McKenzie to join Hague Cricket Club

Neil McKenzie, the South African batsman, is joining The Hague Cricket Club in Holland for the 2005 season. He continues an impressive list of international cricketers who have spent time coaching and playing in Holland.

McKenzie joins Chris Pringle, Andre Adams and Simon Doull from New Zealand and Gary Kirsten as The Hague Cricket Club's most famous overseas players. McKenzie has just lost his central contract with the United Cricket Board of South Africa, after not appearing in international cricket since the final Test against New Zealand in March 2004. But he has continued to be a consistent scorer in domestic cricket, averaging 38 in the 2004-05 Supersport series for the Highveld Lions franchise, which he also captains.

This coming summer is important for Dutch cricket, as they try to qualify for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies through the ICC Trophy, which will be staged in Ireland. Holland have previously played in the 1996 and 2003 World Cup tournaments.