Hurricanes’ Doram in Netherlands World Cup squad

AMSTELVEEN, Netherlands (CMC):

LEEWARD ISLANDS Hurricanes left-arm spinner Daniel Doram has been named in the Netherlands squad for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.

The 26-year-old, who was born in the Dutch Caribbean island of St Maarten, made his first-class debut in Netherlands colours 11 years ago before going on to feature for Hurricanes in the West Indies Championship.

Doram picked up 29 wickets in the just-concluded regional tournament and finished with 16 at just under 12 apiece in last year’s Super50 Cup, but has never featured in a T20 in the Caribbean nor for the Dutch national side.

Overall, he has taken 45 wickets from 12 first-class matches and 19 wickets from 11 List A games.

Netherlands will, however, have to do without the services of key veterans Roelof van der Merwe and Colin Ackermann, after both made themselves unavailable for selection due to commitments in the English County Championship.

Van der Merwe, 39, is a left-arm spinner with 334 Twenty20s behind his name while Ackermann, a 33-year-old right-hander, has struck 23 fifties in 189 T20s.

They have been replaced by 21-year-old left-arm spinner Tim Pringle and 20-year-old batsman Michael Levitt, whose 62-ball unbeaten 135 against Nepal last February brought him into the selection frame.

Wicketkeeper Scott Edwards will continue as captain.

“We have been able to select a well-balanced team which we are confident will be able to perform in the conditions against the opposition we face in the US and West Indies,” said head coach Ryan Cook.

“All of the players have been training well and have been involved in the recent ProSeries with some exciting performances showing the growing depth and quality in Netherlands cricket.

“We have managed to perform admirably in the last two World Cups we have participated in and will be determined to rise to the challenges we face ahead to reach the next round of the tournament.”

The Netherlands will feature in Group D of the June 1-29 showpiece alongside South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

They open their campaign on June 4 against Nepal in Dallas – one of three US cities which will stage fixtures – before taking on South Africa in New York and then playing their final game against Bangladesh at the Arnos Vale Complex in Kingstown.