Red ball cricket has taught me lot about my own game: Dutch T20 World Cup star Bas de Leede

Bas de Leede, who was named the ICC Associate Player of the Year 2023, will be one of the men to watch out for among the Associate nations participating at the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in USA and West Indies.

The Dutch all-rounder was initiated into cricket by father Tim de Leede, a veteran of three 50-over World Cup tournaments.

Bas developed a liking for cricket while accompanying Tim to his cricket matches.

“He used to come and watch every now and then. She (wife) would come at 3 or 3.30 pm and would bring the kids along with her,” recalls Tim.

“His older sister was there as well. But she never picked it, but he liked it, so he started playing. If he hadn’t liked it, he was not going to play; it was as easy as that. Luckily there were a few kids his age and he got along with them very well. They played cricket.”

Tim says he started coaching him as soon as he realised he had an interest in the sport.

“He also started playing under 9s when he was 6. And one of the former Dutch New Zealand pros had stayed in the Netherlands. He was at our club as well. His son was seven. So, we both coached that team from under 9s until under 17s. Well, they just had a great time.”

Bas doesn’t have a contract since he is playing for English county Durham and therefore can’t be available all the time for national duty. Since the emoluments through contracts for Dutch team are low, players often strike deals with domestic teams outside the country, especially in England.

Ahead of the T20 World Cup, Bas took time off to answer a few questions from www.theflyslip.online

Excerpts from the interview:

Q. It seems natural that your father's influence on you must have been huge. Tell us when was it that you decided to become a cricketer and what role did your father play in that?

A. I never decided to be a cricketer. I just really enjoyed playing the game and my dad has always really been very supportive in that. He has always given me the responsibility to choose whether I wanted to play or not and has backed that decision.

Q. You have played first-class games intermittently but now that you are with Durham, how do you look forward to this experience of FC cricket considering that Netherlands have no Test status, how do you hope this will benefit you in an era of T20 leagues?

A. Last year (2023) with Durham was an amazing opportunity for me to develop my game. I have enjoyed it so far and am really looking forward to the upcoming season. Red ball cricket challenges players in different ways than white ball cricket does so it's teaching me a lot about my own game.

Q. There isn't much representation of Associate and smaller nations in franchise cricket, including IPL though there is lot of talent available. What do you think is the reason? Is it due to lack of big brand name cricketers or lesser quality of cricket?

A. I believe it is because of lack of opportunities. Associate nations get limited games against full member nations, so limited opportunities to show their quality. The quality is definitely there. Most countries just need more opportunities to show themselves

Q. Do you think that this is the right time for Netherlands to get Test status?

A. No. Cricket in Netherlands is not close to being able to take the step to Test Cricket. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in Dutch Cricket if this were to happen in the future.

T20 World Cup, Cricket, Netherlands,