The Dutch campaign in South Africa got away to a frustrating start on Sunday, with their warm-up game against a local selection falling victim to the weather.

Heavy rain on Saturday, accompanied by thunderstorms of near-apocalyptic strength, left the University of Pretoria ground thoroughly soaked, the covers having blown off during the afternoon downpour. The square was left in an unplayable condition, and with more rain on the cards on Sunday, ground staff will need to work hard to get a pitch ready for Tuesday’s Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda.

Coach Peter Cantrell has had to make do with an intensive morning’s training, in itself valuable after the scheduled second session on Saturday was also rained off.

All members of the squad assembled in Pretoria fit and well, most of the team flying in on Friday to join Ryan ten Doeschate, who has been playing club cricket in Capetown, and the four Dutch participants in the ICC Winter Training Camp, Daan van Bunge, Mark Jonkman, Muhammad Kashif and Alexei Kervezee.

They are sharing the facilities at Pretoria University’s High Performance Centre with the Bermudans, who have also arrived after their disappointing experiences in Kenya.

The bad weather has also disrupted their preparations for the crucial Intercontinental Cup game, but coach Gus Logie was philosophical.

‘We just want to get onto the field,’ he said on Sunday. ‘We’re here to play cricket.’

Bermuda have no prospect of the reaching next year’s final, but for The Netherlands, who need outright victories against both Bermuda and Canada if they are to reach the final for the first time, the weather forecast makes dismal reading.

Showers are predicted for much of the week, with Wednesday (the second day of the Bermuda game) tipped to get most rain.