The Dutch World Cup squad received a send-off in Amsterdam on Sunday evening, preparatory for their departure to Dubai and beyond on 30 January.

It was an opportunity for players and support staff, who had spent the day training, honing their media skills and relaxing with some go-kart racing, to meet representatives of the Dutch press, and for the KNCB to wish them well officially.

Celebrated Dutch cabaret artist and self-confessed cricket nut Erik van Muiswinkel began proceedings by drawing attention to the ‘immense distance’ between the everyday world of Dutch cricket – a sport which, he said, is ‘virtually non-existent’ in popular consciousness – and the achievements of the national side.

‘Through your efforts in India and Bangladesh,’ he told the players, ‘you will gain more attention for the game, and through that you will provide support for its growth. I shall be doing everthing I can at this end to encourage the media to give your performances the attention they deserve.’

Van Muiswinkel recalled having spent a day with the Dutch footballers during last year’s World Cup in South Africa.

‘What struck me was the purposefulness they showed even when they were relaxing,’ he said, ‘and I sense something similar here.’

His words were picked up by team captain Peter Borren, who said that he was proud to lead ‘an over-achieving side’, which he was confident would compete well on the world stage.

‘We have a great squad and a great support staff,’ he said, ‘and we’re determined to do everyone proud.’

Talking after the formal proceedings were over, vice-captain Bas Zuiderent was clearly looking forward enormously to taking part in his fourth World Cup – he first played as an eighteen-year-old in Pakistan and India in the 1996 event, making 54 against England in his second ODI.

‘It was pointed out to me recently that our opening match this time, against England in Nagpur, will be fifteen years to the day after that 1996 game in Peshawar,’ Zuiderent said, ‘and that’s a happy coincidence.’

Zuiderent draws a contrast between the two squads and their preparation: ‘Then we had a lot of older guys, like Nolan Clarke, Peter Cantrell and PJ Bakker, whereas this time we have a younger squad with a young captain.

‘And although there was a lot of physical preparation fifteen years ago, it largely consisted of running in the dunes at Scheveningen. There was nothing like the gym work we do now with a professional fitness trainer. The whole thing has become much more professional.’

Coach Peter Drinnen is justly proud of the support team he has assembled, and believes they are well placed to keep the players on course during a long and demanding tournament.

‘My goal is for us to produce the cricket we’re capable of,’ Drinnen says. ‘We need to take care of the simple things, and then the good things will follow.

Drinnen cannily declines to be drawn on what he would regard as a reasonable outcome.

‘In the world of Associates cricket,’ he insists, ‘the most important thing is to make the most of what you have, to prepare thoroughly, to stay fit and focused, and to give it your all. We’ll be doing all that – we’ll concentrate on the achievables, and we won’t be worrying too much about the challenges.’

Skipper Borren believes he has a squad which is capable of performing well, and of causing at least one upset.

‘It’s a question of putting yourself in a position to win,’ he says, ‘and I’ll be looking for us to give ourselves a chance in every game.

‘We’ve proved against England and Bangladesh that we have the ability to beat Full members, and with players like Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom Cooper and Alexei Kervezee in the side we have every reason to back ourselves.’

Borren pays tribute to the hard work his seam bowlers have been putting in under the guidance of Durham bowling coach Neil Killeen.

‘It’s become a really focused unit,’ he says. ‘Discipline has to be the key, and the bowlers know they have to eliminate the bad balls, which you still get even in the highest levels of cricket. That’s where the boundaries come from, and we’ll be aiming to keep them to a minimum.

‘And we know that we have to take early wickets if we are to contain the world-class batsmen we’ll be facing.’

The squad will warm up with two matches in Dubai on 6 and 8 February, followed by two more in Sri Lanka before moving on to India and the tournament proper.