Netherlands at New Zealand

New Zealand vs Netherlands: New Zealand registered an easy 7-wicket victory over Netherlands in the first ODI on Tuesday. | Cricket.

So, I’m sort of in a similar scenario, I guess playing against the Netherlands at the end of this home summer is helpful. I'm just taking it each game as I play, I’m just trying to make the most of every single opportunity I have in the middle there," Will Young said after the match. While the debutant Will Young led his side to an easy victory with an outstanding performance for the hosts and was named man of the match, Henry Nicholls too played a vital role by scoring 57 runs of 79 balls.

He could have been playing for New Zealand by this time. And he makes no secret of those ambitions, but for now he's only focused on donning the ...

It was a long road back for the Dutch after their last visit to New Zealand ended in defeat and dismay, stripped of ODI status and relegated to the second division of the World Cricket League off the back of just two losses at the 2014 World Cup Qualifier, finishing fourth in their group by a net run rate margin of just 0.03. The loss of status and the degree of security that went with it had significant implications for a still only semi-professional Dutch side. That road began back at Windhoek, where Rippon had debuted for the Dutch two years before, in a cut-throat six team WCL Division 2 tournament with (as far anyone knew at at the time) just two promotion back to the WCLC on offer. It would be, ironically enough, Kenya besting Nepal and a narrow net run rate advantage that would see the Dutch through to the final against the hosts, where Rippon would take 5 for 37 and lift his first trophy in Orange. He would go on to be the Netherlands' most valuable player for the subsequent WCL campaign, though he himself attributes the teams success to Roux and Borren above all. "It's cool to know that I played a small part in the team's success" he says, and is keen to direct the credit elsewhere, specifically to the former Netherlands coach Anton Roux and then captain Peter Borren, who saw the Netherlands claw their way back to the top of the Associates pile from the depths of WCL Division 2. It's a great opportunity and platform to improve as a cricketer." I didn't really think much of it at the time." Rippon's appearances for the Dutch may have been intermittent since he first turned out for them back in April 2013, making his debut in whites and orange cap against Namibia in the now-defunct Intercontinental Cup, but they have often been decisive, not least during the final World Cricket League Championship which the Netherlands would win to earn their place in the Super League. Had the Dutch lost either of the two games, in retrospect, it would have been Hong Kong now contesting the Super League - the contrasting trajectories of the two teams since that series illustrating the margins on which Associates cricket can turn. Undoubtedly his most significant contribution to the Dutch campaign would come against Hong Kong, where he twice won player of the match in what would in retrospect prove to be the most decisive two matches of the league. Otago's Michael Rippon is blunt in his assessment, but makes no secret of the fact that he still has ambitions to play for the team he'll be facing off against this week. "I went back to South Africa for surgery and also did my recovery there. It's been almost three and a half years since Rippon last played for the Netherlands, his commitments at Otago and New Zealand's stringent travel restrictions having conspired to put his international career on hold since a memorable home series against Nepal back in 2018.

Michael Rippon is keen to play for New Zealand and made a fine impression playing against them for the Netherlands.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve been feeling out of form with the bat, but my decision-making hasn’t been great. Like elite athletes at their peak, our sports journalists are highly trained in the art of news. He was dismissed with two balls remaining in their 50 overs and his sixth-wicket partnership with skipper Pieter Seelar, worth 80, helped the Netherlands to respectability. So we're asking you to support us with more than your attention. “It was a nice experience,” Rippon said ahead of the second ODI to be played in Hamilton on Saturday. The South African-born 30-year-old has his sights on playing for New Zealand – he first played here in the 2013-14 season, has been a regular for Otago for most of the past six seasons and is eligible to represent the Black Caps, with the ICC allowing players to switch from a lower-tier nation.

New Zealand 204 for 3 (Young 103*, Nicholls 57, Rippon 2-32) beat Netherlands 202 all out (Rippon 67, Seelaar 43, Tickner 4-50) by seven wickets.

A cameo from van Beek and contributions from Philippe Boissevain took them past 200, but that would prove easily gettable for New Zealand in the end. He used soft hands to collect the first of those, before gently driving Henry down the ground and punching him with a short-arm jab through the covers for four. Still, debutant quickBlair Tickner, and top-order batters Will Young- who got to his maiden ODI century with an unbeaten 103 - and Henry Nichollscombined to ensure the hosts comfortably took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Will Young partnered Henry Nicholls for a 162-run stand for the second wicket that saw New Zealand overhaul the Netherlands' total of 202.

Rippon made 67 and Seelaar 43. Nicholls made 57. Young made 103 and combined with Henry Nicholls in a 162-run partnership for the second wicket which saw New Zealand surpass the Netherlands total of 202 in the 39th over.