‘Test cricket not in focus for us’ – Logan van Beek says Netherlands eyeing improvement in white-ball game

Netherlands all-rounder Logan van Beek has said that Test cricket is not on the Dutch agenda right now, as his team concentrates on making an impact in limited-overs formats, especially during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. 

Netherlands have been punching above their weight in white-ball cricket for some time now, and the Dutch all-rounder believes building on that momentum is the sensible way forward, instead of focusing and striving to improve in the longest format of the game.

Speaking ahead of their T20 World Cup match against the USA, van Beek spoke his mind regarding the T20 vs Test conundrum. 

“Right now, the Dutch only play T20 and one day in the club system. There’s no first-class cricket. No one plays first-class cricket in the Netherlands. They don’t have a red-ball [tournament] at all. And there’s only a couple of us that play first-class cricket in the squad,” van Beek was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

The all-rounder further highlighted the structural challenges facing Dutch cricket, noting that Test cricket is not like T20 cricket, because in red-ball cricket a well-established and more skilled team will always dominate the weaker team because of the game quality.

“In T20, you know, on the day, as we can see, any team can beat any other team. One day cricket, it gets a little bit longer. So, the quality normally rises when you come to Test cricket. Quite often, the better team will win on the day and that’s where the pool of players needs to be, and the first-class system needs to be at a level that is challenging and competitive so that when you go and play Test cricket that you’re actually competitive,” he concluded.

Netherlands are currently faring decently at the ongoing T20 World Cup. After losing a close encounter against Pakistan in their opening encounter, they came back strongly against Namibia to win the match by seven wickets. They will now face USA on February 13 at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.