Being a New Zealand cricket fan in the Netherlands is not easy. Firstly, there’s the question of being able to watch cricket at all. Dutch free-to-air and paid broadcasters aren’t interested in televising even the most important games, and many of the online options can be frustrating, or just dodgy, if you want to watch live.
And if you do find an online platform (or open Dutch pub) that is reliable, there’s a question of time zones… It’s hard to get the same sense of satisfaction if you have to sacrifice hours of sleep to watch a full game, and it just kind of feels like cheating to tune into the last few overs.
But this summer is going to be different. The Black Caps are just starting their tour of the Northern Hemisphere, playing 3 tests against England and a series of ODIs and T20s against Scotland and Ireland. Already, time zones are better and at least the English games will be streaming on Sky Sports UK. So if you’re staying in Amsterdam, sports bars around Amsterdam should be able to give you a cricket fix at a more civilised time of day.
The best news for us? The Black Caps are bringing the Summer of Cricket to the Netherlands. After they tour England, Ireland, and Scotland, New Zealand will play two T20 matches against the Netherlands at the Voorburg Cricket Club in The Hague on the 4th (Thursday) and 6th (Saturday) of August. Both games are scheduled for the afternoon / early evening, with the action on Thursday starting at 5pm, and on Saturday at 4pm.
You can buy tickets for both games on the Cricket Netherlands website, with tickets still available at early bird prices at the time of writing. Unfortunately, neither game is being televised (no surprises there), but if you can’t get to the game, Dutch Cricket will most likely stream the matches on their YouTube channel.
If you’re looking for another online option to watch the games, it’s also worth keeping an eye on icc.tv – a relatively new streaming and content platform for international cricket. They haven’t yet added Black Caps games to their streaming schedule, but they do tend to add matches closer to game day. If you’re at the very fanatic end of the supporter spectrum, this is also where you can watch full-length replays of Black Caps ODIs and Tests from recent history – including the NL vs NZ ODIs earlier this year, the Test Matches against South Africa, and even the final of the World Test Championships in 2021.
If you’re at one or both of the games in NL, the KIN team would love to hear from you! Drop us a message while you’re there, or post and give us a shout-out on Instagram or Facebook on game day. Looking for people to meet up with on the day? Post into the Kiwis in Holland Facebook group – this’ll be the easiest way to connect with other folks going along. Keep an eye on the website and socials, as we’ll do a wrap-up from the games to share back to the community as well.
0 Comments