Second XI

by Tim Wigmore

  Even five years earlier, MacLeod’s career might never have recovered. ‘I would have had to have gone and found a job. I wouldn’t have been able to train as much and wouldn’t have been able to have the enthusiasm to do the extra sessions and do the extra work that I had to do. Plainly I just wouldn’t have had the time.’

  Cricket Scotland had the funds to award player contracts and MacLeod was given a summer contract for 2011. ‘I was able to do as much as I needed. Without that in place I don’t think I would have been able to come back.’

  He used the time not just to remodel his action but to turn himself from a merry lower-order slogger into a batsman of substance. From sharing nets with Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott at Warwickshire, MacLeod was training with Scottish club cricketers. He would not be deterred. ‘I’m quite single-minded when it comes to my training. I have certain things that I want to get done. It comes down to what you demand of yourself.’

  MacLeod managed to force his way into the side as a batsman but his form remained erratic. Before the World Cup qualifiers, MacLeod had ‘a pretty frank conversation’ with Scotland’s skipper Kyle Coetzer (who later went home injured). ‘He didn’t think that I was scoring the runs that I should be for Scotland.’

  All those complaints changed in New Zealand. Opening the batting, MacLeod hit a 62-ball 113 against the UAE and 175 against Canada in consecutive games: innings marked by mature shot selection, as well as MacLeod’s power and swagger.

  His belligerence underpinned Scotland’s run of five consecutive victories, but that would not matter if they could not beat Kenya. Scotland required 261 to win and MacLeod made only 17 before he fell groping outside off stump. The rest of the top order then collapsed to leave Scotland 169/6, requiring 92 from 12.5 overs.

  The situation proved too much for MacLeod and some of his team-mates as they sought shelter in the club bar at the Hadley Oval in Christchurch. ‘We couldn’t watch it. We were sat in the pavilion in the little corner with a couple of cups of coffee as nervous as anything. There was an India–Australia game on the TV – we were pretending to be interested in that.’ All the players knew what was at stake. ‘We knew how big a game it was and what was riding on it not just for Scotland qualifying for the World Cup but for guys’ contracts.’

  When Preston Mommsen was dismissed for 78, the eighth-wicket pair of Taylor and Safyaan Sharif needed 35 from the last 25 balls. The onus fell on all-rounder Taylor, who had qualified to play for Scotland a year earlier under the new eligibility rules on account of his late mother being born in Scotland. ‘I always spent time up there as a child with my grandparents. She was brought up there and lived up there until she met my dad. So I have a very close connection to Scotland and see myself very much as Scottish.’

  A contemporary of Gary Ballance at Harrow, Taylor ‘was due a score for the guys’. He chose a good time to get one. With 17 required from 12 balls, he cleared his front leg and launched a delivery cleanly over long-on for six: a shot of daring and élan. ‘If the ball was up under my eyes I would back myself to clear the ropes and it came at a time when we needed one big over. The bowler missed his length by a yard or two.’

  Unobtrusive accumulation was all that Scotland required thereafter. Taylor finished on 46 not out, sealing victory with a steer through point with three balls to spare. Scotland’s jubilation, tinged with palpable relief, seemed faintly incongruous set against the piles of cement and construction vehicles on the boundary edge at the Hadley Oval, which was being refurbished. But no matter: Scotland had qualified for the final and guaranteed their place in the World Cup. They promptly thumped the UAE in the final to make it a magnificent seven wins in a row. It could yet be the streak that reinvigorates Scottish cricket.

  If Scotland require a new poster boy for this age, there is no one better than MacLeod. Not just for his 360-degree hitting but also because he quashes any notion of cricket being the preserve of Edinburgh public schools. His granddad moved to Glasgow from the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. With his parents keen for him to pick up Gaelic, MacLeod attended an inner city Gaelic School in Glasgow. ‘There wasn’t a lot of cricket mentioned or spoken about,’ let alone played.

