ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018: Ryan Ten Doeschate seeks World Cup return

ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018 will get underway from 4 March in Harare.

The Netherlands are placed at Group A for the Qualifiers | Getty Images

With only two spots up for grabs for the World Cup 2019, the return of Ryan Ten Doeschate will be the huge boost for the Netherlands to grab one for the mega ICC event in England next year at this month’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, starting from 4 March in Harare.

Doeschate, who was discovered by former England captain Graham Gooch, is considered as the best cricketer from a non-test playing nation. Ryan, who has led Essex to the county championship last year, is confident that the side will play good cricket in Zimbabwe.

Speaking to Reuters, Ten Doeschate said, “The Dutch association asked to me help out in the bid to qualify and I thought I'd give it another go and I'm really pleased that I did.”

Last year, Doeschate had a great season with the Dutch side in Dubai where they successfully grabbed the berth for the final World Cup qualifiers 2018.

The South African-born all-rounder said, “I had a great time in Dubai and was amazed at how much the standard had improved and how the set up had changed. There is much improvement. I don't think the number of games you get granted is a measure of how much you have improved.”

The hard-hitting 37-year-old further said on the same, “Having a first hand account of things after being absent for six years, I can assure you the Dutch team has improved drastically. I can honestly say that I think all the Dutch boys are up to county cricket standard.”

The Netherlands are all set to face the West Indies, Ireland, Papua New Guinea and the United Arab Emirates in Group A matches of the World Cup Qualifiers 2018 in Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, Group B comprising with the likes of Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Nepal, Scotland and hosts Zimbabwe, and Ten believes that it will be a tough challenge for the Netherlands to beat the tough side likes of Afghanistan and Windies to qualify for the World Cup 2019.

He signed off by saying, “It will be tough to qualify, but we certainly have a squad that can play consistently good cricket. An upset now wouldn't be of the scale it was 10 or even five years ago. Zimbabwe and the West Indies are the obvious hurdles but there is a lot of tough cricket to be played with the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan.”

The Dutch previously played at the 1996, 2003, 2007 and 2011 tournaments.

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 03 Mar, 2018

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