For a Dutch squad which came to South Africa keen to record two victories and reach the Intercontinental Cup final for the first time, the past three days in Pretoria have been a chastening experience.

At the start of the week it seemed that the weather might be the greatest obstacle to that ambition, but after an excellent first day in their match against Bermuda, The Netherlands found themselves gradually played out of the game by a side determined to redeem itself after a poor start to its African tour.

It was no coincidence that the match was dominated by two players who earn their living in county cricket in England: Ryan ten Doeschate, with two fine, contrasting centuries for The Netherlands, and David Hemp, with a terrific not-out double hundred for Bermuda, showed that four-day cricket demands a degree of concentration and application which most of their part-time team-mates have yet to acquire.

From the Dutch point of view, there were a few encouraging signs: Tom de Grooth’s innings on the first day, when the wicket was not yet the perfect batting strip it later became, was a fine contribution, and it was good to see Bas Zuiderent batting himself into form in Friday’s final session.

But the game began to slip away from The Netherlands on the second morning, when the middle order failed to capitalise on the splendid start de Grooth and ten Doeschate had given their side, and the final total of 378 fell fifty or so short of what would have been a good first-innings score.

The most worrying feature of the match, however, was the Dutch attack’s inability to dismiss a Bermudian side which until now had shown every sign of brittleness.

It did not help, of course, that opening bowler Billy Stelling was taken ill on the third day and was only able to bowl twelve overs in Bermuda’s marathon innings. After a shaky start ten Doeschate bowled consistently well, and he was well supported by Peter Borren, who showed great character and – for the most part – good control in bowling 44 overs for three for 130 .

As a seam attack in a four-day game the Dutch resources were thin to start with, and once they were cut by a third life became very, very hard indeed. Luuk van Troost stepped into the breach and bowled economically enough, but The Netherlands needed wickets above all.

Of the spin bowlers, it was Daan van Bunge who caused the batsmen most problems, getting plenty of bounce and turn with his leg spin. Muhammad Kashif was economical without ever looking really dangerous, while Pieter Seelaar was more expensive but will have learned much in a situation which offered little encouragement.

But spin bowling is a craft that can only be learned the hard way, and with combined figures of four for 260 the Dutch spin trio will be hoping for much better days in future.

Attention now turns to the ODIs, and the tri-series which begins with a match against Canada in Potchefstroom on Sunday.

Maurits van Nierop and Tim de Leede join the squad for this phase of the tour, and coach Peter Cantrell will also have an opportunity to test Mark Jonkman’s mettle. Van Nierop and Eric Szwarczynski could make useful contributions with the bat, while the evidence from Pretoria suggests that Jonkman could be vital in adding a bit of bite to the attack.

With four matches in seven days, Cantrell will have plenty of opportunity to try out some ideas in these games, with an eye on the World Cricket League and the World Cup beyond.

Because even though for the future development of Associates’ cricket, this gradual accumulation of experience of the longer form of the game is absolutely vital, in the short term it’s the one-day game that counts.