  MacLeod picked up the game through his father, who was a social member at a cricket club. Cricket was considered an English sport but ‘you kind of got over that once you started to understand it’. In 2009, MacLeod made history as a substitute fielder for England in an Ashes Test – becoming the first Gaelic speaker to appear in a Test. He is emblematic of a sport that has expanded its confines. While the base has never been as narrow as the stereotype suggests, there is now the sense that cricket is shedding its crusty image in Scotland and expanding its appeal. The development of Twenty20 cricket and coloured clothing ‘have made the game seem a bit more jazzy and a bit less formal’, Andy Tennant told me.

  Demography is also working in cricket’s favour because of the increase in the Scottish-Asian population, especially in Glasgow and the west. Over 40 per cent of cricketers in the west today are of Asian origin. Sai Majeed, the chairman of the Western District Cricket Union, described the integration process as ‘very positive’.

  Many former Asian-only recreational clubs have been incorporated into existing club structures. These traditional clubs have adapted to the rising Asian population, for instance, by offering a halal option at club teas. The successful integration of Scottish Asians is reflected in the make-up of the national side: Moneeb Iqbal and Sharif have both featured regularly, while Majid Haq, an off-spinner born in Paisley in the west Lowlands, went past 200 caps before his 32nd birthday. ‘I hope it has helped as we have had some excellent Scottish Asian players coming through the system,’ he said.

  A cunning off-spinner with subtle variations, Haq has overcome weight issues – he blamed ‘my love for chocolate and cakes’ – to perform magnificently for Scotland for a decade. The launch of the professional era has lifted his bowling and fitness alike to new heights. Haj did not believe that the Scotland team has always received sufficient backing. ‘The ambition has always been there from the players but not always backed up from the CEO and Board which has been disappointing.’ The implication was clear: for too long Scotland have seemed content to bumble along rather than aggressively target success against full members.

  There is now a definite sense that Scotland’s lack of ambition is being addressed. Uncertainties – especially a lack of regular fixtures and a paucity of games against lower-ranked full members – still impede Scottish cricket from seizing its opportunity to become the dominant summer sport. But the onset of professionalism, the building of a new home of cricket in Stirling and World Cup qualification has combined to reinvigorate Scottish cricket.

  Scotland already has more players and coaches than Ireland. If the board can match the vision that Ireland have displayed under chief executive Warren Deutrom, Scotland could soon become the next big associate thing.

  The Forgotten

  Associates

  The Netherlands by Peter Miller

  CRICKET in the Netherlands has been around for almost as long as the sport itself. The national association was founded in 1883. It is suggested that the sport was introduced into the country during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries cricket was one of the most popular sports. The same cannot be said today. Cricket is still a sport that has a foothold in the Netherlands, but it isn’t in the top 20 most popular pastimes.

  It has a pretty steady playing base, with most agreeing that the number of active cricketers is somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 players. When you consider that, it is remarkable that the Dutch have done so well. They have competed at every ICC Trophy since its inception. In theory, and it will probably remain a theory, they could qualify for Test status if the plans the ICC has mooted about promotion of the top associates become a reality.

  So how have the Netherlands been so consistently competitive? How is it that they became and r
emained the top associate side for so long? More importantly, why have they started to fall back into the chasing pack? At the 2015 World Cup the Dutch won’t be there. Instead the newcomers of Afghanistan, Nepal and Papua New Guinea are starting to catch up and overtake the Netherlands. As a result of failing to finish in the top four of the World Cup qualifier in early 2014 they lost their ODI status.

  There has been success in the Twenty20 format; most notably the twin wins over England in the World Twenty20s in 2009 and 2014 and the incredible run chase against Ireland that saw them score 193 in less than 14 overs. Despite this success on a global stage cricket is not gaining recognition or increasing playing numbers. Competition from other sports, a small population of just over 16m and, perversely, its disappearance from terrestrial TV in the UK have all had an impact. Most Dutch households have the BBC, and when the British national broadcaster televised cricket matches there was a chance that you could stumble across a game in the Netherlands. Now cricket has disappeared behind the Rupert Murdoch paywall, that is no longer the case.

