The Netherlands are gearing up for the 2024 T20 World Cup early next year, kicking off preparations with a 16-man squad set to tour South Africa. The team will engage in a comprehensive seven-match program against top T20 sides in the country, providing valuable preparation for both sides.
This tour is thus helping the SA20 franchise teams in gearing up for the upcoming season’s competition, commencing on January 10 with a clash between the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and the Joburg Super Kings at St George’s Park in Gqeberha (formerly named Port Elizabeth).
The Dutch squad is scheduled to play two matches against the Sunrisers on January 4 and 6, followed by contests in the Western Cape. There, they will face the Paarl Royals twice and MI Cape Town, an outpost of the Mumbai Indians, at Newlands on January 8. The tour will conclude in Johannesburg with a match against the Lions.
The schedule for the games:
- January 4: NED vs Sunrisers
- January 6: NED vs Sunrisers
- January 7: NED vs Paarl Royals
- January 8: NED vs MI Cape Town
- January 9: NED vs Paarl Royals
- January 12: NED vs DP World Lions
- January 13: NED vs DP World Lions
Dutch national coach Ryan Cook has retained twelve players from the recent 50-over World Cup squad, with notable omissions being Colin Ackermann, Logan van Beek, Bas de Leede, and Roelof van der Merwe. The squad welcomes back pace bowler Viv Kingma and left-arm spinner Daniel Doram, both absent from the World Cup. Off-spinner Aryan Dutt, who made a significant impact in the World Cup, is also included.
Two uncapped players, South African-born batter Michael Levitt and pace bowler Kyle Klein, add a fresh dimension to the squad. After the South Africa tour, the Dutch team will embark on their ODI League 2 campaign, beginning with a tri-series against Nepal and Namibia in Kathmandu from February 10-24. Subsequently, they will participate in a T20 tri-series against the same opponents, both of whom have qualified for the T20 World Cup in June.
