The Dutch selectors have sprung a surprise by including 18-year-old HCC allrounder Philip van den Brandeler in their thirteen-man squad for the first two Clydesdale Bank 40 League matches, against Yorkshire at Headingley on 15 May and Middlesex at Lord’s the following day.

Van den Brandeler made a positive impression when he broke into his club’s Hoofdklasse side last season, making 185 runs in his ten matches at an average of 30.83 and taking 12 wickets at 19.33. He gets his chance in part because of injuries to Ruud Nijman, Tim Gruijters and Berend Westdijk.

Otherwise, the squad maintains the selectors’ reputation for consistency, with only overseas player Michael Dighton and new recruit Tom Cooper added to those who played in Dubai and Nairobi in February. But Dighton’s contractual obligations to his club, VOC Rotterdam, mean that he will only be available for the Yorkshire game, since there is a Topklasse round on 16 May, and he will not be replaced in the squad for the match against Middlesex.

Daan van Bunge was unavailable, having decided to give higher priority to his commitments to his club, so the top order will comprise Eric Szwarczynski, Tom de Grooth, Bas Zuiderent and Nick Statham alongside Dighton and Cooper. One of those specialist batsmen will presumably miss out at Leeds, coming into the team to replace Dighton.

The new ball is likely to be shared by Mudassar Bukhari and Mark Jonkman, with skipper Peter Borren and perhaps Dighton - in the Yorkshire match, at least - also bowling seamers. The remaining decision, then, will be whether to go into either match with both spinners, Pieter Seelaar and Mohammed Kashif, or to play only one of them and give Van den Brandeler his chance.

With VRA Amsterdam contributing four members of the squad and HCC three, it seems a reasonable bet that the Topklasse encounter between the two clubs, scheduled for De Diepput on 16 May, will be the first of this season’s matches to be rescheduled. That could mean that it will be played on 8 May, the first of the reserve days in the Topklasse calendar.

Commenting on the selection on Wednesday, chairman of selectors Darrin Murray said that the inclusion of Van den Brandeler was an indication that promising young players could expect to be rewarded for hard work and good early-season form.

‘With the retirement of Edgar Schiferli and a run of injuries to our seamers, this is an opportunity to give exposure at the top level to one of our developing young prospects,’ Murray added, ‘and the selectors were convinced that Van den Brandeler had earned a chance.

‘As well as his ability with the ball he has demonstrated that he has something to offer with the bat, and this trip will offer him valuable experience with the full squad.’

The squad is:
Peter Borren (captain, VRA), Philip van den Brandeler (HCC), Mudassar Bukhari (ACC), Atse Buurman, Tom Cooper (both VRA), Michael Dighton (VOC), Tom de Grooth, Mark Jonkman (both HCC), Mohammed Kashif (West of Scotland), Pieter Seelaar, Nick Statham (both Hermes-DVS), Eric Szwarczynski (VRA), and Bas Zuiderent (VOC).