3 South African-born players in the Netherlands' 2023 World Cup squad ft. Roelof van der Merwe
The Netherlands are one of the few cricketing nations that have not shied away from reaping benefits from players born in different countries. Among all, they have benefitted the most from South Africa, with nine Proteas players (eight current and one former) representing them at the international level.
The Dutch are currently playing in the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India. They haven't had a great start to the tournament, losing both of their games so far. The Netherlands suffered an 81-run defeat against Pakistan before going down to New Zealand by 99 runs.
The current Netherlands squad also boasts a few players who are of South African origin. On that note, let's take a look at three South African-born players in the Netherlands' 2023 World Cup squad.
#1 Roelof van der Merwe
Left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe is one of the most experienced cricketers in the current Netherlands squad. He was born in 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Van der Merwe represented the Proteas in 13 ODIs and as many T20Is. However, he shifted his base to the Netherlands and obtained citizenship due to a lack of opportunity in the South African setup.
Roelof van der Merwe debuted for the Dutch in a T20I against Nepal in 2015. By doing so, he became only the fifth player in history to represent two countries in T20I cricket.
He has since represented the Dutch and has been one of their key players. Van der Merwe also played a vital role in helping the team qualify for the ICC ODI World Cup.
#2 Colin Ackermann
Top-order batter Colin Ackermann is one of the mainstays of the Netherlands' batting setup. While he has played most of his cricket in Holland, Ackermann hails from South Africa. He was born in George, Cape Province, South Africa in 1991.
Ackermann has also represented the Proteas in the U19 World Cup and was their vice-captain in 2010. However, he struggled to break into the senior national team and shifted base to the Netherlands.
In June 2019, Ackermann became available to play for the Netherlands, ahead of the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the UAE.
So far, he has played nine ODIs and 22 T20Is, scoring almost 800 runs with four half-centuries to his name.
#3 Ryan Klein
Right-arm pacer Ryan Klein is also among the Netherlands players from the current ODI World Cup squad who have roots in South Africa. Klein was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1997. However, he holds a Dutch passport through descent.
Klein made his debut for the Netherlands last year. So far, he has played 13 ODIs and two T20Is, picking up a total of 13 wickets. He has played one match in the ongoing World Cup, against New Zealand.