In their new national coach Peter Cantrell the Dutch governing body (KNCB) have found someone with unusual qualifications: a former Sheffield Shield player with more than twenty years’ experience of Dutch cricket.

Cantrell played 34 first-class matches for Queensland between 1988 and 1991, making 1827 runs and taking 27 wickets with his offspin. The highest of his three first-class hundreds was 176 not out against South Australia at Brisbane in 1990.

He first came to The Netherlands as coach at Kampong Utrecht in 1984, and in thirteen Hoofdklasse seasons made 14855 runs at an average of over 60.00, hitting 30 centuries, and taking 307 wickets. He played 64 times for The Netherlands in 1992-97 and was a member of the 1996 World Cup side in Pakistan, making more runs than anyone else and averaging over 30.00.

Asked about the differences between that 1996 team and the present outfit, Cantrell smiles and says the question’s ‘interesting’.

‘There were a lot of guys in that side who were near the end of their careers, but four or five of us had first-class experience – myself, Nolan Clarke, Flavian Aponso, Paul-Jan Bakker, Roland Lefebvre.

‘Cricket was more relaxed even then – we weren’t playing every other day, and the mental pressures probably weren’t quite as great.’

The task now, he says, is to create a blend of younger players alongside the senior members of the squad, especially since the KNCB’s eye is firmly on 2009, when the qualifying rounds for the following World Cup will be played.

‘That’s why we’re looking to bring under-23 players into the squad, because 2009 is actually the Number One priority.’

As we were speaking, Cantrell was about to announce his initial squad of 23 players, which will be involved in intensive winter training in preparation for the Dutch side’s matches in Kenya in March. [See Cricketeurope news story, 22 November 2005]

Cantrell is in full agreement with Andy Moles’s emphasis on physical fitness: ‘if you’re not fit,’ he observes, ‘you just can’t compete.’

But there’s a lot of emphasis also on technical skills, with the use of specialist coaches, video footage to point up players’ problems, and a database of opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.

He’s upbeat about the challenge of the World Cup, and naturally keen that his side should perform well against Australia and South Africa.

‘It’s a great draw … magic. These players will get the chance of their life, going into a game like that with nothing to lose. Bangladesh and Kenya have done it in the past. Why shouldn’t it happen again?’

And he knows that his team will go into their World Cup matches better prepared than they were for the ICC Trophy side, who stuttered a bit after having had just a C&G Trophy game against Warwickshire and a handful of warm-up matches against minor county sides leading up to the tournament.

Thanks to the High Performance programme, this time it will all be very different, with a strong programme of ODIs and other competitive matches in the twelve months before the World Cup.

And what would he change about Dutch cricket, given the opportunity?

Cantrell pauses for a moment, smiling again and saying ‘I thought you might ask me that.’

Then: ‘I think probably, go the way Scotland are suggesting: reduce the number of clubs in the top division, no relegation, coaches involved in regional coaching programmes with youth sides, Saturday/Sunday games. And more cricket on grass wickets.’

He points out that three of the five existing turf squares in The Netherlands (two at Deventer, and his own in Utrecht) are not used for top-division matches.

‘Why shouldn’t Hoofdklasse games be programmed for those grounds, on Saturdays at least? It can only be good for Dutch cricket for the best players to get more chances to play on grass.’