NETHERLANDS VS IRELAND- 2ND ODI.

• Match: 2nd ODI.
• Teams: Ireland Vs Netherlands.
• Venue: Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd, Utrecht.
• Time: 2:00 pm IST.

• Preview: The First ODI was a highly entertaining match and the winner was decided in the last delivery of the game. With a 1 run victory, Netherlands opened their account in ICC Cricket World Cup Super League with 10 points. With the 2^nd ODI, Ireland would love to stage a comeback whereas Netherlands would love to pocket the series in the second game itself.

• Pitch Report: Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd is one ODI old. The first game was a low scoring thriller with 19 wickets falling. The batsmen had to spend time to get used to the pitch. The pitch slowed with time and there was a hint of turn for the spinners. If the same strip is provided expect the pitch to behave the same.

• Weather Report: A bright day is predicted at Utrecht with temperature around 18 degrees.

• Last H2H Records:

1^st ODI: IRE vs NED on 02.06.2021.

NED: 195/10.

Van der Gugten: 49 & 25/1 (9).

Van Beek: 29 & 44/2 (10).

Max O Dowd: 23.

Seelar: 27/3 (9).

Klaassen: 28/1 (10).

IRE: 194/9.

Stirling: 69.

Simi Singh: 45 & 28/1 (10).

Young: 34/3 (10).

Little: 32/3 (10).

In 11 H2H Matches Ireland leads by 7:3 against Netherlands.

The 2 sides last faced each other way back in 2013 but recently their A sides featured in a 3 Match series where the Irealnd A beat Netherlands A 2-1. Some of the performers in that series are:

• Recent Performers:

Ireland:

Harry Tector: 128 runs (3 inns).

George Dockrell: 56 runs, 1 wicket (3 inns).

Graeme McCarter: 9 wickets (3 inns).

Craig Young: 5 wickets (3 inns).

Netherlands:

Tobias Visée: 75 runs (3 inns).

Logan van Beek: 59 runs, 2 wickets, (2 inns).

Scott Edwards: 56 runs (3 inns).

Vivian Kingma: 5 wickets (2 inns).

Also, Netherlands played a series against Scotland in May 2021.

Netherlands:

Max O’Dowd: 90 runs (2 inns).

Scott Edwards: 60 runs (2 inns).

Stephan Myburgh: 45 runs (2 inns).

Vivian Kingma: 5 wickets (Logan van Beek 2 inns).

Players in form: Max O’Dowd, Van Beek, Van der Gugten, Seelar, Stirling, Young, Little, Simi Singh.

• Observations:

1. Max o Dowd looked in good touch and so was Myburgh. However, the middle order looked weak.
2. Van Beek and Van der Gugten are bowling all-rounders and are extremely important. However, we cannot expect them to fire with the bat always.
3. Klaassen is a good pick among the bowlers as he swung the ball in to the Irish batsmen but was unlucky. His left arm angle made it difficult to attack him.
4. Stirling looked well set but his strike rate was an issue. Apart from him and Simi Singh none of the Irish batsmen looked to play a long innings. Simi Singh’s spin bowling too was an added advantage.
5. Young and Little bowled beautifully especially Little who swung the ball into the right-handed batsmen with his left arm angle.
6. Porterfield looked out of touch but is expected to play. He can be a good pick if he bats first and so does Balbirne.

• Bowlers used in Start and Death:

Ireland:

Start: Mccarthy, Young.

Death: Young, Little (slow balls).

Netherlands:

Start: Klaassen (left arm), Van Beek.

Death: Klaassen, Van Beek.

• Probable Xi:

Ned: Stephan Myburgh, Max ODowd, Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Pieter Seelaar(c), Scott Edwards(w), Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Fred Klaassen, Brandon Glover.

(Netherlands are expected to field the same Xi).

Ire: William Porterfield, Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie(c), Harry Tector, George Dockrell, Lorcan Tucker(w), Simi Singh, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Craig Young.

(Porterfield looked out of touch and ideally should be replaced with Kevin O Brien who is fit, but that is unlikely.)

• Fantasy Team:

Wk:  Edwards.

Batsmen: Stirling, Balbirne, Max O Dowd, Porterfield (Bats first)/ Tucker.

All Rounders: Seelar, Van Beek, Simi Singh.

Bowlers: Young, Little, Van der Gugten.

 Safe C/Vc: Stirling, Van Beek.

Differential C/Vc: Max O Dowd, Van der Gugten, Simi Singh.

Risky C/Vc: Porterfield (explained why).

(Disclaimer:I am going with Ireland favoured team and will decide the playing Xi after toss. If Ireland bats first, take the bowlers of Ireland and drop the Ned top order. Also take top 3 of Ireland and you can take the all-rounders of Ireland. You can make a bowler as a captain then. Go through the H2H records and stats before finalising the team.)