Kruger van Wijk, South African born wicket keeper and right handed batsman, who has recently represented New Zealand at international level, is to succeed Greg Todd as the player coach at Hermes DVS, the Dutch Topklasse club based in Schiedam.

Van Wijk will be 33 in February and has followed a similar path to compatriot Grant Elliott, who also left his homeland of South Africa to pursue a career in New Zealand and with similar success. In van Wijk�s case he became frustrated by his lack of opportunities to keep wicket for his country because of the continued presence of one of the all-time greats Mark Boucher.

Ironically Boucher�s career was terminated by a serious eye injury at the beginning of South Africa�s tour of England last summer but by that time van Wijk had already made his Test debut for New Zealand.

Kruger van Wijk was born in Wolmaranstad in the North-West Province of South Africa. He made his first-class debut in season 2000/1 for Northerns. He subsequently played also for Titans in South Africa but moved to New Zealand for the 2006/7 season to play for the Canterbury Wizards, which he captained in 2010. He currently plays for the Central Districts Stags.

His first-class batting record is good for a wicket-keeper � an average of 37.57 from over 100 matches with 6 centuries. In list A matches (also over 100) his average is even better � 39,85 � and his strike rate in Twenty20 cricket is 115,10. In all three forms of cricket he has a healthy number of stumpings, 45 in all, to add to his 383 catches. His Test debut was in March 2012 ironically against his homeland and in 9 Tests for New Zealand he has scored 341 runs at an average of 21.31 with one half-century. He has 24 dismissals in tests (23 caught, 1 stumped).

He has not yet played an ODI or Twenty20 international for New Zealand and in the near future that will not be the case as he was not selected for the current New Zealand tour of � yes South Africa.

In the European summer van Wijk has played nine seasons in Scotland, one for Stoneywood-Dice, two for Aberdeenshire and the past six seasons for West Lothian. He comes to the Netherlands with a good reputation as a coach, particularly in the development of young players, and he will therefore be a very welcome addition to the Dutch scene.