Filed under: Cricket, England Cricket, World Cup, ODIs
For critics who argue there is little meaning in English domestic cricket, they could be pointed in the direction of the start of the Clydesdale Bank 40 this summer.It is a different format to the 50-over matches that led to so much excitement at the recent World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but one of the countries from that tournament has been creating a stir.
Netherlands may not have won a game at the World Cup but they gave England a run for their money, scoring close to 300 runs from their opening innings in Nagpur.
In domestic cricket, they started with victories over Yorkshire and Derbyshire followed by the narrowest of defeats against Middlesex, by just one run.
The loss at Lord's was significant, for one of Middlesex's finest at the moment is Eoin Morgan, a batsman so key to England that he was recalled to the squad after initially being ruled out of the World Cup with a broken finger.
Morgan, 24, started his international career with Ireland, who are associate members of the International Cricket Council, like Netherlands.
England are no stranger to picking players born or raised from a foreign country, with Kevin Pietersen leading the South African contingent in the current set-up. So there could be an opportunity to impress for Netherlands players.
Tom Cooper, the Australian-born 24-year-old, smashed a century but was left stranded against Middlesex, while Shane Mott, 26, has performed well with the bat and ball.
Try telling these players there is nothing to play for. For a start, Netherlands are sending a message to the ICC that they and other associate members should be included in the next World Cup.
Skipper Peter Borren told ESPNcricinfo.com: "More than anything it underlines the fact that associates should be at the World Cup. I think one of the other captains said he wasn't sure how much we learned from going to the World Cup, well, I think our performances so far showed we learned a lot.
"There's obviously a place for Associate teams at the World Cup. It's very disappointing they even considered going that way and hopefully the decision can be revisited."
But if they are not allowed back to the World Cup, a decision that will be announced next month, then the Clydesdale Bank 40 is giving their players the chance to catch the eye.
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