‘It Takes One Day’ – The catchphrase for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign proved prophetic after the Netherlands lit up the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Tuesday, making their triumph over South Africa at the picturesque venue even more memorable. Causing one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, the Dutch defeated the Proteas by 38 runs in a rain-curtailed affair to register their first win in the tournament and the only the third in 23 games at the men’s ODI World Cup. October 17 will go down as one of the glorious chapters in the history of Dutch cricket, when 11 men clad in their signature orange jerseys, delivered at the big stage bringing their A-game to leave South Africa gasping for breath.
One of the stars of the game was pacer Paul Van Meekeren, who claimed 2/44 in his nine overs bagging the key wicket of Aiden Markram and then adding the scalp of Marco Jansen, SA’s last hope with the bat in the game.
As the world marvelled at the victory, eagle-eyed netizens dug out a two-year-old post of Van Meekeren, part of the playing XI for the Dutch, in which he had opened up about delivering food to make ends meet.
The right-arm pacer has been a professional cricketer for seven years now but back in 2020, when COVID-19 was ravaging the entire world, he had to take up an odd job to make ends meet. The T20 World Cup to be held that year had to be postponed and the cricketers, like many others, were confined to their homes. That’s when the right-arm medium pacer joined UberEATS as a delivery boy to earn his daily bread.
‘I had no income after the summer ended’
In an exclusive interaction with News18 Cricketnext after the historic triumph, the 30-year-old recalled that time, terming it a ‘nice romantic story’ that has become the talk of the town.
“That keeps coming back. It is a nice romantic story that went viral and had over 1 million likes. And now again as you say. I hadn’t noticed but I am not surprised by this anymore. My contract at Somerset wasn’t renewed. I played club cricket that summer because there were no chances in other countries then. I had no income after the summer ended. I took up a well-considered job at UberEATS and Deliveroo just because I could decide on my own that I would work and be available any time when a cricket opportunity would come my way. That was it. But it is nice that the story is still being liked,” Van Meekeren told Cricketnext.
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Life After Covid
With the return of normalcy, opportunities knocked at his door and the Van Meekeren didn’t dare let them go. After all, it was a new beginning following some testing times.
“I feel not only for professional cricketers but for every high-performance athlete, it was butterflies in the stomach when we could restart our careers. That’s what every professional athlete lives for. I played club cricket in the summer of ‘21 and got a 50-over contract at Durham. I couldn’t play the semi-final and final which we qualified for because I was playing Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which we actually won. In the winter of ‘21, I signed a Gloucester contract,” he added.
Fighting injuries in 2019-20
Van Meekeren’s struggles though go well beyond the COVID era. A misdiagnosed injury resulted in the cancellation of his county contract.
“In 2019, I lost my contract due to a severe groin injury. Only 8 months later, we found out it was much more serious than previously thought. I got operated on in January 2020, went through recovery and returned. That’s sometimes part of the life of a sportsman. But I am injury-free and feel top-fit since,” remembered Van Meekeren.
‘The World Cup isn’t over yet’
This was the second instance when the Netherlands defeated South Africa in an ICC event. In the last T20 World Cup, the Dutch had booted out Proteas from the competition. With such a big victory in Dharamsala, you would have expected wild celebrations, but the team had a calm demeanour after the win. And there is a reason for it. The team is eying a bigger target. Van Meekeren said the guys had the realisation that they are here to make it to the semi-finals and the victory against South Africa is only the stepping stone. They next face Sri Lanka in Lucknow and the team’s focus is on the upcoming game.
“Of course, we were happy and celebrated in the dressing room and later, in the hotel with family and friends. But also, nearly immediately there was a realisation within the camp that the World Cup is not over. There are at least 6 games still left. We didn’t come here for a single win. Like all other teams, we came here to give our very best, compete hard and want to reach the semi-finals. So, after celebrating the evening (and okay a small part of the night), we woke up and started preparing for the next game; on Saturday against Sri Lanka. It sounds perhaps a bit cliche but that’s how it is these days for us,” the 30-year-old bowler said.
Cross Seam did wonders in Dharamsala
Paul van Meekeren bagged the prized wicket of Markram, who recently smashed the fastest World Cup hundred, before knocking over Jansen. The right-arm pacer revealed how a useful suggestion from the bowling coach helped him get the desired results.
“At the halfway point our bowling coach Ryan van Niekerk spoke with us and gave us the option of bowling cross seamers. He saw some deliveries skidding through and the wicket got a bit of bounce. For me, it was a matter of hitting the wicket hard at the right length,” he said.
‘Different circumstances every time’
Aiming to make a top-four finish, the Dutch know the way ahead isn’t easy. But this is what they have prepared for. Each and every team member is aware of the challenges ahead, but the formula is simple – one game at a time!
“Also, here I have to be a bit dull perhaps. But this is a very long intense tournament with a lot of travel as well in this great country. Different circumstances every time. We take it game by game, period by period. We prepare for the circumstances of where we are. Our staff does this with the greatest precision and care and we do well by this,” van Meekeren said.
Alur camp gave a good start
As part of their preparations for the World Cup, the Netherlands set their base in Alur, Bengaluru where they had brief training sessions with local net bowlers, some even recruited via social media. Highlighting the impact of the camp, Van Meekeren said the camp helped the team prepare well for the tournament, especially with left-arm bowlers.
“That [camp in Alur] really helped us very well in the last part of the preparation. We had 9 extra days of grass wicket training, which probably wouldn’t have been possible back home at that time. We trained in many details, that’s what we started doing last year. That’s how good the preparation for us is these days as well. We are able to do it like this. And we were also helped by the 4 left-arm net bowlers. We don’t have that many in our team. I feel the camp gave us a good start here in India,” he added.
No bucket list as such
Despite the fact that Van Meekeren is playing the World Cup for the first time, the bowler doesn’t have any particular bucket list to tick. Rather he just wants to play as much as possible, the only desire he has.
“I don’t have a bucket list in cricket. It is my desire to play as much as I can and contribute to the team as much as possible. Actually, if I may say, that’s quite a bucket list,” Paul van Meekeren concluded.
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