Ahmedabad, February 19 The prospect of associate teams playing Test nations outside of ICC events remains unlikely in the foreseeable future, and Netherlands all-rounder Bas de Leede is aware of this reality.
Following the conclusion of their T20 World Cup campaign with a loss to India here on Wednesday, de Leede joined the chorus of players urging the authorities to organize more games against the full members, albeit with a pragmatic approach.
The Dutch have no cricket lined up until June. De Leede, son of former Netherlands international Tim de Leede, suggested that teams like India and Australia tour the Netherlands for a warm-up game or two ahead of their major assignments in England.
"The schedules at the moment are already very packed with franchise leagues and the future tours program of the ICC. So, I think it's difficult to schedule full series against top nations," said de Leede.
"...but I think one way that this could potentially be an option is when touring teams come to England, for example, there's the option of playing a warm-up game in Scotland or a warm-up game in the Netherlands.
"There are ways around that where we can still get exposure to playing against the best teams, and they can also benefit from it," he added.
He would also be keen to be a part of a tri-series involving England.
"There's obviously a lot of money involved in playing against big nations, and I understand the financial reasoning behind it. But yes, like you said, a tri-nation series could also be an option for us.
"I saw a post about a potential European T20 series where England, Scotland, Ireland, ourselves, and Italy could participate. You saw how close Italy pushed England," he pointed out.
"So, there are definitely a lot of options, but like you said, it usually gets attention during the World Cup, and then it tends to fade away. So, we can only hope that this World Cup might change that," hoped de Leede.
In the end, de Leede reflected on the team's campaign in India, which ended with a game at the world's largest cricket stadium here.
"It's probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play for so many people. I hope everyone made the most of it. Moving forward, I think associate teams have shown what level associate cricket is at the moment.
"We can only ask for more and more opportunities against the best because that's ultimately the way we're going to improve as a collective.
"But for us at the moment, we have nothing planned until the start of June, where we have a series for World Cup qualification," added the all-rounder.
