The Dutch website CricketNederland reports that the KNCB is considering an unusual solution to the problem of a permanent national coach: a dual appointment involving former coach Peter Cantrell and ex-international captain Steven Lubbers.

The present incumbent, PJ Bakker, was appointed on an interim basis until the end of this season after Cantrell resigned shortly after the World Cup, and according to the CricketNederland report he still has no news over his position after the second ODI between The Netherlands and Bermuda next Monday.

At least part of Cantrell’s reason for giving up the post were the demands of his career as a golf professional, and a shared appointment with Lubbers, the brother of KNCB board member Bart Lubbers, would mean a smaller time commitment. Between them, Cantrell and Lubbers would bring great knowledge of both the international scene and the nature of Dutch cricket to the job.

Under Cantrell’s guidance the Dutch squad developed into an effective unit, unbeaten in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup despite failing to reach the final, winning a tri-series of ODIs against Bermuda and Canada, and putting up a creditable performance in the World Cricket League in Nairobi in January.

If the performances against South Africa and Australia in the World Cup were a little disappointing, the win against Scotland gave Cantrell a great send-off, while the victory over Ireland in Nairobi was equally satisfying.

Bart Lubbers confirmed on Wednesday that he had had a meeting with Cantrell and Steven Lubbers, but emphasized that it had been more an informal exchange of ideas than a concrete discussion of a dual construction along the lines suggested in the CricketNederland article.

It also appears that ICC High Performance manager Richard Done strongly advocated a formal procedure beginning with a public advertisement when he met with KNCB officials this week, and KNCB director Maarten Westermann has indicated that the Board will discuss the details of such an advertisement at its meeting next week. The starting date now envisaged is 1 January.

It seems strange that having appointed Bakker for the summer in order to gain time for a more permanent appointment, the KNCB is now taking the first formal steps a matter of days before his contract expires on 1 September. One consequence of this is that there is a four-month gap between the end of his appointment and the start of his successor’s (or, conceivably, his own renewed) tenure.

Given that Bakker is quoted by CricketNederland as observing that he has so far not heard anything from the KNCB about his own situation, it all looks remarkably untidy. Not least because the same article reports that there is considerable support within the national squad for a continuation of his contract.