As I walked the cobbled streets that line the canals of the beautiful city of Amsterdam I wondered what cricketing spectacle awaited me in the suburb of Amstelveen, where the Netherlands were playing host to Sri Lanka. At the bus-stop I was greeted by a fellow supporter who apparently had guessed from my attire that I was English and heading for the game. He explained that he had been to the ground before to see a tri-series between Australia, India and Pakistan where temporary seating had enabled crowds of 15,000 to be entertained at the VRA ground. He was keen to hear about England’s recent woes and the emerging talent in the county championship but I had made the journey to support Dutch cricket and so mischievously introduced the name of a young all-rounder for Essex that had made an impression on me, a certain Ryan Ten Doeschate.

We arrived at the ground, paid our entrance fee and joined a haggle of excited youngsters watching Trevor Penney, one of the greatest fielders of his generation hired by Tom Moody to sharpen up his charges in the ‘third discipline’ , bowl to Sri Lanka’s batsmen in the nets. They were striking it well and I was concerned for the Dutch bowlers, afterall my countrymen had failed to quell their thirst for runs during a 5-0 whitewash on home-soil. We took our seats in the temporary stand and looked out upon the pitch and then beyond to the Pavilion, which resembled in style an assembly hall of an English comprehensive school, built in that enlightened decade remembered fondly as the 1950’s. This took me back to my schooldays and my first furtive forays into the game I love. My nostalgic reverie was broken by an announcement over the loud speaker, in Dutch. The Familiar figure of Steve Bucknor strolled onto the pitch followed by the men in orange. I scrambled for my binoculars and spotted Zuiderant, De Leede, the tall imposing figure of Van Troost and the stocky Essex rookie, Ten Doeschate,

It was then that I turned to a group to my left and asked what chance they thought the Dutch had in the game. A young guy quickly replied that he had placed a bet on Sri Lanka to make 434. As the first few overs went by and the ball made regular journeys across the rope I began to think he might be more shrewd than he looked. The group consisted of around 10 friends who I later found out played for Ajax, a cricket club in Amsterdam. I was proudly told later that they were the oldest sporting club of that name in the city and had leased their identity to their more famous footballing neighbours for 99 years back in the late 19th century. I earned their respect by correctly identifying the Dutchman with the highest individual score in one-day internationals, Feiko Kloppenberg. It was delightful for me to share the days unfolding events with these passionate and knowledgeable supporters. After a whirlwind start the Netherlands took their first wicket as young starlet Tharanga was bowled by Reekers. As I threw both arms in the air I got the feeling they were surprised by my partisan reaction. In response I exclaimed ‘We are all Europeans’.

One of the guys seemed to be the aficionado of the group and he spent the moments between deliveries thumbing through a book of Dutch cricketing greats. I peered over his shoulder to see Roland LeFebvre, Andre Van Troost and the inimitable Steven Lubbers. I had read in the match programme that cricket was the 25th most popular sport in the Netherlands so I assumed this book must have been a limited, yet much sought-after, edition. All the while the runs were mounting, Jayasuriya unleashing some of his trademark shots while Jayawardene was savage off his legs. We agreed that the Dutch missed the penetration of Edgar Schiferli. ‘Such a shame’, one of them said, ‘he is such a lovely bloke’. This reminded me how close-knit the cricketing community in Holland is, how passionate they are about the growth of the game and how proud they are when a Dutchman makes an impact in the wider cricketing world.

After opening spells from Stelling and Reekers, Ten Doeschate came on to bowl. You could tell that this was a player who was playing first class cricket and was in form. He was that bit quicker and began to ask some questions of the batsmen. Despite an infuriating burst of extras he snared the Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene. I explained that I had seen him play for Essex earlier in the summer and this soon switched the conversation back to Dutch exports to the county game. I mentioned Paul-Jan Bakker, the Hampshire bowler and first Dutchman to play in the county championship. I asked them what was his best achievement in England. When the answer came it was memorable ‘ He was at David Gower’s wedding.’

