Dutch national captain Peter Borren received an early Sinterklaas present at Schiphol on Saturday as he and his side prepared to fly to India for a two-week training camp: he was named as the Cricket Jaarboek’s Player of the year for 2010.

With the inaugural Jaarboek due to be published this week, Borren was presented with the first copy off the press by KNCB chairman Marc Asselbergs, and with the new annual trophy by editor-in-chief Maarten Westermann (picture right)

With his VRA Amsterdam side doing the double of Topklasse and Insinger de Beaufort Twenty20 Cup and the national team beating Bangladesh to reach the ICC’s official ODI rankings, it was Borren’s captaincy and willingness to lead from the front which was a key factor in the decision to give him the award.

But both internationally and domestically, his contribution with bat and ball should not be underestimated: as the figures in the Kleefstra Almanak, which comprises the second section of the Jaarboek, make clear, he was a key factor for both club and country.

His sheer workrate is remarkable, since when his international and club performances are combined to produce the figures Dutch statisticians know as the ‘Topklasse niveau’, Borren is seen to have played no fewer than 46 matches (not counting 17 Twenty20 games) between February and September – only his VRA team-mate Eric Szwarczynski with 47 played more.

And in those 46 games he scored 1013 runs at 25.97 and took 41 wickets at 34.88 – three batsmen scored more runs and four bowlers took more wickets, but as an allround effort it was without equal, especially when one notes that as a fielder he led the way with no fewer than 30 catches.

In an international season in which the national side played a record 34 matches, Borren missed just one, having been rested for the one-day game against Zimbabwe A. He hit 544 runs in first-class and one-day matches, including a fine 109 in the Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland, at an average of 20.92, and took 22 wickets at 41.82.

That century was a testament to his character: with his inexperienced side trailing by 181 on the first innings, the skipper came in with the total on 52 for three in the second dig and an innings defeat seemingly very probable. But Borren produced a defiant knock, marshalling his team-mates and hitting 11 fours and five sixes as he led the way in making Scotland bat again.

It is in the field, however, that his importance to his teams is most apparent: he crops up everywhere, with an uncanny ability to put himself where the action is, and the runs he saves are just as important as the frequently vital catches he takes.

2010 was a year of milestones for Borren, who first played in the Netherlands in 2002 and made his international debut four years later. He passed 3000 runs and 150 wickets in the Topklasse (which was, of course, known as the Hoofdklasse until this season), and 5000 runs and 250 wickets at ‘Topklasse niveau’.

In his interview with Jacob-Jan Esmeijer which is one of the features of the Jaarboek, Borren implies that his captaincy is still developing, and 2010 was certainly a demanding year in many ways. But in three months’ time he will face his biggest test, as he leads the Orange Lions in a World Cup where the Associates’ performances will attract more attention than ever before.

The 132-page bilingual first issue of the Cricket Jaarboek gives a clear picture of the current state of Dutch cricket in words, figures and pictures. In addition to the Borren interview, its features include reviews of the international and domestic seasons of men, women and youth, and interviews with KNCB chief executive Richard Cox, Borren’s predecessor as captain Jeroen Smits, and the chairman of promoted club Dosti Amsterdam, Shyam Tewarie. There is also a profile by Jan Balk of Schiedam, the Dutch ‘ cricket city’.

Copies can be obtained at a price of €19.50 plus postage and packing by e-mailing publisher Jeroen van Bergen at info@jeroenvanbergen.nl.