CHENNAI: The gameplan during the mid-innings break for Netherlands was easy. Bowling coach Ryan van Niekerk had debriefed the bowlers on how the pitch was behaving. Cross-seamers were going to be a big option. As a few deliveries were skidding off the strip while there was also some bounce, Paul van Meekeren knew what he had to do. "He (Van Niekerk) had seen some skid through while the wicket also had some bounce... for me, it was a matter of hitting the wicket hard on the right length," he told The New Indian Express on Wednesday morning.
He got one to move slightly inward and skid through to castle Aiden Markram. A very similar delivery broke through Marco Jansen's defence. The former broke South Africa's spine. The latter broke their resistance. His 2/40, in a nutshell, had helped the side to one of their greatest wins, ranking alongside the win over England in the T20 World Cup in 2009.
While his Orange jersey illuminated under the cold Dharamsala lights on Tuesday night, it didn't take long to wonder about the pacer's behind-the-scenes work to ensure he was playing for the national team in the first place. When Netherlands were playing in the qualifying event in Zimbabwe in June-July, Van Meekeren had made himself unavailable. It was a logical choice to make; a county gig with Gloucestershire paid his bills so he needed that more.
But a sparkling performance in the domestic One-Day Cup in August-September put him in contention. His 17 wickets for the county was the highest and it helped them qualify for the semifinals. "Once the team qualified, I hoped to make the team," he said. "I knew that making myself not available for Zimbabwe would make it tough to get into the team. But I think my 50-over campaign with Gloucester, in which I took a good amount of wickets, was a key reason to pick me."
Van Meekeren's role is to come in as the first or second change in this side and be one of the designated wicket-takers in the middle overs. That's what he did on Tuesday. After coming in as the second change, he removed Markram before accounting for Jansen in his next spell.
It's understandable why Netherlands 'celebrated a little' after the match but they had their game faces on at the breakfast table on Wednesday morning. "Of course, we were happy but also realistic," he said. "This is not the end of our World Cup. We are here for more than this. We did celebrate a bit but also immediately realised there's a lot of cricket to play. We have started focusing and preparing for the Sri Lanka game on Saturday."
The essential nature of Associate cricket means that Van Meekeren also has to focus a bit on the long term. He may have been one of the main protagonists in Dharamsala but he's without a contract (Gloucestershire released him). He lifts the lid on what it's like playing the sport in his country, who are ranked No. 14 in the world.
"I would say at the moment semi-professional at best," he said. "It is hard very hard to make a living out of it. When you are young, you can perhaps combine it with study or a little work. But the moment you have to make a living and pay rent or mortgage, you need to start earning elsewhere. We still lose talented cricketers. They have to make a decision between full-time work or full-time cricket and as you have to pay your bills, this isn't actually a fair choice to make."