Netherlands on Debut

The T20 World Cup of 2026 in England marks the first time the Netherlands have participated in the tournament. The nation is no stranger to World Cups however as the Netherlands have participated four times in the ODI World Cup, from 1988 to their most recent performance in 2000.

Many of the 2026 squad were not even born the last time the Netherlands played, in the 2000 ODI World Cup, so this marks a grand occasion for the cricketing nation who first played international cricket when the Australians stopped in for a short tour in 1937.

The skipper, Babette de Leede, and her team have their work cut out for them. They are in Pool A which is widely regarded as the toughest of the two pools. They are the sole European nation in the group – possibly an advantage given that they are the only team in the pool to regularly play in these conditions.

Squad

Babette de Leede (capt), Caroline de Lange, Frederique Overdijk, Hannah Landheer, Heather Siegers, Iris Zwilling, Isabel van der Woning, Lara Leemhuis, Myrthe van den Raad, Phebe Molkenboer, Robine Rijke, Rosalie Lawrence (wk), Sanya Khurana, Silver Siegers, Sterre Kalis

Key Players to Watch

Wicket keeper and top order batter Babette de Leede needs no introduction. She is a competent leader and is in a great position to ring the changes from behind the stumps. With 1551 runs in this format she is a key figure in the batting line-up. In 93 games since her debut in 2018, Babette also has 86 dismissals to her name.

Sterre Kalis is another with enormous experience and is the team’s leading scorer with 1893, with one century (126*) and ten half centuries. Opening the batting with de Leede, her role at the top of the order is crucial.

Robine Rijke and former skipper Heather Siegers are key figures in the middle order, both with very good experience at international level which adds a counter balance to young Phebe Molkenboer who is a rising star in the team.

The bowling group is likely to enjoy the English conditions, in particular pace bowler Iris Zwilling who has 98 wickets to her name in this format but also of importance is very economical. Partnering Iris with the new ball will be Isabel van der Woning, a tall fast bowler whose performances in the qualifiers played a big part in the team qualifying for this event.

Frederique Overdijk, with 7-3 against France in 2021 had the best bowling figures of all time until overtaken in 2025. The key with that performance was her ability to attack the stumps and that is her best asset. Both Heather Siegers and Hannah Landheer round out what is a good pace attack with plenty of options for the skipper.

Caroline de Lange and Silver Siegers provide the spin options. Both are the second and third leading wicket takers, respectively, for the Netherlands behind Iris Zwilling. Both are leg-break bowlers.

Rosalie Lawrence has been selected as reserve keeper but unless anything drastic happens to the skipper it’s hard to see her getting a game. Good experience though.

Strengths/Weaknesses

The experience of the top four batters, both in terms of matches played and knowledge of the conditions is a strength. (Sterre Kalis, for example, plays country cricket for Yorkshire.)

Again, regarding these English conditions, the pace attack, particularly Iris Zwilling and Isabel van der Woning, will be a force no doubt and the fact that none of the other teams have much knowledge of these bowlers is a strength.

The Netherlands have a strong and athletic fielding team and one usually points to the wicket keeper as far as fielding standards go and the team have an excellent one of those in Babette de Leede.

The weaknesses are the obvious lack of experience in World Cups and the fact that they are in a very difficult group.

Fixtures

Pool A:

• 14th June: Bangladesh
• 17th June: India
• 20th June: Australia
• 25th June: South Africa
• 27th June: Pakistan

Tournament Prospects

Putting on an orange cap, what’s the best we can hope for in terms or performance. They’re in some pretty tough company here. The have never played Australia or India, two of the favourites for the trophy. They have played South Africa (another favourite!) and Pakistan once each, recording a loss both times. They have Bangladesh three times for three losses.

The prospects don’t look encouraging. The best will be to get off to a good start in their first game and try to knock off Bangladesh. After that they have the big trio, before finishing against Pakistan. The first and last games appear to be their best opportunity, but even defeating those teams still means they have to defeat one of Australia, India or South Africa and that appears unlikely.

Prediction

Even the most optimistic of Netherlands supporters will struggle to find a win in any of the games, so a last place finish in this group is the most likely outcome. But who knows, a bit of interference from the English weather and a potential win against the mercurial Pakistan team might see them finish second bottom.

There is no likelihood of an appearance in the finals but one cannot expect too much from a team that has never appeared in a World Cup. The big win, the big takeaway for this team is the experience.