Netherlands field ineligible player in women’s T20I against Italy

The Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB) has accepted responsibility after Netherlands fielded an ineligible player in a women’s T20I against Italy on Monday.

Netherlands thrashed Italy by 94 runs in the first T20I of a four-match series on Tuesday, posting 178 for 4 before restricting their opponents to 84 for 9. But they did so while selecting a player who was not qualified under the ICC’s player eligibility regulations. The KNCB flagged this to the ICC after they had realised their error.

The board said in a press release on Wednesday morning: “The ICC has informed the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB) regarding an irregularity in the line-up of the Dutch Women’s Cricket Team in the match between the Netherlands and Italy on Tuesday, May 28.

“Although no additional details have been communicated yet, the KNCB acknowledges that it was correctly identified for this error and will make the necessary adjustments in the next match to comply with the regulations.”

Netherlands fielded two T20I debutants against Italy: Madison Landsman – who took a hat-trick for South Africa at the inaugural Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup last year – and Sanya Khurana. The KNCB have not confirmed the identity of the player in question.

The ICC have not yet publicly commented on the breach of their player eligibility regulations. There are a number of possible sanctions including a suspension for the player and an “adjustment, overturning or amendment” of the result in the match.

The Dutch board also reiterated its support for its women’s team, saying: “The KNCB is committed to developing the Netherlands Women’s Cricket team and is ambitious for the team to continue to progress in ICC T20I and ICC 50-over World Cup pathway competitions.”

After their T20I series against Italy, Netherlands are due to play Papua New Guinea, Scotland and Hong Kong next month. They are ranked 15th in the world in the ICC’s Women’s T20I rankings.