History of the Netherlands men at the Cricket World Cup
Published at 09 June, 2023The Netherlands men participated in the 50-over World Cup on five occasions: in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2011 and 2023. A total of 29 matches were played in the group stage, of which the Netherlands won four.
In 1994 the Netherlands qualified for the 50 over Cricket World Cup for the first time in history. At the CWC in India and Pakistan in 1996 they took on New Zealand, South Africa, England, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Although the team did not win any of these encounters, the Dutch did impress against England (279-230).
In 1997 the Dutch missed out for the 1999 World Cup, but in 2001 they won the ICC Trophy which meant that they qualified for he World Cup in South Africa in 2003. The Netherlands almost caused an upset in the first match, bowling out India for 204, but they were unable to chase that meagre score. They did book their first ever World Cup victory however over Namibia, when Kloppenburg and Van Noortwijk recorded the first two ever Dutch World Cup centuries.
In 2007 the Dutch took part in the World Cup in the West Indies, recording a win over Scotland (136-140/2).
During their World Cup appearance in 2011 the Netherlands was beaten by England (292/6-296/4) and Ireland (306-307/4) despite two Ryan Ten Doeschate tons.
The Netherlands missed out on the 2015 and 2019 World Cups. In 2023 however there was another, albeit slim, chance of making the Cricket World Cup. In an extremely strong event, including Ireland, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Scotland and hosts Zimbabwe, the Dutch managed to reach the final together with Sri Lanka, thus qualifying once again for the first time since 2011.
In the 2023 World Cup in India the Netherlands played nine matches. For the first time in history two Full Members were beaten: South Africa (245-207, Scott Edwards 78*) and Bangladesh (229-142, Edwards 68, Paul van Meekeren 4-23).
