Mark Webb in Holland
Last updated: Wednesday June 23, 2010 8:17AM
Once again I find myself lucky enough to be away overseas coaching; this season finds me at HBS Cricket Club in The Hague, Netherlands. The club itself has close to 2000 members; the sports involved are Football, Women’s Hockey and Cricket. They are a very professionally run club, with some €300,000 ($520,470 NZ) subscriptions and another £200,000 ($347,801 NZ) in sponsorship.
Facility wise they have recently invested in a fully artificial grass outfield which is used for football and cricket, and yes I was a little dubious at first but once I walked on it I was very impressed. It plays like the Bay Oval, fast and true. The majority of cricket here is played on artificial surfaces, even at the highest club level. HBS Cricket has 5 junior teams from under 9 to under 18 age group levels. They have 3 senior teams who compete on Sundays and 2 Zami (social senior) league teams which play on a Saturday.
The club has a number of Dutch Lions representative players through all the levels and with one current international player. Our overseas player this year is well known to all Northern Districts fans, Anton Devcich, who is having a great season just coming off 127 not out and 2 for 28 off 10, a match winning performance (thank you Anton). All the clubs have an overseas professional with a huge number of Kiwis in the Netherlands, the quality of the pros is very high with Muhhamed Wasim playing for Sparta who I have been told has played 30 tests for Pakistan and has also played some time for Otago. He is a class act.
Dutch cricket is a minor sport here and the total player base is equivalent to that of the Bay of Plenty. The teams rely heavily on their professionals and often struggle to bat around them. Our first team is in the top 4 and aiming to make the playoffs for a place in the highest league, we are one level below at the moment after relegation last year.
It is also a great experience to be here during the world cup as the country is very football orientated and a lot of Orange around on game days. They are also very impressed with the way the All Whites are going, won’t be too great when we knock them out of the world cup!
I Hope you are all wintering well. I would like to say the weather has been great, for Sundays match however it was only 10 degrees; and this is meant to be summer!! No wonder they all head to Greece for the Holidays.
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