Players who beat South Africa in the World Cup have delivered Uber Eats, worked in real estate and as electricians
Dustin Silgardo18-Oct-2023Scott Edwards, 27
vs SA: 78* off 69Raised in Australia, Edwards had begun an electrical apprenticeship when the then Netherlands coach Ryan Campbell, who Edwards had played club cricket under, asked if he was interested in playing for them – Edwards qualifies as his grandmother is Dutch. He became the captain in 2022 and is one of just four players who has a central contract with the Netherlands board but he still has to coach and play club cricket in Australia during their summer to make ends meet.Roelof van der Merwe, 38
vs SA: 29 off 19 and 2 for 34Born in Johannesburg, van der Merwe played 26 internationals for South Africa before switching allegiances to Netherlands, where his mother is from, in 2015. His most memorable moment in orange before Tuesday night’s eye-popping celebrations was his spectacular catch to dismiss David Miller in Netherlands’ upset of South Africa in Adelaide at the 2022 T20 World Cup. Van der Merwe has played T20 cricket in various leagues, including for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. His main commitment is to Somerset, and he had to miss the World Cup Qualifier owing to his contract with them.Related
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Paul van Meekeren, 30
vs SA: 2 for 40During the Covid-19 pandemic, times were hard for van Meekeren. He should have been playing the T20 World Cup for Netherlands in November, 2020. Instead, he was delivering Uber Eats to get by. One of the few homegrown players, van Meekeren made his international debut in 2013. Since there isn’t much money in playing for the national team, he signed up to play for Gloucestershire. He was also one of the players to have missed the Qualifier. He was recently released by Gloucestershire, which could make it hard for him to continue being a full-time professional cricketer.
Should’ve been playing cricket today. now I’m delivering Uber eats to get through the winter months!! Funny how things change hahaha keep smiling people https://t.co/kwVEIo6We9
— Paul van Meekeren (@paulvanmeekeren) November 15, 2020
Aryan Dutt, 20
vs SA: 23 off 9Dutt’s parents moved from India to the Netherlands more than 30 years ago. His father got him into cricket when he was just five, and Dutt grew up idolising MS Dhoni. He spent a lot of time between 2016 and 2019 training in Chandigarh and then made his debut for Netherlands, aged just 17, in 2021. While primarily an offspinner, his three sixes against South Africa show he has learned a thing or two from watching Dhoni.Logan van Beek, 33vs SA: 3 for 60Born in Christchurch, van Beek played both cricket and basketball at Under-19 level for New Zealand and, at one time, was housemates with Tom Latham, Matt Henry and Michael Bracewell. He had a Dutch passport as his father has one, and decided to play for the Netherlands in 2014. Later that year, he played a key role in Netherlands’ famous upset of England at the T20 World Cup. He still plays domestic cricket in New Zealand as well as England and has two part-time jobs as a real-estate executive in the Netherlands and in an HR consultancy in New Zealand, where he lives in the European winter. His incredible performance against West Indies in the Qualifier is one of the main reasons Netherlands have made it to the World Cup.Bas de Leede, 23
vs SA: 2 for 36His father, Tim de Leede, played three World Cups for Netherlands: in 1996, 2003 and 2007. Bas was nervous about picking cricket as a full-time profession as there isn’t much money in it in the Netherlands. But after a stint in South Africa, he threw himself into it and played a massive role in bringing the team to the World Cup with his all-round performance against Scotland in the Qualifiers. He has also played for Durham in England and for MI Emirates in the ILT20.
