From Amsterdam to Bengaluru, Dutch fans go that extra mile

The men in orange are giants in football but are most often referred to as minnows in cricket. It’s not entirely inaccurate, for they’re finding their fins among the big fish in the cricketing ocean. That doesn’t dampen the spirit of Dutch fans in India to spiritedly cheer on their team.
Some are currently in Bengaluru as The Netherlands takes on India in the last of the league matches of the ICC World Cup 2023.Men like Robert Klappe, Jacob-Jan (JJ) Esmeijer and Jeroen Smits and Roland Lefebvre. TOI caught up with them a couple of days before their biggest match of this tournament.
For JJ, Jeroen and Roland, it was a natural transition from player to fan after retiring from the highest level of the game. The cricketing journey of JJ and Jeroen (both 51 years old) is rather similar. Around the age of six, they dabbled with bat & ball, and gloves in Jeroen’s case, in a nation where soccer and hockey top the list of choices for sports-inclined kids, which would essentially be most of them. It also helped that both their dads played cricket and gently nudged them in the direction of the 22-yard pitch.
Both went on to represent the country. Smits, who eventually became a wicket-keeper and now has a marketing and advertising company, recalls: “My most memorable moment was catching Sachin Tendulkar off Tim de Leede in the 2003 World Cup. We also played against each other in a warm-up game and elsewhere too.”
For Jeroen, England’s Jack Russell was a role model. “What made him outstanding is that he would stand up to the wickets, even for pace bowlers. That requires good technique but courage too. I tried to emulate him.”
The photo of that Tendulkar dismissal is a keepsake that’s a matter of pride for Dutch fans to this day. Not only for Jeroen, but also JJ who fondly remembers Sri Lankan player and coach Tony Opatha, who was associated with developing Dutch cricket a couple of decades ago.
JJ, now a PR professional, comes from an era when batters didn’t have as much protective equipment as now, and the odd blow to the body from the hard ball was not uncommon. One just shrugged away the pain and played on. With much stoicism, JJ recalls Tony’s advice: ‘If you don’t want to get hurt, go home and play the piano’.
He has played cricket in, among other places, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Barbados, Canada and Sri Lanka.
And, of course, in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. “This is my first visit to India and I like the people’s energy and passion for cricket,” he says.
So, why did he continue playing cricket when football is so dominant in The Netherlands? He explains: “I love football, don’t get me wrong. But, cricket has many lessons for life too. You have to deal with a range of parameters -- from the pitch, weather, opposition, team's preparedness, spectators... Fans connect with the game at an emotional level even if they have never played the game.”
He goes on: “It's also very meditative, especially Test cricket. There’s something spiritual about it.”
So, naturally, Test cricket followed by the 50-over game are his preferred forms over T-20 and other variants that keep popping up every now and then.
One fan connecting at an emotional and family level is Robert Klappe, director of an IT company in Utrecht. He and Roland were part of a tennis group and the latter introduced him to cricket. Though it was much later than Jeroen and JJ that he started following the game, the cricket bug bit him hard. Now, he’s secretary of the local team and the passion extends to his son (13) and daughter (11) who also play the game.
“My first visit to India was for the 2018 IPL event and I saw matches in Jaipur and Mumbai. This time, we came for the match in Pune and now we’re here in Bengaluru,” he says.
The bookies may not give the Dutch great odds but the Scott Edwards-led team can count on people like Jeroen, JJ and Robert in the stands for that much-needed boost. Robert said Ryan Cook has made a big difference to the team: “I hope we now make it to the Champions Trophy. Our local team is V.O.C. Rotterdam which also has players like Max O'Dowd and Scott Edwards.”
He adds: “The atmosphere in Indian stadiums is electric. I hope one day, we'll have similar enthusiasm back home for cricket like we have for football. After a couple of upsets in this tournament, the Dutch team is now looked at a little differently. We’ll be there on Sunday and it would be nice to get some love and support from Indian fans too.”