As the realm of international cricket continues to grow further in the age of globalisation, the gap between Full member Nations and Associates has continued to widen even more. In terms of cricketing standards specifically, it may not be the main emphasis, but the significance lies more in the monetary benefits and particularly in the infrastructure.

The ICC, the global governing body of the game, has now reduced the 50 Over World Cup (Cricket's ultimate flagship tournament) to 10 teams, the lowest ever since 1992. The T20 World Cup does feature 16 teams at the outset, but the ploy of dividing it into two rounds ensures that most of the associate nations get eliminated even before the Super 12s begin. As the road ahead has gotten tougher for the lesser-ranked cricketing sides, the "Giant Strides", taken by the Netherlands in cricket, has taken the cricketing fraternity by storm.

On Thursday, as the Dutch beat Scotland in a nail-biting finish at the Cricket World Cup Qualifiers, they became the only associate team to feature in this year's 50-over World Cup scheduled to be held in India. What makes their feat even more remarkable is that they've done it ahead of three other full-member nations, who were also in the hunt. West Indies, Ireland and hosts Zimbabwe all had to swallow the bitter pill as the Dutch galloped ahead of them to book for themselves a place in the World Cup Qualifiers. So how have the Dutch, managed to turn the tide in their favour and usher in a new Renaissance of their cricketing glory, at a time when cricket is being increasingly monopolised instead of being democratised?

Historical Overview and Rise from Obscurity to Prominence

Over the years, Netherlands have never really been known for its cricketing prowess. Actually, it has been football that has always managed to capture the imagination of the Dutch public. Cricket, for the larger part, had been limited to a few pockets, and their participation in the World Cups didn't really culminate into anything special until it all changed in the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Holland managed to beat arch-rivals Ireland by chasing 193 in just 14 overs and thereby booked their spots for the Super 10 phase of that tournament. In that phase, they ran top teams like South Africa and New Zealand really close before stunning Giants England in their final game. They beat the Three Lions by a humiliating margin of 50+ runs as they bundled them out for 88. From there onwards, their cricketing ecosystem saw a significant churn where players from different countries with Dutch roots and ancestries started to flood the country in search of cricketing opportunities.

The Super Six stage is all wrapped up at the #CWC23 Qualifier!

The final standings as Sri Lanka and the Netherlands march on to India 🏆 pic.twitter.com/uXBgHBKJYd

— ICC (@ICC) July 8, 2023

The 50-over domestic competition in Netherlands, known as the "Topklasse", is a fiercely fought tournament that features players from all around the world, including India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and, in particular, South Africa. A lot of these players stayed back over time and acquired citizenship to make them eligible to represent the Dutch. For most South African cricketers plying their trade in the country, the connection is not just professional but also emotional and one that involves cross-cultural and civilisational ties. The white community of South Africa are mostly the "Afrikaans" speaking people who derive their ancestry from people of Dutch origin. While the two languages are different from one another, they have a lexical similarity of more than 50%, thereby making it really easy for a person from one community to understand the other.

The dawn of a new era: ICC ODI Super League

The coming off age moment for cricket in Netherlands was when their efforts paid off, and they became the 13th team to be a part of the ICC ODI super league cycle from (2019-2023). Being a part of the cycle meant that they were entitled to play at least 24 ODI's during this period, most of which came against top nations like, West Indies, England, Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand. They failed to win against the big sides, but the exposure massively helped them to improve their skill sets. They got the better of Namibia and UAE in the first round to make it to the Super 12s, and this time, they managed to better their show from what it was in 2014. The Dutch team beat an in-form Zimbabwean side before upsetting South Africa, who were looking set for a semifinal berth. The game against the Proteas could be called a watershed moment in Holland cricket as a lot of the members of that team including, Stephan Myburg, Colin Ackerman, Brandon Glover and former Proteas all-rounder, Roelof Van der Merwe themselves, were from South Africa. Not only did it take away a semis berth from SA, but it also ensured a direct qualification for Netherlands Cricket to the 2024 T29 World Cup.

Read Also: India's fixture in ICC World Cup 2023, schedule and venue details and semi-final situation

World Cup Qualifiers and the Dutch Cricketing Folklore

However, despite all the highs of the last 24 months, the Dutch came into the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe on the back of a weak squad. They were missing most of their front-line players as they were busy with county duties. Despite that, however, they managed to string together a decent squad from those playing in the Topklasse and included new players like Michael Levitt, Shariz Ahmed and Saqib Zulfiqar. The likes of Vikramjit Singh, Logan Van Been and Bas de Leede won them games singlehandedly as they upset the West Indies in the first round and managed to run Sri Lanka really close in the Super Six stages of the competition before beating Scotland yesterday and ensuring that the fairy tale that they had started won't be finishing any time soon. A World Cup qualification will allow the Dutch to travel to India in October and play the best sides in the world for nine games. On the financial front of things, it would lead to a massive inflow of revenue and sponsorships and would help them to grow cricket at the grassroots and build new and better cricketing facilities in the country.

