Last Updated on 4 months by Charbel Coorey

NED vs IRE 1st ODI Dream11 Prediction Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | NED vs IRE 1st ODI Dream11 Prediction Today | Netherlands vs Ireland 1st ODI Key Players | Utrecht Pitch Report

History will be made at Utrecht as Netherlands, after a long wait, will make their ODI Super League debut. Better, this will be the first time that cricket will be broadcast live on Dutch TV with Dutch commentary, making the occasion all-the-more exciting for the men in orange.

Australian-born Netherlands head coach Ryan Campbell said, “Our first appearance in the much talked about Super League is no doubt the most important page in the Dutch Cricket History book. We hope to open this chapter with a really competitive series against our great friends and adversaries Ireland.”

Crucially, and somewhat disappointingly, key players including Ryan ten Doeschate and Roelof van der Merwe will not be available for this series as they will remain with their English counties. So, an opportunity awaits for up-and-coming players to perform in a very important series that could very well be a competitive one. Can the Netherlands mark this occasion with the perfect start to their quest for 2023 World Cup qualification?

Ireland, whose only win in six matches in the ODI Super League was against England just under a year ago, will be after crucial points here. They welcome back the experience of William Porterfield and George Dockrell for this series, and they will need to keep their cool against a Dutch side itching to perform. A series whitewash in their favour will put them on 40 points (over rates pending), which will see them shoot right up the points table. Crucial series.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Netherlands:

• Max O’Dowd will be key for the home side. He has struck three fifties in his four ODIs so far, with a total of 235 runs at an average of 78.33. He scored 82 vs Scotland two weeks ago.
• Keeper-batsman Scott Andrews is one of the Netherlands’ key players this series. He has 39 matches of international experience (33 T20Is, 6 ODIs), and recently scored his first half-century (56) in ODI cricket against Scotland.
• Australian-born Ben Cooper, brother of Tom Cooper, will be itching for a big series. He has 66 matches of international experience (56 T20Is, 10 ODIs), with 10 50+ scores. He is coming off a poor series vs Scotland (10 runs in two matches), so will be looking to bounce back.
• Netherlands skipper Pieter Seelaar has enjoyed some success vs Ireland, albeit over a decade ago. He has only been dismissed once in three innings with a total of 73 runs, as well as four wickets in four innings with the ball.
• Vivian Kingma recently took five wickets for a total of just 44 runs (econ. 2.93) in two matches against Scotland (3/21 and 2/23).
• Watch out for Sydney-born Timm van der Gugten. He is an experienced bowler with 68 scalps in 58 List A matches (as well as 178 FC wickets at 27.28). His last ODI was in 2013, so if picked here, he’ll be keen to make a mark.

Ireland:

• Paul Stirling has been superb in ODI cricket over the past couple of years. Since the start of 2019, Stirling has struck 1,351 runs in 25 innings at an average of 56.29. Against Netherlands, Stirling has a fine record with 286 runs at an average of 47.66 (1 fifty, 1 hundred).
• William Porterfield, who’s back in the Ireland squad, has the most runs for Ireland against Netherlands (328).
• Skipper Andy Balbirnie is having a poor year in ODIs (5 inns, 81 runs, avg. 16.20). However, he has been a consistent performer for Ireland in recent years, with 795 runs at 41.17 across 2019 and 2020.
• Kevin O’Brien surprisingly has a poor batting record vs Netherlands (8 inns, 138 runs, avg. 19.71). However, he enjoys bowling vs the Dutch, with 17 wickets in 10 ODIs at an average of 15.82.
• Simi Singh is one of four players to have at least 10 ODI wickets in 2021. Singh has taken his 10 wickets in just four games (vs UAE and Afghanistan). However, conditions in Utrecht will be different to that of Abu Dhabi.
• George Dockrell is also back in the Ireland squad, and will be looking to make a mark if given the chance. He has seven wickets in six ODIs vs Netherlands (avg. 25.57, econ. 4.08).
• However, Dockrell is plying his trade as a batting all-rounder in recent times. Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie said that Dockrell is likely to bat at five. Since 2017, Dockrell is averaging an incredible 101.28 in Ireland’s List A competiton.

Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: Matches 10, Netherlands 1, Ireland 7, 1 tie, 1 no result.
• The last ODI these two teams played was a tie back in 2013, with both sides scoring 268 in a thrilling contest. William Porterfield scored 30 (44) and Paul Stirling struck a 50-ball 49.
• This will be the Netherlands’ first ever match in the ODI Super League. Ireland currently sit 10th with one win in six matches.

Possible Playing 11

Netherlands: 1. Max O’Dowd, 2. Stephan Myburgh, 3. Ben Cooper, 4. Pieter Seelaar (c), 5. Scott Edwards (wk), 6. Bas de Leede, 7. Tobias Visee, 8. Logan van Beek, 9. Timm van der Gugten, 10. Paul van Meekeren/Aryan Dutt, 11. Vivian Kingma

Ireland: 1. Paul Stirling, 2. William Porterfield, 3. Andy Balbirnie (c), 4. Kevin O’Brien, 5. George Dockrell, 6. Harry Tector, 7. Lorcan Tucker (wk), 8. Simi Singh/Andy McBrine, 9. Mark Adair, 10. Barry McCarthy, 11. Josh Little/Craig Young

Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd Utrecht Pitch Report and Weather

Back in 2019, Germany were rolled for 53 in a T20I vs Italy. In the next game between the same two sides, Italy (135/4) chased down Germany’s 130 with ease. At the Hague, which is considered to have a similar pitch to that of Utrecht, UAE beat Netherlands twice in a four-match T20I series, with an average first innings score of 151.

Here, expect a balanced surface where the bowlers will have a say particularly early on as the match is in European conditions. A mostly sunny day is forecast, with a top of 26 degrees which should make batting pleasant as the day goes on.

Dream11 Prediction

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Match Prediction

Here’s hoping for a competitive clash on a special day for Dutch cricket. Ireland start as favourites given key players are missing for Netherlands, but the Irish will have to work hard in this match.