Netherlands’ Logan van Beek: One-sided matches are beneficial for the sport

Before the Netherlands’ crucial Group D T20 World Cup 2024 match against Sri Lanka at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St. Lucia on Sunday night, Sportstar caught up with Dutch all-rounder Logan van Beek.

Although born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand, van Beek holds a Dutch passport due to his father’s Dutch descent. It wasn’t until the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh that he became eligible to play for the Netherlands as a local player.

The 33-year-old touches upon many topics in detail in this interview.

Excerpts:

Q) How do you feel about your team’s performance in the T20 World Cup so far, given the Netherlands’ history of causing upsets in the last two tournaments?

A) The Netherlands came into the T20 World Cup with a history of causing a few upsets in the last two tournaments. We were very confident that we could replicate those performances in this tournament as well. We started well against Nepal, showcasing the calibre of our bowling attack and the calmness needed to get over the line, with Max (O’Dowd) doing a great job in the end.

The second game against South Africa demonstrated that we can compete with the best sides in the world. The pitch favoured the bowlers, but we managed to put ourselves in a position to win that match. The game against Bangladesh was very important and highly competitive. It was a close contest, with nearly 160 scored, and a good balance between bat and ball.

At this stage, we believe that our wins being labelled an ‘upset’ is no longer relevant. We are just as good as any other team, and we deserve to be at these world tournaments. We can beat anyone on our day, and that’s the mindset we carried into this tournament.

Seeing other teams like the USA cause upsets, especially with their result against Pakistan and now advancing to the Super Eights, is fantastic for cricket. I’m very pleased that it’s a 20-team tournament.

I’m also happy for teams like PNG (Papua New Guinea) and Uganda. Yes, they’ve had some rough games with low scores, but we’ve experienced the same in past T20 World Cups. You have to come to these World Cups, gain experience, and come back stronger.

What additional challenges do Associate teams face beyond player availability and selection from a smaller talent pool?

The obvious challenge we face is the limited pool of players we can pick from. Our players are not under enough pressure and don’t have to fight for their spots as much because there aren’t many players coming through. This puts the responsibility on the players in the team to ensure they’re upskilling and taking the experiences they gain at these World Cups and other world events to improve as cricketers.

However, the funding and playing opportunities are just not there. Since the last T20 World Cup, we’ve only played, I think, eight (nine) T20Is [before this T20 World Cup], and that was two years ago, purely because we didn’t have the fixtures.

Without regular fixtures, players can’t get what they need out of club cricket in the Netherlands because the standard is on a completely different level. We’re not facing bowlers clocking 140 kph in club cricket, nor are we playing on similar pitches.

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Most of the time, we’re playing do-or-die T20Is and missing those intermediary matches where you learn how to win games and test different combinations. You learn where players are best suited. Instead, we’re trying our best on the fly to get the combinations right with the few games we have.

Often, we go into these tournaments not quite knowing who is best suited for which roles. This probably reflects in our results; we get ourselves into winning positions but can’t quite get over the line due to our lack of experience in winning games consistently.

The challenge lies in securing more funding and playing more matches against top-tier teams. With additional funding from different sources, we could invest more in tours and even arrange tours of India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. These wouldn’t be do-or-die tournaments but competitive games where players can learn how to win.

Right now, we only get games where we have to win immediately, and while we’ve shown that we have the skill in parts, what we lack is the experience of winning those crucial moments and maintaining performance over longer periods.

To what extent does your team rely on data analytics in T20 cricket?

What we lack in terms of big-name players— those who play in the IPL and T20 competitions around the world – we make up for with the depth of our analytics and planning. We have a lot of meetings and try to find little ways to create advantages, such as specific bowling plans or targetting certain matchups.

We probably do this more than any other team because we need to find an edge over our opponents. Given that we lack world-class match winners, we rely on our analytical approach.

We play as a team and come together by using analytics, sticking to the plans, and trusting those plans. If someone beats us on the day, like David Miller did recently, showing what a world-class player can do in a situation, it simply highlights the areas we need to focus on.

With the surge in high scores in the IPL, reflecting the evolution of T20 batting, have you considered adopting a similar aggressive approach as a team?

The IPL is a unique beast. The substitution (Impact Player) rule in the last couple of years has changed the way batters approach the game. With batters going down to number eight, those at the top have more freedom to play expansive and risky shots.

The IPL pitches are very much in favour of batters, which is fantastic for crowds and TV viewers with all the sixes, but it can feel a bit unfair on the bowlers. There’s skill involved, but the small boundaries, quick outfields, and flat wickets often tilt the balance.

