The Netherlands have a number of players of South African origin, plenty of whom have played professional cricket in South Africa
“Colin is the most recent of our players who has played first-class cricket here in South Africa, so he actually ran me through all the players (in their squad) that I didn’t know before,” Seelaar said. “And Roelof – I don’t know how long he has been playing for the Titans and he knows SuperSport Park inside out. He has given me the ins and outs of how the dimensions of this ground work and where a lot of runs will be scored and where the wicket taking options are. That was quite helpful in our planning.”
The two sides play the first two games at SuperSport Park, on Friday and Sunday, before moving up the road for the third ODI on December 1 at the Wanderers, where they may not have someone to provide the same lowdown, but it’s fairly well-known what to expect. Conditions should favour the quicks at both venues and the Dutch have a South African-born speedster who will want to make full use of the pace and bounce on offer. “Brandon Glover is one of the guys that can bowl with a bit of fire, he has got a bit of pace about him. He is going to enjoy not bowling in the same slow conditions we have in Europe but can actually bowl with fire here on bouncier, pacier wickets,” Seelaar said.
The two sides play three ODIs, with the first two on Friday and Sunday, and the third Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent