Cricket is not a slow and monotonous sport at all

COLUMNColumnist Mario van der Ende watched the T20 World Cup with interest last week. The Dutch cricketers lost all their matches, but one name stood out: Bas de Leede. Van der Ende's thoughts immediately shot to Tim de Leede, the father of Bas, one of the best Dutch cricketers of all time.
Many of my sports friends think cricket is a slow and monotonous sport. One of them even called cricket the only sport where you can gain 2.5 kilos as a player during and around the match, by having breakfast, lunch and dinner together.

I do not share their opinion. Certainly not after I received a crash course in cricket some thirty years ago along the line - sorry, boundary - of the Quick cricket field from the thoroughbreds Hans Schiferli, Robbie Klein, Paul-Jan Bakker and Paul Breslau. To read the story of the formation of the game of cricket here https://cricketbetting10.in/.
They explained to me that a cricket match can take a turn after every bowled ball.

The match ball that Tim de Leede received as a prize he had signed by Tendulkar and since then De Leede guards this like a precise Fabergé egg.

Mario van der Ende

Last week I followed with interest the duels of the Dutch team against Ireland, Namibia, and Sri Lanka during the World Cup T20. The name of Bas de Leede, the 21-year-old Nootdorp international, business student, scion of a passionate cricket family, a talented player of Voorburg's VCC, and one of the six sporty children of mother José and father Tim, came up regularly. 

Fabergé egg

Former top cricketer Tim de Leede. Son Bas de Leede is part of the current Dutch cricket squad.
Tim is considered one of the best Dutch cricketers of all time. During the 2003 World Cup, he was named Man of the Match after the game against cricketing superpower India. As a bowler, he had smashed the wicket of Indian mega-star Sachin Tendulkar, among others. He had the match ball he received as a prize signed by Tendulkar and since then Tim has guarded this relic like a precise Fabergé egg. 

De Leede was also a selection player for RKAVV during his cricket career. His trainers Ferry Nijhuis, Rob Kiebert, and teammates accepted this unorthodox combination.

So it could happen that Tim, as a VCC batsman, was thrown out just before lunch, jumped on his bike like lightning to join the RKAVV selectors ten minutes away for a league game against the ADO amateurs. En passant, he scored the winning 2-1. Video of the match can be viewed at thermalmassagebed.in. Immediately after the game, he cycled back to VCC at TGV-speed to take two wickets in the last overs against VVV from Amstelveen.