The Dutch women’s side will begin their campaign in Division 4 of the ECB County Championship with matches against Northamptonshire in Wellingborough on Sunday and Derbyshire at Derby on Monday. These fixtures mirror those to be played by the men’s squad in the Clydesdale Bank 40 League.

The selectors have picked a squad of 13 players for the two matches, naming two debutants in Hermes seamer Mariska Kornet and – in a move echoing the policy in men’s cricket – Dutch passport holder Esther Lanser, New Zealand-born and opening bat for Central Districts in her native country’s interprovincial competition.

With Cheraldine Oudolf having retired and Jolet Hartenhof and Mandy Kornet currently unavailable, the advent of Lanser will be a considerable asset to the side. She is playing club cricket for Quick Haag this season, and has already made a considerable impact.

There is also a welcome return for Carolien Salomons, who has been one of The Netherlands’ most reliable batsmen but who has not been regularly available over the past couple of seasons. She rejoins a batting line-up which also includes Violet Wattenburg, Lanser, skipper Helmien Rambaldo, Marijn Nijman, Alarda Mol, Carlijn de Groot, and the promising youngster Miranda Veringmeier.

The seam attack, too, has plenty of ability, with Kornet, Marloes Braat and Laura Brouwers all bowling well in domestic cricket and Nijman an experienced campaigner. After a winter in Australia allrounder Denise Hannema will also be in contention for a place, while the spin will be provided by leg-spinner Annemarie Tanke – also a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, and Rambaldo.

The Dutch women performed well in their first season of county cricket last season, and will be looking to consolidate this as they move up a level this year. With the European qualifying tournament for the next World Cup scheduled to take place in August, these matches take on double significance, and the squad will be keen to demonstrate the benefits of the intensive training programme they have been following under the leadership of coach Ed de Moura Correia.