Headingley display leaves Holland hopeful they can stretch Yorkshire

From the majesty of Lord's to the picture postcard setting of Worcester's New Road, from the charming, laid-back appeal of Arundel to the basic functionality of Grace Road, Leicester.

There really is something for everyone to enjoy across the kaleidoscopic array of venues where the 18 counties do battle for the domestic game's top honours.

Even here in Yorkshire in which the days of Park Avenue, Abbeydale Park and The Circle featuring on the annual fixture list are sadly long gone, there remains, in Headingley Carnegie and Scarborough, a welcome contrast for members to enjoy when following the fortunes of Andrew Gale's side.

Each appeals in a vastly different way, with perhaps the one constant being that the two remaining venues to host first-class cricket are among the largest on the circuit.

One downside to having grounds with five-figure capacities, however, is that those who pine for a more intimate cricketing experience have to look beyond the Broad Acres, with last year's visit to Hampshire in the County Championship proving a rare treat thanks to the switch from the Rose Bowl to Basingstoke's quaint May's Bounty.

Next weekend should, according to the chief executive of the Royal Netherlands Cricket Board (KNCB), bring a similar sense of enjoyment for Yorkshire cricket lovers as their club breaks new ground with a trip to Schiedam, near Rotterdam, for a Clydesdale Bank 40 encounter.

Richard Cox, director of cricket at Warwickshire for 20 years before accepting the challenge of driving Dutch cricket forward last December, said: "Yorkshire coming to Schiedam is big news. The town is a real cricketing community, and home to the keenest fans of the game in the whole country.

"Derbyshire are also visiting (two days before Yorkshire on July 30) and we are hoping for a successful few days. The Yorkshire players can certainly expect a warm welcome at a tightly-packed ground with an excellent atmosphere.

"The experience for those who make the trip will be very much like what supporters expect from an out-ground in county cricket with deckchairs around the boundary rope.

"It is not on the scale or size of somewhere like Scarborough, instead being more like one of the smaller grounds. But, above all, a good old-fashioned type of cricket day."

Schiedam is an unusual site for the hotbed of Dutch cricket with Den Haag, boasting a more genteel air, perhaps a more likely candidate. Instead, it was this proud but tough district of Rotterdam that many years ago took the game to its heart to spawn a huge rivalry between the town's two clubs, Excelsior and Hermes DSV.

Legend suggests this fixture was once the site of a rare outbreak of cricketing hooliganism, though happily it was many years ago and very much a one-off.

These days the locals are focused on the fortunes of not only their own clubs but also the national team – hence the interest in the forthcoming Clydesdale Bank 40 double-header.

KNCB chief executive Cox said: "We got a crowd of around 600 against Middlesex (at Amstelveen in May when the visitors won by 46 runs) but expect 1,000 for the visit of Yorkshire.

"We ran Yorkshire close at Headingley at a time when they were flying. So, this time they may be a bit wary of us. I hope so, anyway."

"This is our first year in the CB40 League (Holland were invited to take part after Ireland declined). We see it as a competition to help develop our game by experiencing things like powerplays.

"The aim was to be competitive and I feel we have done that. Earlier in the season, we beat Derbyshire (who in the process joined Durham as one of only two county sides to lose to Holland) and also should have beaten Essex when we lost by one run despite only needing six runs to win going into the last over.

"It costs us a lot of money to take part in the competition but we think the investment will be worthwhile.

"The aim is for this not to be a one-off. Clydesdale Bank signed up for three years and we would like to continue playing for the next two seasons."

Any mention of the national team has, of course, to include the momentous victory over England at Lord's in last year's Twenty20 World Cup.

On the list of sporting shocks, this remains near the very top and is one of which everyone within Dutch cricket is rightly proud.

For Cox, however, such a glorious triumph did not bring the required knock-on effect for cricket in Holland.

He said: "The win over England gave us massive exposure for about 48 hours but if you ask me if we capitalised on it then I would say 'no'.

"We went through three CEOs last year and that meant there was an impasse. It meant Dutch cricket didn't make the most of beating England, particularly in a commercial sense.

"I spent 20 years at Warwickshire, doing basically what Ian Dews (director of cricket operations) does for Yorkshire, and am trying to bring lessons learned during that time. One of those is the need to be consistent, something that can be difficult when most of the team have jobs outside cricket."

Cricket in Holland can be traced back to the 19th Century but, for Cox, it is what happens next that matters.

He added: "We have a lot of targets, both in the long and short term. I would like to see us financially sound. I would like to see us with more professional players – we have three at the moment. I would like to see a club infrastructure of 12 grass pitches as oppose to the six we have.

"Most importantly, I would like to see us with a better infrastructure of youth development and coaching set-up. It will take time for some of those but it has to be our long-standing aim, while in the short term we want to win more matches."

Yorkshire have been warned.

Richard travelled as a foot-passenger on a two-night mini-cruise with P&O ferries from Hull to Rotterdam. Prices start at 72 per person, based on two people sharing a cabin (included in the price) and includes coach transfers. Alternatively for the same price, the coach transfer can be to Amsterdam. Overnight stays are also available. For more details visit www.POferries.com or call 08716 646464.