Cricket has a rich history in the Netherlands, dating back to the 19th century. In the 1860s, it was considered a major sport in the country. Although other sports like football and field hockey have since surpassed cricket in popularity, there are still around 6,000 cricketers in the Netherlands today.
The Netherlands have a long history of participation in international cricket tournaments. They have taken part in all eleven ICC Trophy/World Cup Qualifier tournaments, winning the competition in Canada in 2001 and finishing as runners-up three times (in 1986, 1990 and 2023). The Netherlands also participated in the 1996, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2023 Cricket World Cups.
From 1995 onwards, the national team entered the English domestic NatWest Trophy competition (and its successor, the C&G Trophy). The Netherlands enjoyed full One Day International status from 1 January 2006 until 1 February 2014. They regained Twenty20 International status in June 2014, having played their first match in this format in 2008. In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members.
Cricket was introduced to the Netherlands by British soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century. Further clubs came into existence in the 1870s. The Netherlands national team played their first game in 1881. They fielded 22 players against an Uxbridge Cricket Club XI, but still lost by an innings. The first national tournament was held the following year, and was won by Haagsche CC. In 1894, the Gentlemen of Holland were the first Dutch team to visit England.
In 1910, the Dutch team visited Belgium to take part in an exhibition tournament, which also featured the MCC, Belgium and France. During World War I, in which the Netherlands remained neutral, large numbers of British officers were interned in the country, and many of these joined local cricket clubs. The Flamingos, a Dutch touring side, was formed in 1921, and later made several tours of England. Tours by English teams also continued in this period. The 1930s are said to be the heyday of Dutch cricket.
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In 1934, the first Dutch women's league was formed, and the women's national team played two games against Australia in 1937, losing heavily in both. The 1950s saw visits to the Netherlands by Australia and the West Indies, in addition to their first match against Denmark. The first two ICC Trophy tournaments, in 1979 and 1982, brought little success to the Dutch, who were eliminated in the first round in both tournaments. But in the 1986 tournament, they finished as runners-up to Zimbabwe.
In 1990 the Netherlands hosted the ICC Trophy, the first such tournament outside England, and again finished runners-up to Zimbabwe. In 1991 they achieved a five-wicket win over a West Indies XI, followed in 1993 by a seven-wicket win over an England XI and in 1994 a nine-wicket win over a South Africa XI.
In 1994 the Dutch finally qualified for the World Cup, after finishing third in that year's ICC Trophy. 1995 saw the Netherlands enter the NatWest Trophy for the first time. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the 1999 World Cup, as they could only manage sixth in the 1997 ICC Trophy. The Netherlands competed in the first European Championship in 1996, coming second. 2001 finally saw the Netherlands win the ICC Trophy, beating Namibia in the final in Toronto. They thus qualified for the 2003 World Cup.
They again failed to progress beyond the first round in the tournament, but recorded their first one-day international win over Namibia during the tournament. In the 2005 ICC Trophy, the Netherlands finished 5th, qualifying for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, and gaining one-day International status until the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier.
Their first one-day international with this new status was scheduled to be against Kenya in March 2006; however this match was cancelled due to a Kenyan tour of Bangladesh. Instead their first ODI with this status (and their twelfth overall) came against Sri Lanka; this was their first ODI at home. The Dutch played their first Intercontinental Cup match of 2006 against Kenya in Nairobi in March. The game was drawn, but the Netherlands gained six points for a first innings lead.
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In August, the Netherlands competed in Division One of the European Championship. They beat Denmark and Italy, but lost to Scotland and their game against Ireland was rained off. In November, the Dutch travelled to South Africa. They first played an Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda: David Hemp achieved what was then a competition record score of 247 not out in the drawn match. This was followed by a triangular series against Bermuda and Canada, which they won.
Following the World Cup, the team underwent a period of transformation. Captain Luuk van Troost retired, as did Tim de Leede and their coach Peter Cantrell. In August 2008, The Netherlands participated in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. Netherlands won the toss and elected to field. On 20 July 2010, The Netherlands beat a full-member nation for the first time in an ODI. On 22 February 2011, The Netherlands posted their highest ever total against a full-member nation, scoring 292 against England, batting first at the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Ryan Ten Doeschate top scored 119 from 110 balls. However, the Netherlands were unable to defend their strong total and failed to pull off a huge shock, England winning by 6 wickets with 2 overs to spare. In the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, Netherlands had one win and one loss before their final game. In order to go through on net run rate against Zimbabwe and Ireland, they needed to chase down Ireland's score in 14.2 overs or less.
As Ireland scored 189, this seemed unlikely. However, strong and aggressive batting enabled them to score 193/4 in 13.5 overs, securing passage to the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 Super 10s.
ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Match 34 was played between Zimbabwe and Netherlands at the Adelaide Oval. Zimbabwe, who had won that tournament, had successfully defended 132 runs on the back of bundling out the opposition for 95 in the penultimate over. As far as the points table is concerned, Zimbabwe were at the fourth position after winning and losing a match each thus far. A double-header day at the Adelaide Oval made it the last of the seven venues to host this tournament.
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Netherlands Cricket Records:
- Highest team total (ODI): 374/6 v.
- Highest individual score (ODI): 158*, Max O'Dowd v.
- Best individual bowling figures (ODI): 6/34, Aryan Dutt v.
- Highest team total (T20I): 247/5 v.
- Highest individual score (T20I): 135, Michael Levitt v.
- Best individual bowling figures (T20I): 5/19, Ahsan Malik v.
Here's a summary table of the Netherlands' performance in major cricket events:
| Tournament | Appearances | Best Result |
|---|---|---|
| World Cup | 5 (first in 1996) | Group stage (1996, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2023) |
| World Cup Qualifier | 12 (first in 1979) | Champions (2001) |
| T20 Internationals | - | - |
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