T20 World Cup qualifiers: Netherlands hoping coach’s inside knowledge gives them edge over Hong Kong
- Former Hong Kong player Ryan Campbell has been coaching the Dutch team since 2017, with two sides to meet in Zimbabwe next week
- Netherlands opener Max O’Dowd looking to ‘use of all the information’ that Campbell can provide
Netherlands star Max O’Dowd is hoping some insider knowledge will give his side the upper-hand against Hong Kong, when the two teams meet in the T20 World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe next week.
Ryan Campbell, the Dutch head coach, played for Hong Kong at the 2016 tournament alongside the city’s current skipper Nizakat Khan and several other members of the team, and O’Dowd said he was expecting to get the low down from him on the squad.
With two spots for the World Cup in Australia up for grabs, O’Dowd is also determined to give his head coach something to look forward to, as Campbell continues his recovery from a heart attack in April that left him in a week-long coma.
O’Dowd and his side begin their campaign for a fourth successive World Cup appearance on July 11 against Papua New Guinea, before facing the side Campbell represented in 2016.
And while former South African international Ryan Cook has stepped in as interim coach, the Netherlands will be tapping into Campbell’s knowledge of Hong Kong.
“I think Cambo has been sitting on the sidelines itching to get back involved,” O’Dowd said. “It’s obviously great to have him just back in the fold and he’s someone that we talk to regularly.
“He’s been slowly working his way back into practices and team meetings and so on. He’s got a lot of knowledge about that Hong Kong team and someone we turn to quite often about certain bowlers, certain batters.
“I think the last time I played them may have been 2018 or even before that, so I think the side has changed a lot since then. But he probably knows a lot about them, so we’ll be sure to make use of all the info Cambo’s got for us.”