Opening International Dutch Grass Wicket (28 Jul 1996)
Saturday 27 July 1996 opening of the KNCB's (Royal Dutch Cricket Association) grass wicket in Amsterdam with a match between a KNCB President's XI and the Flamingos, both teams consisting of Premier League players
28-Jul-1996
28 July 1996
Opening International Dutch Grass Wicket
by Louis van Dompselaar
Saturday 27 July 1996 opening of the KNCB's (Royal Dutch Cricket
Association) grass wicket in Amsterdam with a match between a
KNCB President's XI and the Flamingos, both teams consisting of
Premier League players. The wicket, in the "National Cricket
Centre" in Amsterdam, will be the home ground for the Dutch team
for all future international matches. The opening of the wicket
comes some 6 weeks after the opening of the first grass wicket
in The Netherlands, in Deventer. This wicket was an
initiative by the Deventer club Koninklijke UD, without support
from the KNCB. However, expertise from the Deventer club, as
well as from the TCCB groundsman Mike Corley, was called in to
get the Amsterdam grass wicket finished. It is still unknown
when the first international match will be played in Amsterdam.
Two international matches are already planned for the Deventer
wicket. On 6 August, Hampshire will play a Kon. UD President's
XI, and August 7th an English XI captained by Alan Lamb will meet
a Dutch XI.