By Priscilla Jepchumba
After securing victories against the UAE and Scotland in Dubai last March, the Canadian team will now play in more familiar conditions in the Netherlands, starting with three matches at Westvliet before moving to Hazelaarweg in Rotterdam for the remainder of the series.
They have made minimal changes to their squad from the T20 World Cup, notably including Harsh Thaker and Rishiv Joshi.
Thaker, who missed the T20 tournament, showed impressive form in Dubai with scores of 111 not out against the hosts and an unbeaten 105 against Scotland, making him a likely candidate to return to the ODI side.
Despite having appeared in seven T20Is, left-arm fast medium bowler Joshi is yet to make his one-day debut. The presence of fellow left-armer Kaleem Sana in the squad is likely to limit his opportunities.
Canada’s diverse bowling attack includes seamers Kaleem, Dilon Heyliger, and Jeremy Gordon, along with slow left-armer Saad Bin Zafar, off-spinner Pargat Singh, and leg spinner Junaid Siddiqui. Their middle-order batting, featuring Nicholas Kirton, Navneet Dhaliwal, and Thaker, is expected to pose challenges for their opponents.
The home team, the Netherlands, boasts considerably more experience, despite missing their county-contracted players once again.
While the Dutch have lost Sybrand Engelbrecht due to retirement, they have welcomed back Musa Ahmad and Noah Croes, with the latter also providing backup as a keeper for Scott Edwards.
Coach Ryan Cook may face challenges in determining the optimal top three, as Musa, along with Max O’Dowd, Michael Levitt, and Vikram Singh, typically open the batting at club and regional level.
Though the Americans will miss Saurabh Netravalkar’s experience and Ali Khan’s pace, their batting lineup, led by captain Monank Patel and seasoned players Aaron Jones and Steven Taylor, can score plenty of runs.
American coach Stuart Law has always been optimistic about his squad. “We play some really good cricket,” said Law concerning a past match they lost against South Africa. “We’ve unearthed some – well, they’re going to be rock stars!”, commented the coach concerning the future of his team.
With the top four sides from League 2 advancing to the 2026 World Cup Qualifier and the remaining sides having to go through a play-off, accumulating points will be crucial in this tournament and every subsequent one.
The Dutch, having only gathered four out of eight possible points in Nepal in February, will be eager to make the most of their home advantage this time.