WATCH: Van Der Merwe Shows Excellent Spirit; Plays In Pain To Avoid A Heavy NRR Loss For Netherlands

Even though Roelof van der Merwe was in no shape to play, the bowler still came out to bat for his team in T20 World Cup 2022 Round 1 match.

Cricket Image for WATCH: Van Der Merwe Shows Excellent Spirit; Plays In Pain To Avoid A Heavy NRR Lo (Image Source: Google)

By Rishabh Gautam
Oct 20, 2022 • 02:29 PM

In the 9th match of the T20 World Cup 2022, Sri Lanka defeated the Netherlands by 16 runs to win their second match of the tournament. The match went down to the last over but a heart-wrenching sight was witnessed at the end. Even though Sri Lanka won the match, this game would be remembered more for Netherlands' 37-year-old bowler Roelof van der Merwe. During the match, van der Merwe sustained grave pain in his back and wasn't even to walk the ground properly. Despite all this, he got down to the ground and was caught on camera struggling for each run.

By Rishabh Gautam
October 20, 2022 • 02:29 PM

This incident happened in the 19th and 20th over of Netherlands' inning. The Dutch team had already lost 9 wickets and only van der Merwe was left to stand the crease with opener Max O'Dowd. Merwe was injured and wasn't even able to walk properly, and still decided to come out to bat for his team.

Merwe came onto the ground and completed singles in time of need, still struggling with back pain. Merwe was on strike on the 4th delivery of the over and missed the ball while trying to pull for a boundary. After this, he started running to give O'Dowd the strike and the pain was clearly visible on his face and could be seen flinching in pain.

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Also Read: T20 WC Schedule & squads 2022

The commentators couldn't hold themselves back after seeing the Dutch player's dedication. It is noteworthy that Roelof van der Merwe is one of the few players in the world who have played for two international sides. Prior to playing for the Netherlands, van der Merwe also played for the South African team. In this match against Sri Lanka, van der Merwe bowled 3 overs, conceding just 16 runs at an economy of 5.33.