  Are the Dutch going to become the forgotten associate nation? As money and publicity is poured into cricket in Afghanistan, as the player base in Nepal and Papua New Guinea grows, are the Dutch going to fall further behind the rest of those that are aspiring to full membership of the ICC? Have we seen the peak of Dutch cricket, or is there a chance that once again we will come to see them as one of the best sides outside of the full member clique?

  Dutch cricket is a small world. When you start to speak with people involved in cricket in the country it becomes very clear that they all know each other. If you are somebody that goes along to watch Dutch cricket you will have had a beer with the players. It is a community in every sense of the word, and with close-knit communities comes politics. One of those most high-profile events took place at the World Twenty20 in 2014.

  Tim Gruijters, a 22-year-old member of the World Twenty20 squad, was all set to take part in the event. The squad had been announced and the details lodged with the tournament organisers. The only way that any amendments could be made would be in the case of injury to one of those in the 15-man squad. Just before the tournament began, news filtered through that Tom Cooper, a Dutch-qualified batsman who is based in Australia, became available. New South Wales were able to release him earlier than planned. The issue was the squad was decided. Cooper, a top-order batsman and off-break bowler, has represented Australia A. There was no doubt that he would have improved the team. Gruijters said there was a plan put in place to get Cooper in the squad. He was the man to make way.

  In a YouTube video that he posted just as the Dutch campaign in Bangladesh was commencing, he was unequivocal in his condemnation of how he had been treated. ‘I would have played in the Dutch cricket team had it not been for the fact that the Dutch coaching staff decided to bend the rules, act against the spirit of cricket and basically cheat.’

  The plan as described by Gruijters was a simple one. He had a long-standing back problem, something that he had played with for a number of years. In order for the ICC to sign off on any replacement from within the squad it needed to have medical evidence of an injury. Gruijters said he was ‘forced and bullied’ into getting a scan done. It came as no surprise that the scan showed an issue, and the details were sent to the ICC. It signed off on the replacement. Cooper became a full member of the squad and Gruijters was sent home.

  The KNCB denied that this was how the incident took place. Instead it say, that it just replaced an injured player with a fit one, a move that the ICC has confirmed as being completely within the rules. Even if you believe Gruijters’s version of events, and it is compelling, you could debate between now and the end of time as to whether the KNCB did anything wrong in looking to improve its side.

  The larger issue is the one of homegrown players versus talent that has been brought in from outside the Dutch set-up. The Netherlands actually have more native-born players than many associate nations. Despite this, in the defeat of England in their last game of the World Twenty20 there were just two Dutch-born players in the side, Pieter Seelaar and Ashan Malik.

  That is not to say that all the others in the side have no Dutch connection. As ever in the world of modern international sport there are in essence three types of player. There are those who were born in the country, like Seelaar and Malik. There are those who may have been born elsewhere but learned the game in that country, like Wesley Barresi, and to an extent Peter Borren. Then there are the out-and-out imports. That would include Tom Cooper, but also Mickey Swart and Timm van der Gugten, cricketers who have used the Dutch side as a springboard for success.

  Captain Peter Borren is aware of this and said he would like to see 11 Dutch-born, or Dutch-produced, cricketers in the playing side. He is quick to point out that where someone is born is less important to him than where they learned their cricket. Borren himself was born and raised in New Zealand, although his family is Dutch. He made it into the New Zealand Under-19 side but he said he doesn’t feel like he had any real coaching while he was in New Zealand. His game only developed after he arrived in the Netherlands at the age of 18. By the time Borren played a List A game in New Zealand, he was doing so as a Dutch overseas player.

