One Day Match Netherlands v Zimbabwe XI Amstelveen

[jamthala]

Zimbabwe next on crowded Dutch agenda

With scarcely a moment to draw breath, the Dutch squad return from their magnificent win over Bangladesh in Glasgow on Tuesday with just two days to prepare for their next engagement, a one-day match against a Zimbabwe XI in Amstelveen on Friday.

And that will be followed – with a full round of Topklasse fixtures sandwiched in between – by an Intercontinental Cup match against the Zimbabweans at the same venue, starting on Sunday. Originally scheduled for Westvliet in Voorburg, this game has been moved to Amstelveen after the pitches at the original venue were found unsuitable during the World Cricket League tournament earlier this month.

The sides which take the field against the African visitors will, it is true, differ somewhat from that which took the Netherlands onto the ICC’s ODI rankings table. Skipper Peter Borren will be rested for the one-day match, with Bas Zuiderent taking over the captaincy. Originally omitted for the four-day game as well, Borren will now resume the captaincy, replacing Adeel Raja in the squad.

Also missing from the one-day squad are wicketkeeper Atse Buurman, Alexei Kervezee, Mark Jonkman and Bernard Loots. They are replaced by Steven de Bruin (subject to a fitness test), Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Ruud Nijman and Pieter Seelaar.

For the four-dayer Mudassar Bukhari is unavailable, and Tom Cooper and Brad Kruger are both ineligible to play in the Intercontinental Cup. Their places are taken by debutant Tom Heggelman, Wilfred Diepeveen and Berend Westdijk, the latter two having made their first-class debuts against Scotland last month.

The Zimbabweans, whose participation in the Intercontinental Cup is in itself controversial and which is intended to clear a path for the side’s return to the Test arena, have selected a strong and experienced 15-man squad for their visits to the Netherlands and Canada, with a total of 299 ODIs accumulated amongst them. The size of the travelling party underlines the difference between the haves and have-nots of international cricket.

Three of them, captain Vusi Sibanda, Charles Coventry and Keith Dabengwa, played Tests before Zimbabwe’s ‘voluntary’ exile began, while Coventry, Craig Ervine and Chamu Chibhabha were all in the full ODI side which played a tri-series against India and Sri Lanka in June. So even if Zimbabwe have saved any potential blushes by fielding a mixed side for these encounters, they will provide tough opposition for less than full strength Dutch teams.

Sibanda played a crucial role in Zimbabwe’s Intercontinental Cup victory over Kenya in October, hitting 209 and 116 not out, with support coming from wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva, who made 67 in the first innings, and Chibhabha, who contributed 64 to a match-winning stand of 166 with Sibanda in the second.

Without a win in their four Cup matches so far, the Dutch can focus on development for the future, and that may mean a first-class debut for 23-year-old Excelsior allrounder Tom Heggelman, whose 128 against Denmark was one of the few highlights for the Netherlands in last week’s European Championships.

The squads are:
Zimbabwe:
Vusi Sibanda (captain), Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhabha, Charles Coventry, Keith Dabengwa, Craig Ervine, Timcyen Maruma, Shingirai Masakadza, Natsai M’Shangwe, Forster Mutizwa, Samuel Mwakayeni, Ed Rainsford, Nathan Waller, and Sean Williams.

The Netherlands:
One-day squad:
Bas Zuiderent (VOC, captain), Wesley Barresi (VRA), Steven de Bruin (ACC), Tom Cooper (VRA), Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman (both HCC), Brad Kruger (Bradford/Leeds UCCE), Mudassar Bukhari (ACC), Ruud Nijman (Hermes-DVS), Adeel Raja (VRA), Pieter Seelaar, Nick Statham (both Hermes-DVS), and Eric Szwarczynski (VRA).
Intercontinental Cup squad:
Peter Borren (VRA, captain), Barresi, De Bruin, De Grooth, Wilfred Diepeveen (Voorburg), Tom Heggelman (Excelsior ’20), Maurits Jonkman, Nijman, Seelaar, Statham, Szwarczynski, and Berend Westdijk (HBS).

[jamthala]

hope matsikenyari and chitara fires,
both are my favourite.