Bas de Leede follows his father's path, makes first-class debut

Netherlands’ cricketer Bas de Leede made his first-class debut as he participated in the Intercontinental Cup match against Namibia in Dubai. We might not know this gentleman yet but he is the son of former Netherlands all-rounder Tim de Leede, who represented the Orange brigade from 1995 to 2007. Tim was in the news during the 2003 world cup after he bagged four wickets against a strong Indian side.

In that particular match, India were restricted to mere 204, as Tim’s figures read 9.5-0-35-4. In that game, Daan van Bunge scored a priceless 62. He was adjudged the man of the match even though Sourav Ganguly-led India won the game by 68 runs. He picked the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid among his four scalps. India went on to play the finals that year, losing to Australia to finish runners-up.

Vital sticks

Among his international wickets, Tim dismissed  Aussie power hitter Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden (twice), Kumar Sangakkara, Inzamam-Ul-Haq and Saeed Anwar. It is a proud moment for Tim as his son is on his way to bring laurels to the country and his family.

Bas de Leede followed his father’s footsteps and turned himself into a valuable all-rounder. He was part of the Netherlands’ Under-15s and Under-19s sides. Bas made his List A debut in Zimbabwe recently, where he played two games, scoring 27 runs with a best of unbeaten 24*.

Tim, now 49, played 29 ODIs scoring 400 runs and picked 29 wickets for his country. His last game was against Scotland in the year 2007. Tim also represented Northamptonshire, Sussex and Surrey second elevens during his playing days.

Squad for the Intercontinental Cup:

Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi, Ben Cooper, Scott Edwards, Vivian Kingma, Fred Klaassen, Bas de Leede, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Pieter Seelaar, Shane Snater, Sikander Zulfiqar; Timm van der Gugten (standby ).