Mixed results in 5-Nations T20I series

The pentangular series in Oman proved a very useful preparation for the Netherlands. In the first three games the Dutch went down to Ireland, Nepal and hosts Oman, before getting it right against Hong Kong in the final match of the series. Where the bowlers seem to adapt to the circumstances quite well, the Netherlands batting fell short in all three losses. They bounced back well in the last game however and with Ryan ten Doeschate to join the team in Dubai and Ben Cooper hopefully recovering on time from an ankle injury, the Dutch batting line-up is a force to be reckoned with in the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai.

Head coach Ryan Campbell looks back on the series: "Although extremely disappointed to lose our first 3 matches in Oman, there was certainly plenty of positives that came out of the tour. We struggled a little to adapt to the different wickets, especially in the back-end of our innings. This was very evident in the Ireland and Nepal matches. In saying that we did get it right against Hong Kong and showed again how important it is to have a set batsman in during the final overs of the innings. All of our bowlers performed well at times and also learnt a great deal about bowling on the surfaces.

Unfortunately we had a number of injuries which didn't help our cause. Both Ben Cooper (ankle) and Philippe Boissevain (back) should be ok for Dubai. We will fly to Dubai knowing that when we play our best cricket, we can beat any team in the world. A spot at the World Cup is up for grabs and I have no doubt our players will be up for the fight."

Netherlands vs Ireland
Netherlands 167-7 lost to Ireland 169-4 by 6 wickets
Scorecard

Netherlands vs Nepal
Netherlands 133ao (19.3) lost to Nepal 134/6 (19.5) by 4 wickets
Scorecard

Netherlands vs Oman
Netherlands 94ao (15.3) lost to Oman 95/3 by 7 wickets
Scorecard

Netherlands vs Hong Kong
Netherlands 185/4 beat Hong Kong 148/7 by 37 runs
Scorecard