Netherlands

Cricket was introduced to the Netherlands by British soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century. Further clubs came into existence in the 1870s. The Netherlands national team played their first game in 1881. They fielded 22 players against an Uxbridge Cricket Club XI, but still lost by an innings. The Dutch Cricket Union was formed in 1890, with 18 member clubs, four of which are still in existence today. The first national tournament was held the following year, and was won by Haagsche CC. English touring teams then began visiting in 1890 including one in 1891 that featured the author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1894, the Gentlemen of Holland were the first Dutch team to visit England. The tour included a game against the MCC at Lord's, which the MCC won by an innings and 169 runs. Tours by English teams continued for the rest of the 1890s, which also saw the emergence of Carst Posthuma, who was later the first Dutch player to play first class cricket. He took 2339 wickets at an average of 8.66 in his career in the Netherlands.

1901 saw another visit to England by the Gentlemen of Holland. They played five games on the tour, drawing two and losing the remainder. 1905 saw the first international game against Belgium, which finished in a draw. Cricket began a decline in popularity in the first decade of the 20th century, particularly amongst young athletes, due, in part, to the Dutch sympathizing with the Boers in the Boer War and therefore not being attracted to a game with links to England. In 1910, the Dutch team visited Belgium to take part in an exhibition tournament, which also featured the MCC, Belgium and France. They lost to the MCC by 2 wickets, and to France by 63 runs, but beat Belgium by 116 runs. During World War I, in which the Netherlands remained neutral, large numbers of British officers were interned in the country, and many of these joined local cricket clubs. A team made up of these players even won the Dutch championship in 1918.

The Flamingos, a Dutch touring team, was formed in 1921, and later made several tours of England. Tours by English teams also continued in this period. The 1930s are said to be the heyday of Dutch cricket. In 1934, the first Dutch women's league was formed, and the women's national team played two games against Australia in 1937, losing heavily in both. Cricket was of course curtailed after the German invasion in 1940.