“The word ‘Associate’ is banned in our dressing room, we call it a swear word.”
It’s not the first time Netherlands’ head coach Ryan Cook is saying it, and it won’t be the last.
“It is what it is because that is what it’s called in the mainstream. The story from our dressing room is that we aren’t an Associate member, but a good cricket team that can compete against any good team.”
After a historic victory over South Africa on October 17, Cook has every reason to feel vindicated by his evaluation. Nevertheless, he and his team also deserve honor because, despite their bravado, ‘Associate’ is not a fictitious designation; it is an actuality. One that addresses the substantial financial disparity between the Netherlands and the other 50-over World Cup teams, as well as the resources that are constrained by this disparity.
Last month, as the full members competed in a succession of preparatory bilateral series and tournaments, the Netherlands were training in Bangalore’s second cricket facility, and cook joked about how difficult it had been to secure a match. Even after an impressive performance in the World Cup qualifiers and a public appeal for opposition to cover the four-month gap before the World Cup, the Netherlands were only able to secure a match against the Karnataka State Cricket Association through an extensive network of business connections.
“Having seen how much cricket there is happening on (Indian) TV and all the channels lately, we can see why not a lot of teams were keen on playing against us,” Cook said. “We put a few feelers out for some fixtures because we realised how important it will be. We were happy to play against ‘A’ teams or anything like that to get into these conditions, and play against some good oppositions like we’ve seen here.”
In the match against Karnataka, the visitors’ paucity of game experience manifested itself, as their first seven batsmen were dismissed without scoring a run.
