Netherlands all-rounder Bas de Leede named ICC Men's Associate Cricketer of the Year 2023

Prominent Netherlands all-rounder Bas de Leeds has been named as the ICC Men’s ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year 2023. He was considered for the award given his contribution to the success of cricket last year where they achieved new heights.

Bas de Leede joins former Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate who won this ward twice for Netherlands in his international career. De Leede had two back-to-back good years in ODI cricket. He scored 386 runs in 15 matches in 2022 and 424 runs in 22 ODIs in 2023. Most of the games he played in in the World Cup qualifiers and in the World Cup tournament. He also took 31 wickets in 6 matches this year at an average of 26.42.

“I’m accepting the award, but I think most of the Dutch boys would have been in contention for it. So it’s a cool way to finish off a great year for The Netherlands. Looking at my performances, it’s probably the best I’ve played for Holland, which I’m very thankful for. I’m happy to have put in some performances to make that happen there.”

Speaking about his batting performances, he scored an unbeaten 123 against Scotland in the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe. He scored a couple of crucial 40s as well prior to that century and after that as well.

Bas de Leede Joins Elite List As He Bags ICC Men’s ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year Award

The performance against Scotland was significant in many aspects. He joined an elite list of cricketers to score a century and take a fifer in the same ODI. Viv Richards, Amelia Kerr, Paul Collingwood, and Rohan Mustafa were joined by de Leede after his efforts in a crucial Cricket World Cup Qualifier meeting with Scotland.

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At the World Cup too, de Leede was the pick of the Dutch players, picking up 16 wickets in eight matches, finishing above Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, Pakistani Haris Rauf, and Adil Rashid. The Netherlands also went on to beat Bangladesh and tournament favorites South Africa at the World Cup.

De Leede will once again be key when the Dutch will take part in the T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean in June this year. Netherlands have been drawn against Nepal, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in Group D of the marquee event, starting June 1.

The 24-year-old has scored 904 runs at an average of 24.43 while also claiming 40 wickets at an economy rate of 6.39. De Leede is bound to play a crucial role for the Netherlands in the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup, where the Dutch have been drawn alongside South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Apart from playing 31 matches for the Netherlands in ODIs, Baas de Leede has played 31 T20I matches and scored nearly 700 runs picking up 27 wickets in the format. In the recently concluded ODI World Cup, the all-rounder could not replicate his qualifier form with the bat but took 16 wickets with the ball.

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