Experience Van der Merwe and Van Meekeren decisive for victory over Scotland
Published at 10 May, 2025The Netherlands has won the first meeting with Scotland with 282-263. Half centuries by Max O'Dowd, Scott Edwards and Zach Lion-Cachet determined the Dutch final score at 282/7. With George Munsey, Scotland seemed to be heading for an easy victory, but the experience of the Dutch bowlers Paul van Meekeren and Roelof van der Merwe was decisive in the end.
Knowing that Scotland had been unable to chase UAE's total on Thursday, captain Scott Edwards opted for batting first. Michael Levitt (28) was the first to fall in a 75-run partnership for the first wicket in just over twelve overs.
Max O'Dowd (64) and Zach Lion-Cachet (78) brought the score to 208/3 in the 42nd before Scott Edwards and Teja Nidamanuru (19) made for a smooth partnership with spectacular running. In the final over, Edwards was caught for another solid 70. The final score was 282/7; Brad Currie took 4-52 for the Scots.
Scotland innings
The Netherlands got the top bats Berrington and McMullen cheaply (two wickets for Paul van Meekeren), but George Munsey stood his ground and accounted for more than three-quarters of the Scottish score for quite some time. Shortly after reaching his century, it was veteran Roelof van der Merwe who provided the crucial breakthrough (Munsey cb for 106). Matthew Cross (47) also fell victim to the accuracy of the left arm spinner. With nine wickets down, 29 runs from the last over proved to be an impossible task for the Scots as the Netherlands won by 19 runs. Van Meekeren 3-39, Van der Merwe 3-34, Edwards took three catches.
