KNCB Board moves to avert another crisis

The bitter internal divisions that all too frequently afflict the Dutch governing body (KNCB) claimed another victim last weekend with the resignation of Board member Reinout Scholte.

Scholte, who has held the High Performance portfolio since the current Board took over in 2022, has been a key member of the team led by Guido Landheer, deputising for him when he was out of action following a traffic accident and frequently speaking for the Board in general meetings.

In a statement released on Saturday he indicated that he had informed his colleagues in January that he intended to step down following this year’s spring general meeting, but adding that ‘recent developments and circumstances surrounding the new competition structure in the past few weeks, initiated by a few individuals, have led me to decide to immediately stop participating in meeting with the members.’

The statement continues:

‘The recent approach by certain individuals—something that has happened before—has
compromised my integrity and crossed my personal boundaries, values, and beliefs. With this personal and final decision, I have chosen to step out of this toxic system and set a clear boundary for myself. I trust that you will respect this.’

As we reported in January, Scholte had led the process which generated a revised structure for domestic competitions. The proposals, developed by a nine-man working party and adopted by the Board after discussion with club representatives, involve a reduction of the top divisions from ten teams to eight and a more even balance between 50-over and T20 competitions.

On 10 February the first overt sign of resistance to the agreed plan appeared, in the form of a memorandum signed by several former or current club administrators, circulated to all clubs by former VRA Amsterdam chairman John Wories.

Another of the signatories was former KNCB vice-chairman Steven Lubbers, who has repeatedly argued for larger divisions in order to give more clubs the opportunity to play at a notionally higher level.

The memorandum complained that the working party’s proposals had not been discussed in a full general meeting, and argued that smaller divisions would increase clubs’ anxieties about relegation, thus leading them to go even further in hiring overseas players.

This, the critics claimed, would in turn make it even less likely that locally-produced youngsters would be given a chance to play at the highest levels of domestic cricket.

The group appealed to the clubs to support a demand for a special general meeting to challenge the board’s decision; under the KNCB constitution a special meeting must be called if ten clubs requisition it.

Information is sparse about the events of the past fortnight which have now led to Scholte’s withdrawal, but ten clubs have now demanded a general meeting, which must be held on or before 21 March.

The Board’s position is that in matters relating to the organisation of domestic competitions the constitutional role of a general meeting is in any case no more than advisory, but if previous discussions of the competition are any guide the tone is likely to be fractious.

KNCB chairman Landheer believes that while constructive criticism is both welcome and necessary, it is deeply disappointing that ‘the old confrontational reflexes have not entirely disappeared’, leading in this case to the departure of a valued Board member.

In a statement published on the KNCB website on Monday, Landheer wrote: ‘There will always be differences of opinion, but the way in which at present we deal with each other and with these differences does not in our eyes lead to the best outcome for Dutch cricket.’

‘We see it in general meetings,’ he told Emerging Cricket on Sunday, ‘and we see it again here – it’s the wrong kind of energy, and it threatens the realisation of our ambitions.’

‘The Board and the club chairmen are all volunteers, who commit themselves out of love for the sport. We can’t go on behaving like this, when it leads to the departure of good people like Reinout Scholte.’

With another busy summer ahead for both the men’s and women’s teams, the Board is taking immediate action to find Scholte’s successor.

Monday’s statement, indeed, was careful to strike a positive tone as well: Landheer announced that South African-born businessman Jacques van Zuydam, global head of Technology Finance at port operators APM Terminals, has agreed to take over as treasurer from Mudi Allah Rakha, who stepped down last December.

Van Zuydam will be nominated at the special general meeting, and Landheer’s statement indicates that the Board plans to expand its number from five to seven, with the addition of members responsible for Marketing and Communication and for Events and Operations.

Independently of the special meeting, the Board is planning a less formal information evening on 3 March, at which interim CEO Lucas Hendrikse and Landheer himself will bring club representatives up to speed on matters which have been reviewed over the winter, including financial planning and the organisation of the KNCB office.

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