KNCB secures coaching setup

Cricket Netherlands is happy to announce it has finalised the appointments of the staff of The Netherlands men’s cricket XI. Head coach Ryan Campbell has agreed to a two-year contract extension, that will see him oversee the Dutch cricket setup until April 2021.

The upcoming period is an extremely exciting one for The Netherlands men’s XI, who will try to qualify for the T20 World Cup in Australia as well as participating in the new ODI League which starts in 2020 and will include the top-13 teams in the world.

Campbell, head coach during the side’s promotion to the world ODI League in December 2017, is excited about his team’s near future. “The chance to continue with this incredibly talented group was too good to pass up. I feel our depth of talent has increased significantly over the past two years and will continue to do so. There is so much to look forward to for Dutch cricket fans, I hope everyone is ready for a new era in Dutch cricket!”
In another sign of stability and the ever increasing workload of the squad, former Excelsior’20 all-rounder James Hilditch has been announced as the new assistant-coach. Hilditch will oversee the National A-team as well as assist the national squad and U-18’s programme.

Campbell sung the praises of his assistant: “James has been part of the squad on a part-time basis for a while now. To have him signed to a full-time contract will be fantastic for Dutch cricket. He comes from a great cricket family with lots of cricket knowledge (father Andrew played for Australia and his granddad is the legendary Australian coach Bob Simpson) and I have seen first hand how he helps out our younger players. This role has been vacant for some time now and his appointment is a reflection of where we are going with our cricket. His appointment will round off our coaching team that already includes experienced coaching consultant Trevor Penney and bowling consultant Chris Liddle, who will continue his good work with our battery of fast bowlers”.

Hilditch: “I feel honoured to be involved and working hard with not only a very talented group of cricketers, but great people. There are a lot of exciting times ahead for this Dutch outfit as we prepare for the ODI League 2020 and beyond. I am expecting 2019 to be a successful year for the boys in orange and I can’t wait to be part of it”.

To add to this setup, George Dunlop will continue his role as the national physio and strength & conditioning coach. He will be ably assisted by experienced Royal Bangalore Challengers physio Evan Speechly, who will also act as consultant to the squad’s medical team.