The Dutch cricket team is a national cricket team representing the Netherlands. It is administered by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (Royal Dutch Cricket Association) which is based in Nieuwegein in the centre of the country and is older than many renowned cricket clubs in the West Indies, Australia, and New Zealand.
Cricket has been played in the Netherlands since at least the 19th century, and in the 1860s was considered a major sport in the country. Many other sports (notably football) have long since surpassed cricket in popularity amongst the Dutch, and today there are around 6,000 cricketers in the Netherlands, making it the 25th most popular sport. The first national association, the forerunner of today's Royal Dutch Cricket Association, was formed in 1883 and the Netherlands achieved Associate Membership of the ICC in 1966.
The Dutch team has taken part in all eight ICC Trophy tournaments, winning the competition in Canada in 2001 and finishing as runners-up twice (in 1986 and 1990). The Netherlands have also participated in the 1996, 2003 and 2007 Cricket World Cups, and from 1996 onwards entered the English domestic NatWest Trophy competition (and its successor, the C&G Trophy). In 2004 they played first-class cricket as part of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, drawing with Scotland in Aberdeen and then going down to an innings defeat against Ireland in Deventer.
In 2005 the Dutch team beat the UAE to finish fifth in the ICC Trophy, a slightly disappointing result but one which meant that they qualified for the 2007 World Cup and would gain full One Day International status from 1 January 2006 until the 2009 ICC Trophy.
Netherlands Cricket Team
Current Squad
Jeroen Smits (captain), Adeel Raja, Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom de Grooth, Mark Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Geert-Maarten Mol, Hendrik-Jan Mol, Darron Reekers, Edgar Schiferli, Billy Stelling, Eric Szwarczynski, Ryan ten Doeschate, Bas Zuiderent
