Six changes in Netherlands squad for Centurion

Dutch national coach Ryan Campbell has made six changes to his squad from that which took part in the T20 World Cup last month as he prepares for the Netherlands’ Super League series against South Africa in Centurion, starting on 26 November.

Only one of the changes appears to be entirely voluntary, with the omission of Voorburg leg-spinner Philippe Boissevain, who was in the squads for both the T20 World Cup and the Super League series against Ireland, but did not play in either.

Saqib Zulfiqar (Punjab), who did play against Ireland, has been preferred this time, perhaps because he is better established as a batter; he has played eleven times for the Netherlands, four of them in ODIs.

Already dealing with the retirement of Ryan ten Doeschate, Campbell has also been faced by the request of three players, Ben Cooper, Paul van Meekeren and Tobias Visée, not to be considered for personal reasons. The squad is also without fast bowling allrounder Logan van Beek, who is presumably back in New Zealand with Wellington.

In comes Essex pace man Shane Snater, who has played 33 times for the Netherlands across all formats and taken 38 wickets. Snater had a successful season with his county, taking 31 wickets in the championship at 16.48 and 13 in List A matches.

He will join the returning Viv Kingma, along with Fred Klaassen, Brandon Glover, Timm van der Gugten and Bas de Leede in the pace attack, which will need to be at its sharpest and most accurate if the Dutch are to hope to compete with their hosts on equal terms.

Also included are the HCC trio of opener Musa Nadeem, middle-order batter Boris Gorlee, and slow left-armer Clayton Floyd.

Musa played in one match against Ireland, while Floyd appeared in two T20 Internationals against Scotland in 2019. He was the leading wicket-taker in the Netherlands’ domestic Topklasse competition last season.

Gorlee has yet to play for the full Dutch side in any format, although he was, like Musa and Floyd, in the Dutch team which took part in the recent European T10 Championships in Spain, where Floyd made his mark with a 35-ball 115 against Romania.

If this party is compared with that which took on Ireland in Utrecht, the most notable additions are Leicestershire’s Colin Ackermann and Somerset’s Roelof van der Merwe, neither of whom was available for that series because of county commitments.

It will be an interesting return for Van der Merwe, whose last ODI appearance in Centurion was for South Africa against England almost exactly twelve years ago, before he made the move to his adopted country.

Announcing the squad, Campbell said: ‘After the disappointment of the World Cup, we will look to bounce back against a very good South African outfit. I’m extremely excited to take HCC youngsters Boris Gorlee, Musa Ahmad and Clayton Floyd with us.

‘The experience of living and breathing international cricket in South Africa will be invaluable for them.’

Campbell was also able to announce that Ten Doeschate would join the squad ‘as part of our backroom staff to help mentor our young players.’

Dutch Squad: Pieter Seelaar (VOC, captain), Colin Ackermann (Leicestershire), Scott Edwards (VOC), Clayton Floyd (HCC), Brandon Glover (Northamptonshire), Boris Gorlee (HCC), Timm van der Gugten (Glamorgan), Viv Kingma (Voorburg), Fred Klaassen (Kent), Bas de Leede (Voorburg), Roelof van der Merwe (Somerset), Musa Nadeem (HCC), Stephan Myburgh (Punjab), Max O’Dowd (VOC), and Saqib Zulfiqar (Punjab).

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