Win against Ireland in Rotterdam is a must to retain hopes of reaching final but missing key players including Ryan ten Doeschate
Ireland also without English county cricket trio
The Netherlands are in the last-chance saloon going into the ICC Intercontinental Cup clash with defending champions Ireland in Rotterdam starting on Wednesday.
While a win could lift the fourth-placed Dutch into second spot above Kenya in a table in which only the top two qualify for the final, defeat would leave it 18 points adrift of the African side and having played two games more.
So it really needs a huge effort from Jeroen Smits’ team to keep alive that hope of a spot in the final.
And fate has not dealt the Netherlands a kind hand going into the make-or-break encounter. Talented batting all-rounder Alexei Kervezee has damaged a hamstring and so will have to sit out the match.
Add to that the absence of Eric Szwarczynski, recovering from a broken toe, and, most importantly of all, Ryan ten Doeschate due to English county commitments with Essex and there are some significant holes to fill for the home line-up.
http://www.cricketeurope.net/ reports that Rifaiz Bakas replaces Kervezee while another batsman, Lesley Stokkers, is also drafted into the squad.
The scenario for Ireland, two-times defending champion, is slightly different. It has played two games less than the Netherlands – and one less than Kenya, the side directly above it – and is only 17 points behind the Africans in the race for that second place in the table.
Indeed, the listing already seems to be shaping up for a battle between Kenya and Ireland for a place in the final with Namibia well clear at the head of affairs after five straight wins.
What makes matters all the more enticing is that the two teams will go-head-to-head in the last round-robin match, a repeat of the 2005 final, when Ireland beat Kenya by six wickets in Windhoek.
With Scotland, in fifth place but with two games coming up against the bottom two sides Bermuda and Canada, the table should become a lot clearer by the end of August.
That, of course, is for the future. And in Ireland’s case, in order to get to the point where it has a chance of reaching this year’s final, it needs to get some wins under the belt, starting with the game in Rotterdam.
And Ireland, just like the Netherlands, is missing key players.
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Niall O’Brien (Northamptonshire) and captain William Porterfield (Gloucestershire) are all absent on English county duty, while another first choice player, former captain Trent Johnston, is ruled out through work commitments and Andrew White misses the match for personal reasons.
Ireland does have the consolation of welcoming back the increasingly influential all-rounder Kevin O’Brien, Niall’s brother, after injury, another all-rounder, James Hall comes in for White, leg-spinner Greg Thompson also slots into the squad and off-spinner Kyle McCallan takes over as captain.
Netherlands (from): Jeroen Smits (captain, wicketkeeper), Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan van Bunge, Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Geert-Maarten Mol, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Nick Statham, Bas Zuiderent.
Ireland (from): Kyle McCallan (captain), Andre Botha, Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, Thinus Fourie, James Hall, Gary Kidd, Kevin O' Brien, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Roger Strydom, Greg Thompson, Gary Wilson (wicketkeeper).
ICC Intercontinental Cup table (as of 8 July, after Canada v Bermuda, ahead of the Netherlands v Ireland)
P W L D Pts
Namibia 5 5 0 0 82
Kenya 4 3 1 0 66
Ireland 3 2 0 1 49
Netherlands 5 3 2 0 48
Scotland 4 1 1 2 32
UAE 7 1 5 1 29
Canada 5 1 4 0 26
Bermuda 5 1 4 0 26
Key:
Six points for first innings lead
14 points for a win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
Three points for a draw
Top two sides qualify for the final at a venue to be confirmed
ICC Intercontinental Cup form guide
Netherlands:
Beat Canada by 45 runs, Toronto, June/July 2007
Lost to Scotland by innings and 59 runs, Aberdeen, August 2007
Beat Bermuda by innings and 44 runs, Amstelveen, August 2007
Lost to Namibia by seven wickets, Windhoek, March 2008
Beat UAE by 64 runs, Sharjah, April 2008
Ireland:
Drew with Scotland, Belfast, August 2007 (Ireland secured first innings points)
Beat Bermuda by innings and 145 runs, Clontarf, August 2007
Beat UAE by nine wickets, Abu Dhabi, March 2008
Upcoming matches:
9 – 12 July – Netherlands v Ireland
10 – 13 July – Bermuda v Scotland
16 – 19 July – Canada v Scotland
The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception four years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.
Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.
Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.
The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.
ICC MEDIA RELEASE