  This is not the same as someone who merely flies in for international games and then departs again. Borren wants the Netherlands to reach the point where they no longer require those players, but at present they are needed to make his side competitive.

  Pieter Seelaar is a Dutch-born player who has been representing the Netherlands for a decade. For him the equation is a simple one: if the player who jets in for the big games gives you something a player in the Netherlands does not, then you pick him. Seelaar wants to win; after all that is what a professional sportsman is supposed to do. That is not to say he is a massive fan of jet-set players, but he understands their worth.

  Perhaps the best example of a player who has come into the side from elsewhere and made an impact is Ryan ten Doeschate. Everyone who has been involved in the Dutch side can’t praise him highly enough, and this is despite him not appearing in a full international since the 2011 World Cup.

  Ten Doeschate has moved on to bigger and better things but he did his bit.

  His record for the Netherlands is remarkable. In List A games for the Dutch he averages 65, in first-class matches for them his average is 142. In 12 first-class innings for the Netherlands he passed 100 on seven occasions. He played two seasons in the Netherlands but for most of the time he was a Dutch international he was plying his trade elsewhere.

  Tom Cooper, that man who was inadvertently at the centre of the World Twenty20 controversy, is one of those who came to Dutch cricket late. He didn’t even know playing for the Netherlands was a possibility; he only applied for a Dutch passport because he wanted to travel easily in and out of Europe without visas. He was playing for a club side in Scotland when he got a phonecall.

  ‘It just so happened that the club I played for in Dundee, the Dutch coach at the time, Peter Drinnen, had played there about ten years prior to me being there,’ Cooper told me. ‘He had stayed in touch with all the hierarchy at the club.

  ‘I averaged 100 for the season, and somehow the word got to him that I had come in on a Dutch passport. Out of the blue I got a voice message during the night saying, “Have you ever thought of coming over and playing in Holland?” It hadn’t even crossed my mind.’

  It wasn’t just a case of turning up and getting a spot in the national team. He was invited over to play a season in the Netherlands and was an immediate success. ‘They didn’t want to just pick me straight into the side, because obviously there is a bit of controversy regarding non-Dutch-born players.’

  To avoid any ill feeling Cooper said it was important to get to play in Dutch domestic cricket. ‘I organised with one of the clubs through the KNCB for me to come over and play the season. For me to be there for the year and seeing how that went, with the intention to get into the Dutch set-up.’<
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  The fact remains that most of these overseas internationals give far more than they take from associate cricket. Their talent and experience makes associate nations more successful, and success is important in growing the game. Not only do on-field wins bring more ICC and government funding, they also generate ‘buzz’. Wins bring coverage, coverage brings people to the game. The more people involved in the sport the more chance you have of finding the next Dutch-born superstar. When ten Doeschate orchestrated a win against England at Lord’s it made the national news in the Netherlands. Perhaps that bulletin will encourage a few more kids to give the sport a go.

  Players representing a nation that is not the one of their birth is hardly new. It has been a fixture of international cricket for as long as internationals have been played. In the same way, Dutch club cricket has a history of employing overseas pros. One of those was Bajan Nolan Clarke. He was playing first-class cricket for Barbados when he was approached about going to the Netherlands as a coach in 1977. He said his first summer in the role was a nightmare. At that time coaches were not allowed to play, so he sat on the sidelines ‘like a football manager’ unable to pick up a bat or bowl a ball.

  He returned for the 1978 season as a player-coach. Dutch cricket at that time was in need of some modernisation. The cricket being played was not of the standard you would see on the club grounds of Barbados, but Clarke said that was as much to do with the players in the West Indies knowing the game. They had grown up immersed in it. The same was not the case in the Netherlands.

  In Barbados they ‘played cricket with passion and never sit back’. The cricket in the Netherlands was formulaic. Clarke said there was no attempt to read the game. ‘Bowling changes were made by the number of overs a bowler had bowled, or time. It didn’t matter what the score was or who was batting.’