Paul van Meekeren - Netherlands - Bowler

A product of the storied Rood en Wit Haarlem, rangy right arm quick Paul van Meekeren can claim to be the club’s most celebrated alumnus in over a century, second only to the great Carst-Jan Posthuma. In one respect at least, van Meekeren has eclipsed his illustrious predecessor, having represented the Dutch at three T20 World Cups. At the first in 2016 a spell of s stand-out spell of 4-11 against Ireland attracted franchise interest, netting him a stint with first with the Winnipeg Hawks at the GT20L.

By then he was an established figure in the Netherlands national side, representing the Dutch up through age group cricket and making his T20 debut against Kenya in 2013 at the age of just 20. He made his List A debut the same year in the Netherlands’ final season in the English domestic one-day competition, before making his ODI debut in a one-off match against South Africa at Amstelveen later that summer. A tall aggressive fast bowler, van Meekeren plays an enforcer role in the team while also showing an ability to swing a bat at the back end of the innings. His knack for taking big wickets eventually attracted attention across the North Sea, first picked up by Somerset for the 2016 season. Despite taking three wickets on debut against a touring Pakistan side van Meekeren but struggled to nail down a place in the first team and was released two years later, but determined to make a career for himself in the UK he remain in England playing club cricket, at one stage resorting to gigging for Uber Eats to get by.

A brief stint at Durham for the T20 blast did not lead to a permanent contract, though it did get him picked up by the Kitts and Nevis Patriots for his first taste of the Franchise big leagues in the 2021 CPL. His persistence in England was rewarded with a contract at Gloucestershire for the 2022 season, though it would again prove short-lived, and limited his availability for the Dutch during their home summer. Despite missing much of the Netherlands’ Super-League campaign as well as the 2023 ODI World Cup Qualifier, he remains a regular ODI pick when available and a mainstay of the T20 side.