At this juncture, as the game struggles to make itself more equitable to its members, the Dutch have been the flag bearers of associate cricket. The World Cricketing fraternity is still searching for a new Full member nation after Afghanistan and Ireland were granted Test Status in 2017. With a generation of cricketers who are unwavering in their commitment and indomitable in their will, the Dutch are certainly front-runners in that aspect. It was thus very fitting that a native Dutchman, Bas de Leede (Son of former captain and legend Tim de Leede), produced the performance of a lifetime to take them to the Zenith of international cricket, the World Cup. At this stage, one has to admire, applaud and bow down to this incredible cricketing folklore that has been stitched together by a country better known for its windmills, tulips and cycling prowess. To sign off, at this moment, the Netherlands Cricket stands tall as a harbinger of hope, an embodiment of the infinite possibilities that lie dormant within the heart of every cricketing nation.

Indian men's cricket team finally won their first 50-over ICC title in 12 years as they defeated New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 final by four wickets in Dubai. Here are the past winners of the last 10 ICC tournaments.

Read also: Every inaugural ICC tournament winners

1. T20 World Cup- West Indies (2016)

Eden Gardens, Kolkata hosted the 2016 T20 World Cup on 3rd April between England and West Indies. West Indies defeated their opponent by 4 wickets and won the final with 2 balls remaining. Carols Braithwaite with four sixes in four balls to Ben Stokes became an overnight hero for the West Indies team. Marlon Samuels scored 85* off 66 balls and became the Man of the Match.

Read also: Virat Kohli records as captain in white ball Cricket

2. Champions Trophy- Pakistan (2017)

The Oval, London hosted one of the biggest cricket rivalries on 18 June 2017. The match was the 2017 Champions Trophy final between India and Pakistan. Pakistan sent the Indian squad back to the pavilion in less than 31 overs and won the final by 180 runs. Fakhar Zaman won the man of the match award.

Read also: 5 Youngest Captains to lift the ICC Cricket World Cup

3. ICC World Cup- England (2019)

The night of 14th July 2019 has to be one of the most interesting and different in cricket history. Both England and New Zealand scored the same during their innings and also in the super-over. The result of the match was decided in an interesting method; the team with the superior number of boundaries was the winner. Hence, England won the tournament.

Read also: WTC Final: ICC Event winners since 2000

4. World Test Championship- New Zealand (2021)

Winning the World Test Championship has to be New Zealand's biggest victory in cricket history. Southampton hosted the final from 18 June to 23rd June 2021. Kane Williamson led the team to victory and the final test match by 8 wickets. With bowling figures of 5/31, 21 & 2/30, Kyle Jamieson was the Man of the match in the final.

Read also: T20 World Cup 2021: Man of the Series, highest wicket-taker, and highest run-getter

5. T20 World Cup- Australia (2021)

Australia once again proved its dominance and worth on the night of the 2021 T20 World Cup final. The entire Australian team contributed their best and clinched the trophy last night to beat New Zealand by 8 wickets. David Warner chose the best platform to prove himself after a humiliating IPL season. Mitchell Marsh scored an unbelievable knock of 77* in 50 balls and won the Man of the Match award.

6. T20 World Cup - England (2022)

England won their third ICC trophy as they clinched the T20 World Cup 2022 title after beating Pakistan in the final by five wickets. Sam Curran was adjudged the player of the tournament for his 13 wickets in the tournament. Curran was also the player of the final as his 3/22 helped England restrict Pakistan to 137 in the first inning. This was England's second T20 World Cup title.

7. World Test Championship - Australia (2023)

India again failed to win any ICC trophy since 2013 as Pat Cummins-led Australia defeated India by 209 runs. Australia scored a massive 469 in the first inning as Steve Smith and Travis Head scored tons for the Aussies. The first-inning score proved to be too much for India as they scored only 296 in the reply and Australia put more pressure with 270 in the second inning.

Despite starts for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, India failed to get close to the score and eventually suffered the defeat. 

With this win, Josh Hazlewood, David Warner, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc became the only players to win all ICC Trophies. 

