THE BERMUDIAN CRICKET TEAM

The Bermudian cricket team is the team representing Bermuda in the sport of cricket. Cricket in Bermuda is governed by the Bermuda Cricket Board. Bermuda has approximately 2,000 cricket players. The Bermuda Cricket Board was elected to Associate Membership of the International Cricket Council, the global ruling body for the sport, in 1996.
History
The first recorded cricket match to take place in Bermuda occurred on 30 August 1844. The Bermuda Cricket Club was formed one year later and had support from locals as well as British troops. Some international games were played against American sides, principally from Philadelphia in the late 19th century, but the cricketing strength of the island diminished greatly after the First World War. Indeed, the only significant tour in the inter-War years was a five-match tour by a team led by Sir Julien Cahn in 1933.

Bermuda played their first One-day International in May 2006, and were successful in their first outing, beating Canada at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad as part of a triangular series which also included Zimbabwe. This made them the fourth team to win their first ODI, after Australia, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. Bermuda will now play in the 2007 World Cup.
Performance
It has played in 7 ICC Trophies, the one-day competition for non-full-members of the ICC, and they were runners-up in 1982. They won the Plate (a competition for teams knocked out of the ICC Trophy in the early rounds) in 1997. The highlight of the Bermuda season is the annual Cup Match, played between two of the island’s leading clubs of Somerset and St. George’s, which was first played in 1902. The game is played in a carnival atmosphere over two public holidays.

In August 2006, they played a four-day Intercontinental Cup match and two ODIs against Canada in Canada. They lost the Intercontinental Cup match, but did not go down without a fight. In the ODIs that followed, they comprehensively defeated Canada 2-0. Also in August, they played in Division One of the ICC Americas Championship, and did well to win the tournament for the first time, without losing a game.

Chances in the 2007 World Cup
The 2007 World Cup will be the first for Bermuda, they have not qualified for the tournament prior to this. The Bermuda Team’s Chances in the 2007 World Cup don’t look very promising, for as a debutant, Bermuda will go into the tournament lacking experience and international exposure. Bermuda can go into the tournament and play with a positive mind. They have nothing to lose. World Cup 2007 should be a learning experience for Bermuda and it will surely be the first of many for this Caribbean island.

NETHERLANDS CRICKET TEAM

Netherlands has not established itself as a test side yet. It is still in its early days in international cricket. Many of the players of Netherlands like Andre van Troost, Dan van Bunge and Bas Zuiderent have played county cricket in England.

As cricket’s popularity grows in Netherlands, it hopes to have many more Dutchs taking up professional cricket as a career. As of now, it is gleaning all the experiences that come its way and lay a foundation for the future.

History

Netherlands first qualified for the World Cup in 1996. It did not qualify for the World Cup that followed in 1999 but participated in the 2003 World Cup. In June 2006, Sri Lanka toured Netherlands for two ODIs. The matches, as expected, were totally one-sided but Netherlands impressed with its batting abilities. Netherlands has been actively participating in the other tournaments involving non-test playing countries. It won the ICC trophy in 2001. It also won the European

Championship in 1998.

Netherlands secured a third place in the ICC trophy in 1994. This automatically earned Netherlands the ticket to the World Cup cricket in 1996. Netherlands finished last on the Group Table and could not proceed to the next round.

Netherlands did not qualify for the World Cup in 1999. Following its triumph in ICC trophy in 2001, Netherlands entered the World Cup in 2003. Here too its appearance was restricted to the first round. In a way, the 2003 World Cup was a memorable one for Netherlands since it registered its first victory in the World Cup. The win came against Namibia in the league matches.

Performance

As a part of ICC’s efforts to condition the non-test playing nations to the rigors of international cricket, test-playing teams are making tour of these countries. Sri Lanka visited Netherlands in July 2006 to play two one-day internationals. As expected, both the matches went in favor of the Sri Lankans by a considerable margin, but nonetheless, Netherlands put up a brave fight. Save for Muralitharan and Atapattu, who were missing from action, Sri Lanka fielded its regular team. Sri Lanka scored 443 for 9 in the first ODI thus surpassing the world record for the highest one day total. In reply, Netherlands was all out for 248 runs. Tim Leede top scored for his team with 51 runs coming from 42 balls.

The second ODI was an equally high scoring one with Sri Lanka setting a target of 313 runs, the Dutch made a fighting 248 in response. In the 2006 European Championship, Netherlands secured a third place.

Chances in the 2007 World Cup

Netherlands goes to the 2007 World Cup with limited experience of one-day cricket. The exposure that awaits them in the tournament will be invaluable to them. If not more, Netherlands should be looking to win at least a match against Scotland, which is in same group.