Club representatives and other members of the Dutch governing body (KNCB) last night voted overwhelmingly in support of a report proposing significant changes in the organisation.

The general meeting was a resumption of the one suspended on 8 April, when the successor to outgoing KNCB chairman René van Ierschot should have taken over. Concluding that the impossibility of finding a suitable candidate was partly due to the KNCB’s organisational structure, the meeting set up a three-man working party to review that structure as well as continuing the search for a new chairman.

The working party’s report, debated at last night’s meeting, proposes a bold response to the challenges facing the KNCB. It also makes some sharp criticisms of the way it has operated until now.

Introducing the report, working party member Michiel Muller acknowledged that much had been achieved in the past ten years. The Netherlands had qualified for three World Cups, successfully conducted major international matches, developed an ambitious youth development policy, and found a main sponsor, bankers Nachenius Tjeenk.

But, he said, there had been a gradual decline in the sport’s popularity since the 1980s, important areas of development had been neglected, the Bond’s commercial and media policies were inadequate, and the office was understaffed, overworked, and poorly organised.

‘The status quo is not an option,’ Muller concluded. ‘Something has to be done, and we must be ready to invest in people, and in the means to bring about change.’

The working party set four main goals for the next few years: maintaining The Netherlands’ current position in the top sixteen cricket countries; achieving 20% growth in participation over the next three years; finding additional sponsorship worth at least €150,000; and developing a healthier club structure.

A key element in the proposed strategy is an expansion of the central office staff from 2.45 fte. to 4.5 fte., including the appointment of a new Director, with responsibility for, among other things, commercial aspects of the Bond’s operation. The Director will initially be appointed for 0.6 fte., and will be expected to bring in more than his or her own salary in sponsorship income. On this basis, the appointment would in due course be expanded to full-time.

It is expected that with last night’s acceptance of the broad principles of the report the post will be advertised in the near future.

The report also argues for a streamlining of the KNCB’s board, reducing the membership from eight to six, abolishing separate portfolios for the Dutch national men’s team, youth, and women’s cricket. Three new portfolios would be created, for Technical Affairs (all international cricket from the national side to under-age selections), Commercial Affairs (including marketing, media and sponsorship), and Development (recreational cricket, support of the clubs, and promotion of the sport).

With the expansion of the KNCB’s professional staff, the intention is that there should be a clearer definition of the respective tasks of the Board and its employees, simplifying the lines of communication and making the responsibilities of Board members both clearer and more manageable.

The general meeting welcomed the working party’s overall approach, although there was criticism of some of the detail. The only dissonant note came from the Finance Committee, which expressed reservations about a new strategy which involves a significant increase in expenditure without any guarantee of a corresponding increase in income.

But delegates accepted the argument that such moves were essential if Dutch cricket were to maintain its current world position, and that there was no alternative to expansion. The ambitions of competitors such as Scotland, and such developing countries as Uganda and Nepal, clearly weighed heavily in their minds.

One immediate consequence of the working party’s activities is that chairman van Ierschot was able to hand over to his successor, businessman Marc Asselbergs. A former chairman of Rood en Wit Haarlem and current chairman of the touring club Flamingo’s, Asselbergs will have a rare opportunity to take the KNCB in new directions: all the existing Board members announced last night that they are prepared to vacate their posts, leaving the new chairman free to assemble his own team.

It is expected that he will do so in the next few weeks, and that the new Board will be proposed to a special general meeting in September. It will then indicate how it proposes to go about implementing the strategy recommended by the working party.

Paying tribute to the outgoing chairman, vice-chairman Jacques Mulders referred to René van Ierschot’s contribution to The Netherlands’ recent international success, and to the way in which he had established his country’s position in the ECC and ICC.

‘As representative of the Associate nations on the ICC Board,’ Mulders said, ‘he spoke not just for The Netherlands, but for all the non-Test countries.’

He also emphasised van Ierschot’s ready accessibility during his nine years of office, and the commitment with which he had fulfilled his responsibilities. The meeting concluded by according its ex-chairman honorary membership.