8. ICC World Cup - Australia (2023)

Pat Cummins and Australia's dream run continued as they won the ICC Men's World Cup for a record sixth time in 2023 defeating India, again. In one of the most visited and watched World Cup finals in Ahmedabad, Australia defeated India by six wickets.

Despite a great start with the bat, India lost captain Rohit Sharma and post that kept on losing wickets. They could only score 240 in the first inning and though Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami tried their level best, Travis Head's excellent ton (137) took Australia over the line. Head was player of the match in back-to-back ICC Finals. 

Read Also: India's Finals at ICC Men's Tournaments Since 2013 

9. T20 World Cup - India (2024)

India finally broke their jinx of ICC finals after beating South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in Barbados. They clinched their second T20 World Cup title as Rohit Sharma's men defeated the Proteas team by seven runs in the final.

Read Also: Every Player of the Tournament winners in T20 World Cup History

Virat Kohli (76) and Axar Patel (47) played some solid knocks to take India to the highest total (176) in a T20 World Cup final. Though South Africa were cruising for an easy win, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arhsdeep Singh managed to pull things back for India with the ball. Virat Kohli was adjudged the player of the final and Jasprit Bumrah was named the Player of the tournament for his 15 wickets in the tournament. 

10. Champions Trophy - India (2025)

India made it back-to-back global cricket tournaments with a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy final in Dubai.

Chasing 252 against the Blackcaps, India reached home in 49 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The spinners put up a splendid show, helping India restrict the Blakcaps for 251 for 7 after the side latter team won the toss and opted to bat first. 

Kuldeep Yadav (2 for 40) and Varun Chakravarthy (2 for 45) picked two wickets apiece while Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami scalped one wicket each. Daryl Mitchell (63) and Michael Bracewell (53) played crucial knocks for the Blackcaps. 

In the chase, India got off to a flying start, thanks to Rohit Sharma's dominating 76. Shreyas Iyer (48) and KL Rahul (34 not out) also played crucial knocks as India edged past New Zealand to win the Champions Trophy for the third time.

This was India’s second consecutive ICC title win - it had won the T20 World Cup crown in June last year. India has now won two ODI World Cups, two T20 World Cups and three Champions Trophy titles.

Note: The article was first written by Shreya Ghosh and then got updated by Koushik Biswas.

No Indian bowler has picked more wickets in ODI World Cups than Mohammed Shami. He was terrific in the 2023 ODI World Cup and so was in 2019. His tally of 55 wickets is the third-highest by an Asian bowler and fifth in history. He is also the only bowler to grab four five-wicket hauls in World Cups. But, he was never the first choice for India. India played 28 matches in the last three World Cups and Shami appeared in just 18 of those games, India winning on 15 occasions.

Read Also: Suryakumar Yadav as captain: Stats and previous records

Mohammed Shami opened up about the 2019 World Cup in Shubhankar Mishra's podcast

in 2023, Shami was benched for the first four group games. In the 2019 World Cup, India were led by Virat Kohli and coached by Ravi Shastri. Shami made his first appearance in the fifth match against Afghanistan and picked up a hat-trick. Then he scalped a fifer against England in his third appearance.

Shami was rested for the final group game against Sri Lanka and the semifinal against New Zealand. Ultimately, India lost the semi-final against the Kiwis.

A well-known Journalist and YouTuber Shubhankar Mishra invited Mohammed Shami on a podcast and spoke about lots of things. Shami stated that he was shocked by the management's decision in 2019. He thought every team requires good performers, but then why was his performance overlooked despite putting on the best?

“In 2019 I did not play the first 4-5 games. In the next game, I took a hat trick, then picked up a five-wicket haul, and then four wickets in the next game. A similar happened in 2023. I did not play in the first few games and then picked a fifer, then four wickets, and then a five-wicket haul again,” he said.

“The one thing I keep wondering is every team needs players who can perform well. I took 13 wickets in three matches. What more do you expect from me? I neither have questions nor do I have answers. I can only prove myself when I get the opportunity. You gave me a chance, and I took 13 wickets in three matches. Then we lost to New Zealand. played four matches overall and picked 14 wickets. In 2023, I picked 24 wickets in seven matches,” he added.

In 2023, Shami was rested for the first few games. He got the opportunity to get a spot in the playing XI after Hardik Pandya was injured and ruled out. Shami proved his worth and why he deserved the opportunity in the first place by scalping 24 wickets in seven matches. It also included two fifers as Shami finished as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.

