Dutch courage for Holland

8 July 2008

Jeroen Smits is hopeful of guiding Holland to victory in Rotterdam © Getty Images

Holland are in the last-chance saloon going into the ICC Intercontinental Cup clash with defending champions Ireland in Rotterdam.

While a win could lift the fourth-placed Dutch into second spot above Kenya in a table in which only the top two qualify for the final, defeat would leave them 18 points adrift of the African side having also played two games more.

It therefore needs a huge effort from Jeroen Smits’ team to keep alive that hope of a spot in the final, although they have not been dealt a kind hand going into the make-or-break encounter with batting all-rounder Alexei Kervezee being sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Add to that the absence of Eric Szwarczynski, recovering from a broken toe, and, most importantly of all, Ryan ten Doeschate due to English county commitments with Essex and there are some significant holes to fill for the home line-up.

The scenario for Ireland, two-times defending champions, is slightly different.

The Irish have played two games less than their opponents – one less than Kenya, the side directly above them – and are only 17 points behind the African side in the race for the second spot in the table.

Indeed, the listing already seems to be shaping up for a battle between Kenya and Ireland for a place in the final with Namibia well clear at the head of the rankings after five straight wins.

What makes matters all the more enticing is that the two teams will go-head-to-head in the last round-robin fixture, a repeat of the 2005 final, when Ireland beat Kenya by six wickets in Windhoek.

Ireland will be without skipper William Porterfield

Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Niall O’Brien (Northamptonshire) and captain William Porterfield (Gloucestershire) are all absent for the visiting side as they are on English county duty, while another former captain Trent Johnston is ruled out through work commitments and Andrew White misses the match for personal reasons.

Ireland do have the consolation of welcoming back the increasingly influential all-rounder Kevin O’Brien, Niall’s brother, after injury.

James Hall comes in for White with leg-spinner Greg Thompson also slotting into the squad and off-spinner Kyle McCallan taking over the reigns over as captain.

Netherlands (from): Jeroen Smits (captain, wicketkeeper), Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan van Bunge, Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Geert-Maarten Mol, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Nick Statham, Bas Zuiderent.

Ireland (from): Kyle McCallan (captain), Andre Botha, Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, Thinus Fourie, James Hall, Gary Kidd, Kevin O' Brien, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Roger Strydom, Greg Thompson, Gary Wilson (wicketkeeper).