Certain key words tend to recur as Roland Lefebvre talks about cricket: 'discipline', 'commitment', 'adaptability', 'responsibility', 'vision', 'passion', and 'humility'.

' There are few players in the world,' he says, 'who can get away with arrogance.'

There's no doubting Lefebvre's own passion for the game, or his commitment to his task as the Dutch national youth coach - they show through in the energy with which he talks about the problems he faces and the undoubted successes he's had since taking over in 2002.

In that year, the Dutch sides won just one European championship match between them, out of the twelve they played. Under Lefebvre's guidance the success rate has steadily risen, with seven victories in 2005, and the target for next year is nine.

Lefebvre's strategy has been to concentrate on the younger age groups, and not to worry too much about the players who are now in the under-23 and under-19 squads.

'Those players were formed before the new programme existed, and there are problems both of ability and of attitude. As a group the ability level is pretty average, and they didn't have the commitment you need to succeed,' Lefebvre acknowledges.

Yet even here there have been significant changes, he says: 'the guys who are training are training really hard.'

The Dutch governing body has set ambitious goals: an arduous programme of training, tours and matches, working towards qualification for the 2008 Under-19 World Cup, and beyond that success in the 2009 ICC Trophy. Which is why Lefebvre left on Boxing Day for Mumbai with his under-17 squad, who will play six games there over the Christmas-New Year period.

'It's so important,' he says, 'having to adapt your game to new conditions, getting out of your comfort zone, learning to play spin - and the coaching facilities are magnificent. Can you imagine having ten to fifteen net bowlers? Something the KNCB can't even dream about.'

The limitations of funding and infrastructure are something he's realistic about, but he looks with envy at Cricket Scotland's network of nine regional development officers.

'What a difference it would make,' he says, 'if we could have just three, based in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. Then they could work with the clubs, making clear what it is we want.'

Lefebvre sees an important role for the clubs in developing young cricketers, but admits that too often their international 'coaches' do too little coaching.

'If the clubs are mainly interested in hiring match-winners, and don't insist that their coach's main task is youth coaching, then there's not much we can do about it,' he concedes.

He's also concerned that the national squads may be missing out on talented players, especially from The Netherlands' large immigrant community.

'The Asian clubs may have a youth section,' he says, 'but they often don't take part in KNCB competitions, and as a result there are players out there that I never see.'

It's a delicate issue, but Lefebvre would like to see matches between his squads and sides selected from within the Asian community, to see whether there really are gifted players who've so far slipped through the net.

Reflecting on his own career (he first played in the Hoofdklasse at the age of fifteen, before graduating to first-class cricket with Canterbury, Somerset and Glamorgan, eventually returning to The Netherlands and retiring in 2004), Lefebvre reflects for a while before venturing an opinion on changing standards. Even then, he's hesitant, not wanting to fall into the familiar trap of claiming everything was better back then.

But he does think that the bowling was stronger in the 70s and 80s, and he runs through the batting line-up of his VOC side with evident pride.

'There aren't too many sides around now who could compete with them,' he says.

Overall, he suggests, Dutch cricket hasn't improved - the top players have got stronger, helped by more competition, but beyond that, little has changed.

His own first-class career, he believes, was helped by the fact that he was already 27 when he broke through: 'I was mature, mentally strong, and I knew that I was the one that controlled my game, nobody else.

'And I was driven - I hated giving away runs, my idea of a perfect spell was none for 0. I always thought that wickets weren't important - if you just bowled straight, the wickets would come.'

It was also an advantage, he reckons, that he was an all-rounder. 'To go to England as a batsman isn't enough,' he says; 'you're competing with players who've only ever played on grass, and you're always at a disadvantage.'

He's full of praise for Bas Zuiderent, who is now helping him with the youth coaching programme.

'It's taken Bas a long time to develop,' he says, 'but he's a much better player now than he was when he was with Sussex. He's in much better control of himself, he knows what he's about, he's happier with his own game. And he's someone for the kids to look up to, the key man in Dutch cricket at the moment.'

Who are the names to watch out for among the players he's taken to Mumbai, the core of the side that will be aiming for the 2008 under-19 World Cup?

There's Alexei Kervezee, of course, who's already broken into the full Dutch side.

'And Steven de Bruin, who's developing into a really good wicketkeeper-opening batsman. There's Graeme Davey, a promising left-arm seamer, and Ollie Lodder, who has loads of talent both as a quick bowler and as a batsman. That's already four, and if you've got four players of that quality in an age-group side you're doing pretty well.

'But players develop at different ages - some come on, others go backward. It may look a bit different in a year or two'

It's clear that there's still everything to play for, and Lefebvre will leave no stone unturned to ensure that he has the strongest possible side in 2008, and that the boys work hard to achieve their full potential. If The Netherlands don't make it to through the 2007 qualification stage, it won't be for lack of commitment.