There was so much debate and discussion on the pitch that was selected for the ODI World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where Australia ended hosts India's unbeaten 10-match winning streak to lift the precious trophy for a record-extending sixth time. The International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed their rating for the Ahmedabad pitch and the ones used for the semifinal games.

Also Read: U19 Cricket World Cup Winners List (1988 to 2024)

The Final match was played on a used track. India were folded for 240 runs which was chased down by the Aussies with seven overs to spare, courtesy of Travis Head's marvellous century knock.

Before the big game, Australia captain Pat Cummins had raised a concern over the pitch, which was previously used for the India-Pakistan match on October 14, while his India counterpart Rohit Sharma stayed away from the talk around it.

According to some reports, ICC have rated the Ahmedabad track as "average". The rating was given by ICC match referee Andy Pycroft. The report further added that five of India's 11 games - against South Africa in Kolkata, vs England in Lucknow, vs Pakistan in Ahmedabad and vs Australia in Chennai - were played on "averaged-rated" pitches. Among the matches played by India on a pitch that was rated "good" by the ICC, that made by former India bowler Javagal Srinath was the semifinal against New Zealand in Mumbai.

The ICC Men's U19 Cricket World Cup 2024 saw 16 teams playing across four venues in South Africa. This was the 15th edition of the U19 men's event. India clinched the title for the fifth time in 2022 West Indies. Australia win the 2024 edition after beating India in the final by 79 runs. This is Australia's fourth U-19 World Cup title in the history of the competition.

Also Read: ICC Men's U19 Cricket World Cup 2024: Every Squad of the 2024 U19 World Cup

The Under-19 Cricket World Cup is a 50-over tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was first held in Australia in 1988 named as the Youth World Cup with eight teams. Thereafter, the tournament was staged after 10 years in 1998 with 16 teams and it has been a 16-nation tournament held regularly every two years ever since.

Australia were crowned as the winner of the first-ever ICC Under-19 World Cup in 1988. They are the only host nation to win the Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Since then, they have won the tournament four times. Their most recent title came in the current edition after beating India by 79 runs in South Africa.

1988 🏆
2002🏆
2010🏆
2024🏆

Australia are the 2024 U19 World Cup champions! 🇦🇺#AustralianCricket #u19worldcup #INDvAUS #worldcup #Indiancricket #RohitSharma #Viratkohli #Icc #bcci #IndianCricketer #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/DiExcXSRER

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) February 11, 2024

The Indian cricket team is the most successful in the Under-19 World Cup, with five titles to its name. India won their first-ever Under-19 World Cup title in 2000 under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif. They are also the defending Champions as they defeated England in the Final of 2022 U19 Cricket World Cup in West Indies.

A lot of players have made a big name from the U-19 circuit. There are no better examples than Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Babar Azam who have proved themselves in the modern era for their countries.

Under 19 Cricket World Cup Winners List (1988 to 2024)

Most successful teams in ICC U-19 World Cup: By each country

The ICC Men's U19 Cricket World Cup 2024 will see 16 teams playing across four venues in South Africa. This will be the 15th edition of the U19 men's event. India clinched the title for the fifth time in 2022 West Indies. The 16 participating teams have been divided into four groups of four which will start in January. There will be 41 matches with the final to be played in February.

Also Read: ICC names shortlists of contenders in line for the ICC Player of the Month awards for November

Defending Champions India will join Bangladesh, Ireland, and the USA in Group A. Group B features England, South Africa, West Indies, and Scotland. Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Namibia will take part in Group C while Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Nepal are in Group D.

ICC Men's U19 Cricket World Cup 2024: Every Squad

Group A

• India: Yet to announce

• Bangladesh: Yet to announce

• Ireland: Yet to announce

• USA: Yet to announce

Group B

• England U19 Squad: Ben McKinney (c), Luc Benkenstein (vc), Farhan Ahmed, Tazeem Ali, Charlie Allison, Charlie Barnard, Jack Carney, Jaydn Denly, Eddie Jack, Dominic Kelly, Sebastian Morgan, Haydon Mustard, Hamza Shaikh, Noah Thain, and Theo Wylie. 

• South Africa: Yet to announce

• West Indies: Yet to announce

• Scotland: Yet to announce

Group C

• Australia: Yet to announce

• Sri Lanka: Yet to announce

• Zimbabwe: Yet to announce

• Namibia: Yet to announce

Group D

• Afghanistan: Yet to announce

• Pakistan: Yet to announce

• New Zealand: Yet to announce

• Nepal: Yet to announce