For tulips-themed Netherlands, time to 'show colours to the world' is now

In October every year, tulip bulbs are planted six to twelve inches beneath the soil. They are watered, but the buds are unseen and uncelebrated for months. And then during bloom time, it makes for a spectacular sight when they all break through at once. That is the image head coach Ryan Cook brings to every Netherlands team meeting.

For a side that rarely gets an opportunity against the game's heavyweights - Cook himself has publicly urged Full Members to schedule more fixtures against them in the past, like in the lead-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup - the emphasis has turned inward. If opportunities against the big boys are sporadic, preparation can't be easy. This has made culture, clarity and cohesion non-negotiable.

"The idea behind the tulip theme was that the guys bloom at a tournament like this and show their colours to the world," Cook tells ESPNcricinfo. "And there can't be a bigger stage than on Wednesday in Ahmedabad against the hosts and tournament favourites.

"It's a unique opportunity," Cook says, as he underlines the importance of not allowing the spectacle to distort their objectives. "Many players won't get the chance to play in India, at a stadium like this, against the number one team in the world. We'll embrace that.

"We feel the team is on the rise and we just want the guys to go out there and showcase their abilities. Whether it's 100,000 people or a billion people watching, the guys have worked really hard to get to this point. To showcase a great game of cricket will be at the forefront of our minds."

There is no shortage of motivation. But their challenge will be to remain disciplined when under pressure.

"The key is to stay true to how we play and what we've trained," Cook says. "We owe it to the tournament to go out there and try to win, and to play as good cricket as we can. Not much motivation is needed - it's about sticking to our plans and maintaining the right intensity."

Cook has tried to garner every bit of intel he can about the surface, conditions and even the opposition. Some of this has come from his time in India with the IPL as fielding coach at Sunrisers Hyderabad, moving between international and domestic environments in South Africa [with Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20], absorbing ideas and building networks.

One such idea was to try and not have the absence of a left-hander in their mix as a hindrance to preparation. Having seen from close quarters what Abhishek Sharma does, among his first requests pre-training was to have a chance for all his frontline bowlers to have a go at a left-hander. They got Gujarat's Ranji captain, not quite in the same league as Abhishek, but at least someone who offered them a slight point of difference in their execution and game prep.

There are others within the team who feed off such experiences. Logan van Beek and Zach Lion-Cachet, for example, have built careers in New Zealand and England's domestic system, while Colin Ackermann has long been a fixture in the county circuit.

Bas de Leede, among Netherlands' premier allrounders, perhaps made the most definitive statement of intent: after three seasons with Durham, he chose to fully commit to the Dutch cause, walking away from a county contract. But he has used that experience to be a driving force at every training - working closely with the analysts to prepare blueprints for the younger players in the setup, when not at a world tournament.

Then there is Michael Levitt, whose journey began with something as unremarkable as a WhatsApp message. Early in 2023, Cook reached out to ask about his Dutch passport - Levitt's maternal family hails from Harderwijk - and the exchange altered the course of his career.

Having played regularly in South Africa, Levitt pivoted toward the Netherlands set-up, his game honed at the Gary Kirsten Academy where he continues to train in the off-season. Today, he holds the highest individual score by a Netherlands batter in a men's T20I.

Cook sees this "cross-pollination" as part of the growth process for him and for his players.

The tulip metaphor lingers because it captures what this team has been doing behind the scenes. The growth has not always been visible. It has not always been rewarded immediately. But beneath the surface, roots have been spreading - through structure, through culture, through experience gathered the hard way. But there's only so much ground a team can cover with limited exposure.

Netherlands, for example, haven't played India since the 50-over World Cup in 2023. Prior to their tournament opener, they'd last played Pakistan in the same tournament, in Hyderabad. Like at the SSC where they were in the game until the very end, they were in with a good shout then too.

This competitive streak, Cook argues, can only be further strengthened through a regular diet of games against the Full Members.

"That's been the plea - to play more Full-Member matches and more often under those conditions so that we can compete better," Cook says. "But unlike say in 2022, when club cricketers were getting picked into international cricket, the biggest shift has been broadening the base of the squad.

"We now have a lot of international-style cricketers, and even a couple who aren't on this tour have played for us in the last few years. We feel we're building real depth - guys who understand what it takes to play at this level."

At the heart of the Dutch set-up is a value system they call SOUL (Selfless, Ownership, Unity, Learnings). Cook doesn't look at this as a mere slogan but as a daily practice, something they reinforce at every training session, including Tuesday's when they thanked a battery of net bowlers for helping them prepare for India.

"When someone puts that Dutch line on their shirt, they know what's expected and how to carry themselves," Cook says. "Whoever is wearing the jersey on a particular day can pick that up [the SOUL hat given to those who exhibit those values, both at training and in matches]. That's the style of cricket you see from us, no matter who we're playing."

To keep it alive, each tournament is given a narrative. At the World Cup Qualifiers in 2023, it was rowing. At the T20 World Cup in 2024 it was sailing - an upgrade from a rowboat to a sail ship, inspired by the Dutch maritime age. Now, it is tulips.

It is easy to view such themes as cosmetic, but it anchors the group. They make camps purposeful, in the absence of top-flight cricket against the big boys. They allow players to find their footing in the larger scheme of things.

"It keeps it fresh for the players and for us as coaches," Cook says. "It requires creativity, and the guys really connect with it."

That connection was tested after the loss to Pakistan earlier in the tournament, but the coach can't be prouder of the way the group has stayed tight.

"There was definite disappointment. The guys had worked really hard to get into that position and take that moment. It's one we'll look back on and think about what we could have done differently."

But what pleased him more was the aftermath. "The group is extremely close. They lift each other up and get back to performance. I felt we did that and bounced back well [to beat Namibia], which is something we pride ourselves on.

"Against USA, we were outplayed. From a coaching perspective, we know what the guys are capable of. That wasn't a true reflection of us. We'll look to bounce back in the next game and showcase the best of what we've trained for."

That next game happens to be India.

"It's a unique opportunity," Cook repeats. "The key is to stay true to how we play and what we've trained. We owe it to the tournament to go out there and try to win, and to play as good cricket as we can. Not much motivation is needed - it's about sticking to our plans and maintaining the right intensity."

For a team that has spent a good chunk of the year growing beneath the surface, trying to eke out whatever little they can through exposure in different parts of the world, as individuals and not as a collective, Ahmedabad offers something more: the chance to bloom with the arc lights and the eyes of the cricketing world, thanks too their opponents, firmly on them.