In contrast, even though there have been low-scoring games in this World Cup so far, it’s been far more competitive. It’s bat versus ball versus field versus the skill of the players.

Bowlers have to be super precise, and batters have to bat properly and choose their moments to go for big shots. They can’t just swing at everything. Bowlers can still produce dot balls, creating more drama and tension, which I feel is more entertaining for cricket lovers because you don’t really know what’s going to happen.

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When the pitches are too flat, it sometimes feels like you’re just giving throwdowns to batters, turning the game into a slogfest where the best slogger wins. The skill of bowlers gets nullified when they can’t rely on slow balls or other variations, and mishits going for sixes become a problem. A mishit should ideally get the batter out, and a six or four should come from a well-executed shot.

The match against Bangladesh [in St. Vincent] was played on what I consider a perfect T20 wicket. It had good-sized boundaries and a pitch where bowlers could be rewarded for good-length deliveries. If you bowled a bad ball, you got punished.

The score was around 160, which is ideal because a few good overs can raise the run rate, and a big over can shift control back to the batting side, allowing for a nice ebb and flow.

Wickets like the one in St. Vincent are better for the game. Everyone is in play—there’s a bit of spin, a bit of bounce, and good rewards for well-timed shots due to the quick outfield. That was a perfect example of a good T20 game.

Having previously defeated South Africa and coming close to victory in this T20 World Cup, it seems a rivalry is brewing. Could you describe the significance of these wins for an Associate player?

The wins against South Africa were significant for us. The one in 2022 (T20 World Cup) in Adelaide was such a special moment because we had gone through the Super League and endured tough times where we were close but couldn’t get over the line. We had this “associate” tag around us. We wanted to shed that tag and be known as a top-tier nation that teams have to turn up and beat.

We confirmed that again in the 2023 ODI World Cup when we beat South Africa in Dharamsala, which then created a rivalry. Going into that (2024 T20 World Cup) game, I was excited about the possibility of making it three wins from three, and what a game it was. We had to scrap hard to get to 100.

If we had managed to get seven or eight or 10 off that last over, it could have changed the game a bit, but we had South Africa on the ropes. At 12 for four, we could feel the wobble, the nervousness. We believed in that moment that we could win because we had done it twice before. We were just beaten by a world-class innings from David Miller.

What wins against big teams do—and this is what the USA will feel and what Scotland has felt in recent times—is give you confidence. You don’t just go into those games thinking, “All right, let’s just compete.” You go in knowing that if you play your best, you can win.

In the past, we might have gone into games thinking, “Let’s just make sure we compete. Let’s get to 120. Let’s get four or five wickets and be grateful to be there.”

But now, we’re over that. We’re here to compete. We know we can put a good total on the board, defend it, and chase it.

The mystique of playing these big teams has worn off a bit for us. We definitely respect all the other teams, but we feel like now that we’ve played them more often in recent years, we’re competing at the same level. They know now that when they come up against the Netherlands, they have to be on their game. We pride ourselves on being prepared, being a good fielding side, being disciplined in our bowling, and having players who can be match-winners.

It’s important for us and for other Associate teams to be in these tournaments. When an Associate team causes an upset, it gives a shot of confidence, excitement, and investment. We deserve to be here, not just to make up the numbers.

You still play domestic cricket in New Zealand as well as England. Does that help your game personally? In terms of perhaps better understanding oppositions and adjusting to conditions?

I grew up playing cricket in New Zealand and have been playing domestic cricket there for 14–15 years. One of the great things about playing domestic cricket in New Zealand is that I get 10 T20 games, 10 one-day games, and eight four-day games each year. This is high-level cricket against the best players in New Zealand.

With my Wellington side, I have a lot of responsibility, especially when it comes to bowling and finishing off innings. I’m constantly put into positions where I have to win games and be present in important moments. I’ve both succeeded and failed in those moments, but the key is that I get to play those games at a high level.

When I get a chance to play in England, there’s even more competition and more games. In England, you play almost every other day, and the pitches are slightly different, so you have to adjust your line and the types of balls you bowl. Again, I’m in situations where I have to win games. The consistency of my performances over the last few years has come from playing non-stop. This is my seventh season on the bounce.

The other day against Bangladesh wasn’t one of my best games, and that’s the nature of playing constantly—you have good games and bad games. But then you move on to the next one, keep learning from your mistakes, and stay eager for the next game. This can be quite hard for most of the Dutch players who don’t get the quantity of games at the first-class level and above.

