With Australia rout history now, Edwards eyes more international exposure with Netherlands after World Cup

Beating South Africa in the T20 and ODI World Cups, Edwards and his men have proved that a country, where only about 5,000 people play cricket, deserves more opportunities.

Edwards, who has a Dutch passport because of his grandmother, feels he has developed as a cricketer after beginning to play for Netherlands. | Photo Credit: PTI

It was a crushing defeat for the Netherlands on Wednesday, as it was blown away by a storm called Glenn Maxwell.

But, the Dutchmen are determined to put the 309-run loss to Australia behind them, bringing back their energy and self-belief which helped them stun South Africa.

In Scott Edwards, who scored a 69-ball-78 not out against the Proteas, they have a captain who isn’t too excited about a great win or too dispirited at a disappointing loss. The wicket-keeper batter has been leading this side admirably.

Captain Edwards led from the front in Dharamsala and has now joined Ryan ten Doeschate with the most 50+ scores for the Netherlands. 🇳🇱💪#CWC23pic.twitter.com/sAlVbrdVZg

— Cricket🏏Netherlands (@KNCBcricket) October 19, 2023

The Tonga-born, Australia-raised skipper has high ambitions for Netherlands.

“We have a lot of youngsters in the team,” Edwards told Sportstar. “We have a young group, which we hopefully could keep together for a long time, and continue working with coach Ryan Cook.

“When I took over as the captain, I was trying to get my feet and just play good cricket as a unit. From there, Ryan and I started coming up with some plans and goals for the team.”

Those goals include playing bilateral series against stronger teams

“We are hoping our performances will give us an opportunity to have bilateral series against teams,” he said. “The more we play against top nations in the world, the better and better we are going to get.”

This World Cup is throwing up interesting results!
Was nice to see the Netherlands Captain Scott Edwards lead from the front with a fighting knock after they were 140/7 at one stage.

What pleased me the most about them in the field was how they put the SA batters under pressure… pic.twitter.com/5YeQCyvJqo

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 17, 2023

Edwards, who has a Dutch passport because of his grandmother, feels he has developed as a cricketer after beginning to play for Netherlands.

“In Dutch cricket, you get thrown into the deep end a little bit,” he said. “You go from playing club cricket straight to playing international cricket against the best teams in the world.”

But by pushing behind the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland, all Test-playing nations at the World Cup Qualifier, and beating South Africa in the T20 and ODI World Cups, Edwards and his men have proved that a country, where only about 5,000 people play cricket, deserves more opportunities.