There was no shock at Grace Road yesterday as the team at the top of Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A beat the bottom side by a margin commensurate with their respective positions. For the fifth time this season, the Netherlands, with a strong part-time element, overcame fully professional county opponents.
They were full value for their latest success, a fine hundred by Ramnaresh Sarwan notwithstanding. It took them six points clear at the top of their group with one more game, against Worcestershire on Friday, before the competition breaks to allow Twenty20 to dominate the domestic schedule.
Brimful of confidence, the Netherlands gave the Leicestershire bowlers a rare pummelling in reaching their best total against a county side, 304 for three. They followed a powerful, inventive display by outperforming the home side with the ball and in the field.
It is quite a message that the Netherlands are sending to the ECB. Allowed into the competition only when Ireland declined the invitation in 2010 because the 40-over format did not replicate international one-day cricket, they will be out again next season if proposals to restructure the schedule are accepted.
On top of that, first-class counties are concerned at the time and cost of taking teams overseas, although the Netherlands themselves are prepared to play “home” matches in England if it makes the difference between participating and losing a valuable source of experience.
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Critics will note that only three of the side here were born in the Netherlands. Four Australians included Cameron Borgas, the official overseas player, who ended Leicestershire’s last hope with a direct hit to run out Sarwan immediately after the batting powerplay produced 52 runs in four overs.
The Netherlands have based their success on the opening pair of Stephan Myburgh and Michael Swart. They now have a combined aggregate of 525 runs in six innings. Myburgh, from Pretoria, blasted straightaway while Swart, a Dutch passport-holder from Perth, accelerated gradually.
Swart’s second fifty in a 96-ball hundred occupied 33 balls, including three sixes against Claude Henderson, bowling into a strong wind with a short straight boundary to defend.
Michael Thornely was not quite tall enough to hold a chance given by Swart on 15 and the batsman proceeded to add 152 in 23.1 overs with Tom Cooper, an upright player who is due to tour England with Australia A later in the season.
The eventual departure of Swart proved anything but a breakthrough.
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Borgas struck 61 from 33 balls, including a “Dilscoop” against Josh Cobb, and Mudassar Bukhari managed to get under the skin of Wayne White with a charmed hit-and-hope strategy. Bukhari will have heard far worse in his previous job as manager of a late-night takeaway.
Leicestershire lost Cobb to the first legitimate ball of the reply and the asking rate became too much even for Sarwan. Peter Borren’s medium pace checked the innings towards the halfway stage, Pieter Seelaar bowled left-arm spin thoughtfully and Swart’s off spin reeled in the tail.
• Michael Carberry hit 148 not out as Hampshire eased past Scotland’s challenge at the Ageas Bowl to win by six wickets with almost four overs to spare in group B. Carberry shared in century stands with Simon Katich and Liam Dawson after Hampshire had slumped to 15 for two, needing 231 to complete a double this season over Scotland. Carberry took control with some extravagant boundaries as Hampshire made light of their target and exposed a lack of depth in the Scotland bowling attack.