Bas de Leede hopes for ‘bigger nation’ status

The Netherlands’s Bas de Leede against Bangladesh in Kolkata on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Two upset wins in the ongoing World Cup under their belt, minnows Netherlands have now called for ICC's attention for "bigger nation" status, batting all-rounder Bas de Leede has said.

The Dutch, who are the only associate nation in the World Cup, first produced the biggest stunner of the global showpiece, defeating South Africa by 38 runs in Dharamsala.

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On Saturday, defending a modest 229, the Dutch bowled out Bangladesh for 142 for yet another upset result, this time by a handsome 87-run margin.

"Every win we get is going to be big for us and for cricket in the Netherlands. We want to inspire young kids to take up the game," De Leede told reporters in the post-match interaction at Eden Gardens here.

"And we also want to try and get the ICC's attention to start looking at us as a potentially bigger nation in the coming years. So, definitely every win helps."

It is, however, unclear whether the Dutchman's demand for a Test status for the country and more exposure will be entertained by the world body.

Domestic structure, the key

Domestic cricket structure is one of the major criteria in awarding a country Test status and the Dutch cricketers mostly play country cricket for exposure.

Their chances of making the semi-finals, however, appear slim as they have to win all their three remaining matches and hope for favourable results from other teams.

The Netherlands, who have four points from six matches, will next take on Afghanistan in Lucknow on November 3 before facing the struggling defending champions England in Pune on November 8. They will conclude their campaign against hosts India in Bangalore on November 12.

"It depends how other teams do, how big our chances are for the semi-final. But for us, the goal is to keep winning as many games as we can," De Leede said.

"There're a couple of games where we haven't played our best, but then again, today we did. And if we can do that again for the next three games, who knows where we will finish."

‘Not an easy pitch'

"It was a tricky pitch and wasn't the easiest track to bat on. It wasn't easy to score runs. And us having runs on the board, I think it was very clear what we needed to do. With the pacers, it being a little bit up and down, spin staying a bit low," De Leede said. "I don't think it was the easiest pitch to bat. So, a little bit surprised," he added.

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