No live cricket on TV back home, but Dutch colts dream big

CHENNAI: It's -3 degree Celsius in most parts of The Netherlands these days — certainly not the ideal conditions for their colts to prepare for the U-19 cricket World Cup qualifiers to be held later this year.
So the Dutch boys, under the guidance of their former international cricketer Tom de Grooth, are in the city as part of a 10-day training camp at the CSS-Whatmore Centre for Cricket, SRMC.
For a country that is obsessed with football and has quite a few other disciplines like hockey, golf, tennis and ice skating which are much ahead of cricket in terms of popularity, it’s not easy to take up the sport professionally. However, thanks to the migration of Asians about three decades ago, cricket has managed to make an impression among the GenNext youngsters.
Coach Grooth, who has played 34 ODIs for Netherlands, said that they are here to get the boys “out of their comfort zone” and understand different cricket culture.
“This is an excellent place to learn the game. Cricket in the Netherlands is similar to ice skating in India. A lot has changed now and there is more professionalism. There is a proper league structure in place (50-overs and T20 league). We want these boys to learn professionalism as they have true passion for the sport,” Grooth told TOI.
For the teenagers, who have played football and adore their stars Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Robin Van Persie, following cricket and learning the sport was a “big challenge”, especially with “no cricket telecast” back home.
“It’s crucial for youngsters in any sport to look up to stars when they are 7-8 years of age. That’s when you get inspired and want to emulate them. However, there is no cricket telecast here. It’s football all over. We try to create an environment where they feel cricket is a bigger sport. They watch online streaming, which is difficult at times, or watch highlights on Youtube. They need exposure when they are young,” said 38-year-old Grooth.
Skipper Boris Gorlee, 17, says he admires Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. “We rarely see a cricket match live. We learn through internet. Even though I play football and cricket for the same club, I decided to carry on playing only cricket. The competition level in playing football is too high back home and thus some of them have started to switch to cricket at a young age,” he added.
Arnav Jain, a 17-year-old off-spinning allrounder born in the Netherlands but with roots in Jaipur, said he watches videos of MS Dhoni, Kohli, R Ashwin and Nathan Lyon to understand leadership qualities, batting technique and the art of off-spin.
Although some senior cricketers of the Netherlands team such as Peter Borren, Pieter Seelar and Roelof van der Merwe join the colts during training session, Grooth said the U-17s’ masterclass sessions with former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten last year was a “huge motivating factor”.
In fact, the Dutch boys were “amazed” with the intensity levels shown by India batsman Suresh Raina, who joined Kirsten for a session in the camp during his holiday.
Leg-spinner Phillipe, whose role model is New Zealand’s Ish Sodhi, said Raina’s commitment was terrific. “I understood that he was on a holiday. But the way he fielded and then went about approaching batting was superb. The intensity part of him was big learning for us,” he added.
Grooth stated that the success stories of their cricket star Ryan Ten Doeschate, who played a key role for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, and Afghan sensation Rashid Khan have infused hope in these youngsters.
“They know associate countries are being followed by top cricketing nations. Earlier, cricket used to be secondary. Now, there are professionals playing the sport. There are various T20 leagues across the world. There are better opportunities. I know these guys are hungry. It’s about them converting the talent into performance,” said Grooth.