Players like Scott Edwards should be playing in the Big Bash in Australia, Max O’Dowd should be playing domestic cricket in New Zealand… Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, they’re not getting those opportunities, making it difficult for them to consistently play at a high level.

For me, I focus on keeping my body fit so I can play as much cricket as possible and keep improving my ability to win games. I want to be the guy at the end of the innings hitting those sixes, scoring the winning runs, or having the ball in my hand to nail that crucial yorker. The more matches I play at a high level, the more comfortable I become, the more I improve, and the better I get at winning games. So when I play for the Netherlands, I am ready to win games for my country.

World Cups often mark significant turning points in one’s life. What lessons have you gained from this journey, both as a bowler and as an individual?

This is the first World Cup where my wife has joined me, and it’s been a wonderful experience. Over the last few years, she has done an incredible job transitioning to working online. Now, she can work from anywhere in the world, and we’re finally living the lifestyle we’ve dreamed of. She can follow me wherever I’m playing cricket, and we get to enjoy these experiences together. 

This has made our relationship much stronger. We’re visiting incredible countries together, which I cherish deeply. I hope we can continue doing this for another four or five years. She also gets a bit of insight into what it’s like to be with a travelling cricket side. Her presence has helped me, especially on bad days, as she gives me a reality check and reassures me that everything will be okay. 

Having her by my side has made this the most enjoyable World Cup I’ve had. It’s easier when you travel to places like St. Vincent, St. Lucia, New York, Dallas, and Miami—places I never thought I’d get the chance to play in. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this World Cup.

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While we all hope for great performances and winning games, even if it doesn’t work out against Sri Lanka, I will still look back on this World Cup as a wonderful experience with a great bunch of guys who I’ve loved playing cricket with over the last few years.

The last 12 months have seen a significant uptick in the performances of the Netherlands team. Do you see an increase in interest in the sport back home as well? 

I hope that in a few years we will see the results of our performances, especially for the kids between the ages of eight and 14. We believe we can have the biggest influence on them, encouraging them to choose cricket over football or hockey. By showing them what a professional cricket lifestyle is like and the experiences they can have, we hope to inspire them. 

While it may not result in immediate numbers, I would love to look back in 10 years and see a player on the Netherlands cricket team say in an interview after getting Man of the Match, “I remember watching the 2023 World Cup when the Netherlands beat South Africa in Dharamsala.

That was the day I wanted to be a Netherlands cricketer because I saw how much enjoyment they were having, and I wanted to be like Scott Edwards or Logan Van Beek.” 

Our goal is for the Netherlands team to be better than it is now and to become a top-10 nation in the world. This comes from performing at the highest level. The more we can win now, the more we hope to inspire the next Bas de Leede, Vikramjit Singh, or Aryan Dutt. 

Time will tell if this vision comes to fruition, but that’s the hope.

While the ICC has increased the number of teams in T20 World Cups, the number of one-sided games is also on the rise. How do you look at this balance?

In 2014, we were bowled out for 39 against Sri Lanka. In 2021, we were bowled out for 42 against Sri Lanka. Yes, there might be one-sided games in this tournament, but everyone has to start somewhere.

Uganda, PNG, Oman—all these teams are experiencing the World Cup for the first time. They need this experience. They need to know what it’s like at the highest level. They need to know what it’s like to face bowlers like Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Pat Cummins, Shaheen Afridi, and Jasprit Bumrah.

So, yes, there might be some one-sided games, but in a few years, these teams might reach a similar stage to where we are now. Ireland and Scotland have shown that top-tier nations can’t just turn up and beat them easily. These teams have learned from their experiences, gone back to their home countries, and improved their training and commitment to becoming better cricketers.

The tough days and the embarrassing days hurt. But if you love cricket enough, it fuels you to be better. They drive you to improve your fitness, fielding, batting, and bowling.

One-sided games are beneficial for the sport because these teams will be better for it in the future. These World Cups need to be genuine World Tournaments, not just featuring the top eight teams. They need to include more of the world’s teams. The performance of the USA team in this World Cup is a great example.

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The USA is one of the biggest sports markets in the world. If they start investing more in cricket, it will expand the game’s reach. This will have a top-down effect, leading to more investment in other nations and more sponsors wanting to be part of the American market. This will improve the game as a whole.

I think it’s crucial that these teams be in the tournament. While there may be some one-sided games, we need to look at the long term. We need to see how teams have improved over the years because of these experiences. I was there in 2014, walking off the field after being bowled by Lasith Malinga. I was there in Sharjah (2021), experiencing the embarrassment. But those experiences make you a better cricketer and a better team. You share those experiences and come together to improve.