Scott Edwards: the selfless keeper of the Oranje flame Premium

Scott Edwards, Dutch cricket captain, leads by example, inspiring teammates to do their best and celebrating their successes. He is proud of the Netherlands' achievements in international cricket and is determined to continue to play good games and win.

Listening to Scott Edwards speak on a pleasant October night on the lawns of the Netherlands Residency, considered by some as the most beautiful house in Delhi where Muhammad Ali Jinnah once lived, you are reminded of Ellyse Perry.

Instead of talking about her great exploits, ranging from scoring in the football World Cup to powering Australia’s successful campaigns in several cricket World Cups, Perry would rather talk about teammates who may have made smaller contributions in matches she dominated. 

Though raised in Australia — he grew up in Melbourne and played for Richmond — Edwards also has a Dutch passport, through his grandmother. Like Perry, he would much rather talk about his teammates than his own performances, one of which, about a fortnight ago, took the Netherlands cricket team to its greatest moment. 

After walking in at 82 for five, against a South African side that had won its previous matches by 102 runs and 134 runs, the captain led from the front, making an unbeaten 78 off 69 balls. The next highest score in the total of 245 for eight in 43 overs — the rain claimed the rest — was 29, made by Roelof van der Merwe.  

But Edwards underplays his contribution, instead speaking at length about van der Merwe’s 19-ball cameo and Aryan Dutt’s nine-ball 23. “It is obviously nice to play a part but I actually thought what Roela and Aryan did was amazing,” he tells The Hindu at the party the Netherlands Ambassador Marisa Gerards hosted for the cricketers. “Sometimes, it is easy to play the sort of anchor role. You obviously need guys to come in around you. And Roelof was striking at over 150 and Aryan more than 200. Aryan is a strong man and definitely someone to watch out for.”

Edwards also doesn’t want to talk about his three back-to-back half centuries in ODIs against England last year, or the 39-ball 137 not out in the European Cricket League final that set a T10 world record. “I don’t take too much from individual success,” he explains. “I don’t think it means a whole lot, to be honest.”

He is glad to talk about what the Netherlands has achieved, much against the odds, in international cricket, though. He is proud of the way the team has fared over the last year or so. His side shocked South Africa at the T20 World Cup in Adelaide last year, played some fine cricket in the Qualifier in Zimbabwe to return to the ODI World Cup after a gap of 12 years, and, of course, stunned South Africa in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.