
Wicket Keepers
Scott Edwards(captain)
Wesley Barresi
All-Rounders
Colin Ackermann
Bas de Leede
Saqib Zulfiqar
Roelof van der Merwe
Sybrand Engelbrecht
Bowlers
Aryan Dutt
Ryan Klein
Shariz Ahmad
Logan van Beek
Paul van Meekeren
Possible playing XI:
1. Vikramjit Singh
2. Max O'Dowd
3. Wesley Barresi
4. Bas de Leede
5. Teja Nidamanuru
6. Scott Edwards(C & WK)
7. Saqib Zulfiqar
8. Roelof van der Merwe
9. Ryan Klein
10. Shariz Ahmad/Aryan Dutt
11. Logan van Beek
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