The KNCB has announced a new agreement with the Amsterdam-based international trading company Optiver, who also sponsored the Dutch team at the World Cup earlier this year.

The new initiative will cover the costs of a sixteen-day tour to India in September, involving a selection of players from the national training squad. The team will play a mix of Twenty20 and one-day games in several venues, including Mumbai and Chandigarh.

The plans include a concluding series of three matches against an Indian representative side. While these will not be full ODIs, they will give the emerging players in the Dutch set-up the chance to play against top-level competition in unfamiliar conditions, vital for the future development of the international side.

For both the KNCB and Optiver, this is an important step in the creation of a longer-term sponsorship agreement. There will be an evaluation after the Indian tour, with a view to creating a structural sponsorship deal.

The KNCB's existing main sponsor, Nachenius Tjeenk, has announced that it will not be extending its current agreement when it expires next year.

An Optiver spokesman made clear that the new agreement is part of its overall marketing strategy.

'With this sponsorship Optiver can establish its global brand on the job market as a quality employer, ' he said. 'This will enable us to attract the right mix of traders we need to support the company's growth objectives. We can benefit from the association of cricket, one of the most popular sports in India.'

KNCB chairman Marc Asselbergs was understandably delighted.

'In Optiver we have attracted a sponsor,' he said, 'who not only provides financial support for Dutch cricket, but will also give a terrific impulse to the development of our cricket talent. You can’t have better than training and playing in India.'