With the Sri Lankans seemingly scoring at will it dawned on us all that there was a chance we could see history in the making. Jayasuriya had plenty of time to challenge Saeed Anwar’s record score of 194 while South Africa’s total of 438 also looked a possibility. Jayasuriya soon reached his hundred and the exultant wave of the bat to the crowd, the majority of them his countrymen who idolised him, made light of the suggestion by some that this was a meaningless fixture and that the Sri Lankans were going through the motions. Jayasuriya and Sangakarra, who played with sublime timing and touch, put on a century partnership before the younger partner became the first ODI victim for young spinner, Mohammad Kashif. When Jayasuriya passed 150 there was a buzz in the crowd that the great man may have the record in his sights. When he survived a rather unsightly hoik one Sri Lankan fan left his seat, walked to the hoardings and implored him to ‘ be patient, just be patient’. Again this was proving to be a game that inspired deference rather than indifference. Alas, it was not to be as Jayasuriya fell on 157 to Kashif. Jayasuriya was exasperated by his shot and trudged off the ground to the delight of none, save perhaps a certain Saeed Anwar.

In the closing overs excitement grew. Not only were Sri Lanka closing in on the record but my Dutch friends were in for a windfall if the scorebook recorded 434. After a typically dynamic century from Tillikeratne Dilshan Sri Lanka made the total and the announcer informed the crowd, the vast majority of whom were well aware that history had been made and were not in need of the prompt.

In the break between innings my Dutch companions explained how their love for the game had been nurtured by games shown by the BBC and that they followed Essex in the county championship ‘because of Ryan (Ten Doeschate)’. It made me even more angry that the BBC had decided not to show cricket on terrestrial television, not only depriving the English of their summer game but also jeopardising the continued growth of the game on the European continent.

The Dutch then came out to start their innings. They faced the enigmatic figure of Laksith Malinga steaming in with his braided hair and unconventional, slinging action. To their credit the Dutch were not found wanting for courage against this hostile attack. Despite the early departure of former Sussex opener Bas Zuiderant the Dutch kept up with the run-rate with Reekers ( pronounced ‘Rieekers’ by my Dutch friends ‘to make him sound more Dutch’, he was born in Canterbury, New Zealand and represented them at 1st Class level ) throwing his bat at everything. Other than being struck on the helmet off an attempted pull shot he was successful in the almost impossible task of wresting the initiative from Sri Lanka. Jayawardene was forced to move his fielders around and remove the slips from their cordon, this should be claimed as at least a moral victory for the minnows. On the fall of Reekers, for a quickfire 39, in strode the confident and compact Ryan Ten Doeschate. He too played with flair and urgency and played one of the shots of the day, a cover-drive to the fence, which he shortly followed up with an identical shot the very next ball. I cheered with glee and one of my new friends said ‘It’s entertaining isn’t it’. Surely this is a maxim the KNCB should adopt to market the sport in the Netherlands.

The heroics of Reekers and Ten Doeschate, who both made 39 at better than a run a ball, were not in vain for the Dutch. There was time in the match for two more innings of substance and promise, coming from the oldest and the youngest members of the team respectively. Firstly, it was the veteran Tim de Leede who had some fun in the sun. He played with authority and power off the back foot against the seamers before launching some almighty airborne swats against the spin of Lokuarachchi and Bandara. He reached a half century with a boundary but perished the next ball trying to clear the man at deep point. De Leede’s bellicose innings stood in stark contrast to the poise and control of his partner, the Namibian born 16 year old Alex Kerveezee. I had heard good reports of this assured young man from his intercontinental cup outings and I was eager to make my own judgement on his pedigree. His quick footwork, soft hands and expert placement belied his tender years and he wasn’t rushed into any false shots by the Sri Lankan bowlers during his long stay at the crease. One of my companions had clearly seen him play before and said with some assurance, ‘ he makes batting look easy’. He was joined in an impressive 59 run partnership by Billy Stelling and together the pair took Holland to 248, their best ever score against test opposition. Kervezee, eventually fell for 47 showing some rare aggression. He is certainly a player to watch out for.

So that was that, the game had ended in a Sri Lankan victory. But that was for me the only predictable feature of a truly memorable day. The time I spent watching this record-breaking day in the company of charming, informed and passionate Dutch cricket fans has left me with two thoughts. Firstly, that for all that has been said and written in the media this was a compelling and engaging international cricket match ; secondly that cricketing charm and wit is not merely the preserve of the Englishman. As for my Dutch friends, well they are flying to the West Indies for the world cup, and good luck to them.