The Netherlands face their biggest challenge of the season in Glasgow on Tuesday, when they take on Bangladesh in a one-off ODI.

Victory in this match would not only be their first against a Full member in an official ODI; it would also enable the Dutch to join Ireland and Kenya on the main ICC rankings table for this form of the game.

In order to qualify, an Associate country has to beat one Full member and have a winning percentage of at least 60% in ODIs against other Associates and Affiliates, and The Netherlands, despite the disappointments of the recent World Cricket League Division 1 tournament, have managed to hold on to the latter – by 0.53%!

Availability problems and inconsistent performances have made it an up-and-down season for the Dutch so far, and their chances of emulating Ireland by upsetting the Bangladeshis have, of course, not been helped by the injury to Ryan ten Doeschate.

But with Alexei Kervezee and Tom Cooper in the top five, along with Bas Zuiderent, Eric Szwarczynski and, presumably, either Wesley Barresi or Nick Statham, the Netherlands have a top order which is capable of producing plenty of runs, even against a Bangladesh attack which has built up plenty of international experience.

Much may depend on how the Dutch batsmen deal with Bangladesh’s two leading wicket-takers in ODIs, fast man Mashraf Mortaza and slow left-armer Abdur Razzak, although it was Mortaza’s new-ball partner Shafiul Islam who did most of the damage when their side came back from a defeat in the first ODI against Ireland last week to register a convincing victory in the second.

Razzak’s fellow left-armer Shakib al Hasan is potentially a threat as well, especially since the Dutch do not have an impressive record against quality spin attacks. Other members of the line-up may include seamers Syed Rasel and left-armer Rubel Hossain, yet another slow left-armer in Faisal Hossain, and off-spinner Mohammad Mahmudullah.

With neither Pieter Seelaar nor Muhammad Kashif in the Dutch party and Adeel Raja the only spinner included, it seems clear that Peter Borren will be relying heavily on medium pace to contain the Bangladeshi batsmen.

The new ball is likely to be shared once again by Mark Jonkman – who is permitted to play pending the official assessment of his suspect bowling action – and Mudassar Bukhari. Borren will be looking to them to secure early wickets, especially that of the dangerous Tamim Iqbal, whose 74 set his side on the road to victory in the second match in Belfast last week.

Apart from Borren himself, the remaining seamer will then be either Brad Kruger or Bernard Loots, the latter having made a very promising ODI debut against Ireland during the WCL 1 tournament.

Tamim’s opening partner Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique and Shakib al Hasan all have ODI centuries to their credit, but Bangladesh’s batsmen do not have a reputation for consistency, and the Dutch will be aiming to put them under as much pressure as possible and claim that historic first victory.

The Dutch squad is:
Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi (both VRA), Mudassar Bukhari (ACC), Atse Buurman, Tom Cooper (both VRA), Mark Jonkman (HCC), Alexei Kervezee (Worcestershire), Bradley Kruger (Bradford/Leeds UCCE), Bernard Loots (HCC), Adeel Raja (VRA), Nick Statham (Hermes-DVS), Eric Szwarczynski (VRA), and Bas Zuiderent (VOC).