Netherlands chase their moment in the World Cup sun

In a nutshell: The De Leede household must have a lot of World Cup stories to share. Tim could talk about dismissing Sachin Tendulkar in 2003 and Bas, about the time he matched Sam Curran for wickets in 2022. Soon enough, Babette should join this table with tales of her own. Netherlands, under her, walk into their maiden T20 World Cup with a squad brimming with excitement and commitment to her ambitious plans. The cricketing ideas have been spelt out clearly: "Our goal is to win at least two games and end in the top eight, so that we automatically qualify for the next T20 World Cup," Babette wrote in her ICC column.

For this edition, Netherlands' ticket to the World Cup destination – England & Wales – has needed a couple of stopovers. Their journey began at the Division One Europe Qualifier in 2025 where they finished second behind Ireland. In the Global Qualifiers in Nepal this year, they did enough to secure the fourth qualification spot after Bangladesh, Ireland and Scotland.

Squad: Babette de Leede (c), Caroline de Lange, Frederique Overdijk, Hannah Landheer, Heather Siegers, Iris Zwilling, Isabel van der Woning, Lara Leemhuis, Myrthe van den Raad, Phebe Molkenboer, Robine Rijke, Rosalie Lawrence, Sanya Khurana, Silver Siegers, Sterre Kalis

Best XI: Heather Siegers, Phebe Molkenboer, Sterre Kalis, Babette de Leede (c), Robine Rijke, Sanya Khurana, Frederique Overdijk, Iris Zwilling, Caroline de Lange, Silver Siegers, Isabel van der Woning

Players to keep an eye on

Iris Zwilling: The right-arm fast bowler broke through to the national side as a teenager in 2019, and has been playing for nearly six years now. Zwilling is the first-ever Dutch cricketer to pick 100 T20I wickets. She bagged seven wickets in seven Global Qualifiers matches, and will be a potential Powerplay threat at the World Cup.

Sterre Kalis: The 26-year-old right-handed batter slotting in at No.4 is a key cog to Netherlands' batting. She packs a lot of experience, scoring 1949 runs in 64 T20I innings. Kalis has played in England too, having featured in 21 Women's Hundreds matches across four seasons.

What's in the news: Head coach Neil MacRae will end his tenure with the Netherlands women's team after this World Cup, having guided them to it since taking the job in January 2024. He has chosen to move to a job with Jersey, as their Director of Cricket and the head coach of the Men's team. Former South Africa cricketer Pierre de Bruyn will take over from him.

Where they finished in 2024: Did not qualify

How have they performed since then: In this World Cup cycle, Netherlands have played 34 T20Is, winning 23 of them. That includes a win (and a loss) against Bangladesh, who they face in their first game of the World Cup.

The big game: Their tournament opener against Bangladesh. The first time they take the field in a World Cup match will hit different for the Netherlands. Bigger oppositions await after this clash, but even facing up against the world's best might not top the sense of occasion that the Bangladesh game will carry.

A record in sight: Babette is three appearances away from becoming the first Dutch player – man or woman – to play 100 T20Is.

Realistic expectation: One win would make their hard work to get to this stage worthwhile but Babette is keen to double it.