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March 3rd will see Netherlands take on one-day cricket giants South Africa. After the unthinkable happened yesterday when Cup minnows Ireland triumphed over the much vaunted England line-up, the Oranje should believe that anything is possible and take on the Proteas with renewed vigour.
The teams
South Africa have played just one match in the Cup so far and nothing about it suggested any chinks in the armour. Their 7 wicket win over the West Indies saw AB de Villiers sparkle with a 100 in his dual role of wicketkeeper/key batsman. Opposition captain Darren Sammy paid fitting tribute to his innings, saying, "He played like a senior player", referring to the skill with which de Villiers timed and executed his knock.
The Proteas broke from tradition by including 3 spinners in their side, one of whom opened their bowling. The move paid off, with leg-spinner Imran Tahir enjoying a dream debut with 4-41 and his colleagues Johan Botha and Dale Steyn chipping in with 2 and 3 wickets respectively.
The Dutchmen come into the tournament with a pitifully clean sheet. They have done little more than make up the numbers in the three World Cups they have participated in, failing to beat a full ICC member country. Their fortunes do not look likely to change in a hurry.
Their opening match against England, however, was a bright spark of hope, with star player Ryan ten Doeschate making 119, the second highest score ever by an Associate player. His innings powered his side to 293, but the bowling was nowhere near as good to keep the Englishmen down. The end of the match saw captain Peter Borren and ten Doeschate crouched on the boundary, heads clutched in their hands with "so near, yet so far" written all over their crestfallen faces.
By the next match however, it all seemed like a flash in the pan. Against the West Indies, the promised improvement in their fielding was not in evidence. To make matters worse, they were poor in all departments of the game. Kemar Roach's hat-trick during his 6 wicket haul added insult to injury for the Oranje and it was only Tom Cooper's futile 55* that took them past their lowest ever World Cup total (80 runs four years back) before the side crumpled at 115.
The pitch
This lopsided tie is to be played in Mohali. An early start at 9.30 should see the traditionally bouncy Mohali pitch aid the fearsome South African pace bowling triumvirate, thus posing a supremely uphill task for the men in orange.
Players to watch
It remains to be seen how the Dutchmen withstand the combined triumvirate of Steyn, Morkel and Tsotsobe, and the spin wiles of Botha and Tahir. Ryan ten Doeschate and co. would want to make sure that their side do not go down without a whimper.
Who wins?
New Zealand born Dutch captain Peter Borren spoke his mind when he said that semi-professional sides suffer by not getting much chance to tangle with the big teams. This is a long awaited opportunity for the likes of Bernard Loots, Mudassar Bukhari et al to show that they can come good against first-rung sides as well. And the Proteas, in skipper Graeme Smith's words, "...We have prepared the best we can and are keen to execute our plans to the best of our ability." Ominous words. The Oranje can only hope for a miracle upset as an encore to the Irish, which would alert the watching cricketing world to the joys of good old 50-over cricket.
March 3rd will see Netherlands take on one-day cricket giants South Africa. After the unthinkable happened yesterday when Cup minnows Ireland triumphed over the much vaunted England line-up, the Oranje should believe that anything is possible and take on the Proteas with renewed vigour.
The teams
South Africa have played just one match in the Cup so far and nothing about it suggested any chinks in the armour. Their 7 wicket win over the West Indies saw AB de Villiers sparkle with a 100 in his dual role of wicketkeeper/key batsman. Opposition captain Darren Sammy paid fitting tribute to his innings, saying, "He played like a senior player", referring to the skill with which de Villiers timed and executed his knock.
The Proteas broke from tradition by including 3 spinners in their side, one of whom opened their bowling. The move paid off, with leg-spinner Imran Tahir enjoying a dream debut with 4-41 and his colleagues Johan Botha and Dale Steyn chipping in with 2 and 3 wickets respectively.
The Dutchmen come into the tournament with a pitifully clean sheet. They have done little more than make up the numbers in the three World Cups they have participated in, failing to beat a full ICC member country. Their fortunes do not look likely to change in a hurry.
Their opening match against England, however, was a bright spark of hope, with star player Ryan ten Doeschate making 119, the second highest score ever by an Associate player. His innings powered his side to 293, but the bowling was nowhere near as good to keep the Englishmen down. The end of the match saw captain Peter Borren and ten Doeschate crouched on the boundary, heads clutched in their hands with "so near, yet so far" written all over their crestfallen faces.
By the next match however, it all seemed like a flash in the pan. Against the West Indies, the promised improvement in their fielding was not in evidence. To make matters worse, they were poor in all departments of the game. Kemar Roach's hat-trick during his 6 wicket haul added insult to injury for the Oranje and it was only Tom Cooper's futile 55* that took them past their lowest ever World Cup total (80 runs four years back) before the side crumpled at 115.
The pitch
This lopsided tie is to be played in Mohali. An early start at 9.30 should see the traditionally bouncy Mohali pitch aid the fearsome South African pace bowling triumvirate, thus posing a supremely uphill task for the men in orange.
Players to watch
It remains to be seen how the Dutchmen withstand the combined triumvirate of Steyn, Morkel and Tsotsobe, and the spin wiles of Botha and Tahir. Ryan ten Doeschate and co. would want to make sure that their side do not go down without a whimper.
Who wins?
New Zealand born Dutch captain Peter Borren spoke his mind when he said that semi-professional sides suffer by not getting much chance to tangle with the big teams. This is a long awaited opportunity for the likes of Bernard Loots, Mudassar Bukhari et al to show that they can come good against first-rung sides as well. And the Proteas, in skipper Graeme Smith's words, "...We have prepared the best we can and are keen to execute our plans to the best of our ability." Ominous words. The Oranje can only hope for a miracle upset as an encore to the Irish, which would alert the watching cricketing world to the joys of good old 50-over cricket.
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