Dutch men's cricket team wins prestigious international Award
Published at 07 April, 2023The Dutch men's cricket team has won the European Associate Member Men's Performance of the Year Award. They win the prestigious award thanks to exceptional performances at the latest World Cup held in Australia in November 2022. The Dutch team qualified directly for the World Cup that will be held in the United States and the West Indies in 2024.
"This is a great recognition of the team's performance during the tournament and the growth it has been experiencing under coach Ryan Cook and his staff since the summer. As KNCB, we are very proud of players, coaches and staff," says Reinout Scholte, board member of the Royal Netherlands Cricket Association (KNCB).
In July 2022, the men's team qualified for the T20 World Cup, which took place in Australia in November last year. The Netherlands caused an absolute sensation by not only reaching the Super 12, but also beating the Zimbabwe and South Africa. Through these victories, the Dutch team qualified directly for the World Cup in 2024. Previously, this always had to be enforced through qualifying tournaments.
"The world saw the Netherlands get better and better, grow in self-confidence and fight to the end," says Roland Lefebvre, KNCB’s High Performance Manager. "Direct qualification for the T20 World Cup in 2024 was the deserved result, which now also leads to this prestigious award."
The Netherlands is also a candidate for the global ICC Development Award, which will be awarded later this year. The other candidates are Namibia, the United Arab Emirates and Japan.
CEO Monica Visser adds: "Dutch cricket is on the rise. The men achieve historic results. The women's team regained its One Day International status in 2022 and now competes with top countries again. With the support of our sponsors Fairtree for the men and SISAR and HCLTech for the women, we want to maintain this upward trend in the future."
