Dutch coach Peter Drinnen might well have chosen an easier start to his tenure in the job, and would certainly have preferred a different result to his side’s first match, but he was far from downcast after Saturday’s seven-wicket defeat by Namibia in Windhoek.

‘I thought the boys fought back really well,’ Drinnen said on Saturday evening, ‘but we played a couple of hours of below par cricket on Friday, and when you’re bowled out 230 behind it’s always going to be difficult to get back into the game.’

He acknowledges that the Namibians got on top from the start and maintained the pressure on his side, despite their dramatic collapse on the second morning.

‘They played a solid game throughout,’ he said, ‘their batters firing on the first day, and their bowlers certainly moved the ball around, causing problems for our batsmen.

‘I would say that they definitely have one of the better attacks in Associates cricket.’

What did he see as the positive aspects of his own side’s performance?

‘Edgar Schiferli bowled beautifully,’ Drinnen observed, ‘Ryan ten Doeschate looked good, Eric Szwarczynski batted solidly in both innings, Bas Zuiderent spent time in the middle and got a half-century, and I was impressed by the way Peter Borren approaches his game – he’s a real fighter.

‘The standard of fielding was OK as well after a long lay-off – we held some fine catches, especially Jeroen Smits behind the stumps.’

But he does have some concerns, not least the tendency of the Dutch batsmen to get out after having got a start.

‘That’s certainly an area we have to improve on. But the second innings proved that we mostly need time in the middle.’

The Dutch squad will take advantage of the game’s early finish to get in an extra practice session on Sunday, and Drinnen will then be looking for two days’ solid practice in Sharjah before the match against the United Arab Emirates begins on Thursday.

‘We’re going to tackle some individual technical areas with some of the lads,’ he said, ‘but the most important factor is match time. We’re all really looking forward to the next game, which we obviously need to take 20 points from.

‘And we’ll achieve that if we implement the improvements we’ve discussed in the light of our experience in Windhoek.’

Drinnen is optimistic that spinner Pieter Seelaar, who suffered a nasty blow to the face while batting on Friday and took no further part in the game, will be fit in time for the UAE match.