The Dutch women’s squad will kick off their 2011 season in late April by taking part in a quadrangular tournament in Sri Lanka, which will also involve key rivals Ireland and Pakistan.

The tournament, which will be the second element in a two-week visit to Sri Lanka as the side prepares for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh in November, will involve three ODIs and the same number of Twenty20 matches.

An intensive programme will also give the players valuable experience of playing in the Sub-continent, and will focus on fielding and on batting against spin, two areas which have been identified as needing improvement. The Dutch women had a tough time at the Women’s Challenge in South Africa in October, losing all seven of their matches.

The selectors have, however, kept faith with the same group of players. The squad with be without injured seamer Mariska Kornet and leg-spinner Annemarie Tanke, who has retired, with Alarda Mol, who missed the South African tournament, the one addition.

The full squad is:
Helmien Rambaldo (Quick Haag, captain), Marloes Braat, Laura Brouwers (both Hermes-DVS Schiedam), Evelien Gerrits (Ajax Oegstgeest), Carlijn de Groot (Hermes-DVS), Denise Hannema (ACC), Esther de Lange (Kampong Utrecht), Esther Lanser, Alarda Mol (both Quick Haag), Marijn Nijman, Denise Prins, Miranda Veringmeier and Violet Wattenberg (all Hermes-DVS).

The itinerary:

   21 April 		ODI 		v. Sri Lanka

   23 April 		ODI 		v. Pakistan

   25 April 		ODI 		v. Ireland

   27 April 		T20 		v. Pakistan

   28 April 		T20 		v. Ireland

   30 April 		T20 		v. Sri Lanka

But the KNCB also has its eye on the future, and it has announced the establishment of a separate A-squad to give a rising generation of players an improved chance of bridging the gap and achieving international standard.

The group will be working with former international Caroline de Fouw, who has just gained her ECB Level 3 coaching diploma, and Level 2 coach Erik Verhagen. They have based their selection on an intensive net session.

‘I am greatly impressed by the work ethic and the readiness of these players,’ De Fouw said last week, ‘and we shall be spending the rest of the winter working on their skills and fitness so that they are in a position to challenge for a spot in the national side.

‘One or two of the girls have already been invited to train with the full squad, but the aim is that they will prove themselves in the A side before they make the step up.’,/p>

The intention is that the A team will play up to five matches in the summer, with the possibility of a tour to England into the bargain. With the full side playing in Division 3 of the ECB county championship and the Women’s World Cup Qualifier beyond, there seem likely to be real opportunities for those who make the grade.

The new A squad is: Maxime Entrop (Quick Haag), Christine Erkelens (Ajax Oegstgeest), Heather File (Kampong Utrecht), Amber de Groot (Ajax), Mireille van Haren (Quick Nijmegen), Aalima Hasan Burney (Quick Haag), Nathalie Hennis, Hannah Hofman, Icara Kraidy (all VRA), Merel Krulder (Quick Haag), Hester Offerman (Rood en Wit Haarlem), Cathy Sibley (ACC), Pietje Suurenbroek (Ajax) and Coco Steenstra Toussaint (Rood en Wit).
The group also includes three players from the Under-17 squad:
Leonie Bennett (Hermes-DVS Schiedam), Sasha Bruning (Quick Nijmegen) and Emma van Muiswinkel (Rood en Wit).

These developments provide a clear indication of the Bond’s determination to maintain, and if possible improve, the Netherlands’ current international standing in women’s cricket. It remains to be seen whether the same approach will be adopted in the men’s game, where the A squad seems essentially to have broken down.