Netherlands coach Ryan Cook pleads teams to play practice matches ahead of 2023 World Cup; Behind the scenes of biggest coup in tournament history

Entered the 2023 ODI World Cup with the 'underdogs' tag but upset one of the favourites to win the tournament. The Netherlands stunned South Africa with a 38-run victory in Dharamsala on Tuesday and are currently being admired by the cricketing fraternity. However, this is not the first time the Dutch have dominated the Proteas. Scott Edwards and Co. had knocked them out of the T20 World Cup last year. 

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While the Netherlands tasted defeating a Test-playing nation in a 50 Overs World Cup for the first time, it was the first instance of South Africa losing an ODI against an Associate nation. A few days ago, Afghanistan proved what the 'minnows' are capable of by pulling off a similar coup against the defending champions England in Delhi. 

However, there is a behind-the-scenes side to the Netherlands' smashing success. Three months ago, the same Dutch side had to struggle to get practice matches before coming to India for the World Cup. Their head coach Ryan Cook had urged the subcontinent nations to play with them to gain some experience. He also highlighted the financial challenges faced by the team in a press conference.

"This is a call-out to anyone who wants to play us. We'd love to have a fixture or two. Our guys have not been to the subcontinent many times before, so it would be good to have some fixtures somewhere in the subcontinent as well. Hopefully, we will be able to pick up a sponsor or two, and bring a bit more revenue into the game," Cook had said. 

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"The players get paid quite lowly in comparison to other countries, so hopefully, that will give us a bit more resources to be able to do that. At the moment, we only have a coaching staff with one member full time. It will take a bit of work from our end, and here's a full invitation to any sponsors out there who feel like being on the front and the side of the shirt in the World Cup," he added. 

Watch the video below: 

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Just before the World Cup in India, Netherlands coach Ryan Cook was pleading to subcontinent nations to play cricket with them!

BCCI helped them with practice matches with local teams#SAvsNED #NEDvsSA #CWC23INDIA pic.twitter.com/UfpCLbtvvh

— ICT Fan (@Delphy06) October 17, 2023

The Netherlands might not qualify for the semi-finals, but they will exit the tournament with a lot of positives. Their next fixture is against Sri Lanka at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on October 21. Sri Lanka are yet to open their account, meaning another upset is on the cards?