NEWS
Follow UsThe Netherlands will take on Bangladesh in an all important Group D match at St Vincent on June 13 (Thursday). It is a crucial match for both teams as the winner would be in pole position of making it to the Super Eights. Both Bangladesh and the Netherlands go into this game at the back of closely fought defeats against South Africa, and will hope to make amends here.
Logan van Beek has been one of the bright performers for the Dutch at this T20 World Cup, having already picked up five wickets and also scored a useful 23 against South Africa in the previous match. His coaches in the national team - Ryan Cook and Russell Domingo - have previously been associated with the Bangladesh team, with the latter being their head coach until last year.
Van Beek hopes to put their knowledge of the team to good effect. "I think that's a big advantage for us. Both Russell and Ryan know the players very well. They've coached them for a long period of time. So that's something that we're putting into our back pocket as a key advantage for us," Van Beek said ahead of the Bangladesh clash.
"And so, in the last few days we've had a number of meetings and they've gone to depth around their players and ways that we can get players out, ways that we can hit players in terms of options we can take as batsmen. So that's something that definitely is in our advantage and so we're going to try and maximise that and use that.
"You never know, they might have a couple of secret plans tomorrow that will be maybe unexpected, but it's something that we're confident because they know the players so well."
Van Beek believes the contest between his side and Bangladesh is evenly-matched. "I think it's a very even matchup. I think that the last few years both teams have had some great wins and some poor losses. And so, I feel like it's a very even match-up. It's a great opportunity to kind of test where we're at as a team over the last few years," Van Beek said.
"And I'm just excited. It's been a wonderful few days here in St. Vincent. And again, playing at a new ground, new venue. And it's something that you - As a professional cricketer, the beauty of it is we play all around the world at new places and I think it's more of an excitement just to see what it's like to play a game in the West Indies."
Playing in the Caribbean is special for van Beek given that his grandfather is from there and also played international cricket for West Indies before relocating to New Zealand. The all-rounder also learnt the game from him.
"My grandfather's [Sammy Guillen] from Trinidad and Tobago. He played for the West Indies in 1951-52. Then he travelled to New Zealand and played for New Zealand in 1956. My father's Dutch, so this is where the Dutch connection comes in. So, growing up, my grandfather from Trinidad introduced me to cricket, he taught me cricket," the all-rounder said.
"So, a lot of my rhythm, a lot of my athleticism, a lot of my passion, a lot of everything that I do on the cricket field comes from him. So, it comes from my Trinidad roots, my West Indian roots. I might be a Dutchman looking, but inside there's a lot of West Indian flair and rhythm that I like to play with so that's how I go about my cricket."
Although there has not been a single international game at this venue in 10 years, van Beek expects a good surface. "It [the pitch] looked hard, it looked flat," he noted.
"So, I'm expecting a really good wicket, conditions here are windy. There's going to be a big breeze. It's going to travel across the ground, that's going to play a huge factor for both teams. So, I think the ground, although there's still a lot of unknowns around how it's going to be played, it's been 10 years since the game's been played here or international game, so there's still a lot of unknowns."
Netherlands beat Bangladesh in the 2023 ODI World Cup and van Beek says that his side will take a lot of confidence from that game.
"I think going back to that Cricket World Cup [ODI World Cup 2023], we took a lot of confidence beating Bangladesh at that World Cup and so that confidence is just kind of obviously fast forwarded to tomorrow and we know on our best day that we can beat Bangladesh and that's the mindset that we are going into," the Christchurch-born cricketer, said.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.
