SA set for Netherlands warm-up tour

South Africa will tour the Netherlands at the end of May as part of their preparation for the Champions Trophy, which they begin on June 6 against India.

They will take part in team-building activities before three days of cricket practise and an ODI against Netherlands on May 31 in Amstelveen. It will be the third ODI between the teams and the first outside of a World Cup. The previous meetings have produced thumping wins for South Africa.

"We feel we have pulled off a real coup in getting one of the top ODI Nations in the World to come to the Netherlands not only to play but also to act as their preparation-base for this major tournament," Netherlands CEO Richard Cox said. "We are looking forward to having some of the household names of world cricket on our doorstep.

"As a result of the Champions Trophy being held in the UK it has given many European countries the opportunity to maximise the chance to play a Full Member through the support of ICC's TAPP funding policy."

National Coach Peter Drinnen said it would be a pleasure to welcome a full member to the Netherlands. "I would like to thank everyone who was involved in making this possible. It is a great opportunity to showcase the game in this country as well as provide an extremely valuable opportunity to our players to measure themselves against some of the best in the world.

"These opportunities are very important for our continued development and I know all parties here in the Netherlands involved in this series will be working hard on and off the park to ensure the South African touring party have a very beneficial stay with us"