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Peter Borren, the outgoing captain of the Netherlands who announced his retirement earlier this week, said he was leaving the team in a better state than when he first played for them 12 years ago.
Borren took over captaincy of the Dutch team in 2010, and has since led the side commendably, the highlight being the 45-run victory over England in the ICC World T20 2014 which helped them qualify for the Super 10 phase of the tournament.
Arguably his biggest achievement came in 2017, when he led the side to top of the World Cricket League Championship. It meant they regained the coveted ODI status, after they had lost it in 2014 for failing to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
Borren revealed that his decision to retire altogether, and not just step down from captaincy, was to help Pieter Seelaar, his successor, stamp his mark on the team.
“It was a good time for me but also for the team. I’ve been captain for eight or nine years,” Borren told ESPNCricinfo. “There’s nothing more certain in life than change. Having a new captain is a good idea and it maybe would be difficult for Pieter (Seelaar) with me hanging around.
“We’ve got 18 months now, quite a long time until those qualifiers and it’s a good time for him to settle in, to stamp his mark on the team and I think he’ll do a great job.”
In February, the Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, finishing seventh in the 10-team Qualifier tournament, but Borren insisted that the future was bright.
“There’s no way that I want this to be a sad time,” he said. “The Netherlands team have got a fantastic bunch of guys. Piet’s going to be a great captain. He’s got a lot of experience and is well-respected within the group. I will be following these boys closely and I reckon they’ll make waves.
“They’ve got two years before the (ODI League) and they don’t want to be the 13th place team. If they can work hard, there’s a hell of a lot of potential there, a good group of young fast bowlers, young batsmen who have to step up and fill positions.
“I think I’m leaving Dutch cricket in a better state than when I turned up.”
Borren finishes his career with 58 ODIs and 43 T20Is, making him the most capped player in both formats for the Netherlands. He has 1,004 runs in ODIs – he is just one of four Dutch batsmen to cross the four-figure mark – and his 46 wickets makes him their third highest wicket-taker in the format.
The 34-year-old reflected on a glorious career. “The big turnaround, we had three years of awesome cricket where we won just about everything,” he said. “The T20 Qualifying tournament, going to the Super 10 or main stage of the T20 World Cup (in 2014), won World Cricket League Division Two, won World Cricket League Division One.
“As a captain, to lead that, which was quite a phenomenal run for Dutch cricket, that’s definitely my proudest achievement.”