Zach Lion-Cachet. Zak Lion Cash-et? No, no — it is Zak leon-cash-ay. I was quickly corrected during the Netherlands’ practice session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Born to a British mother and a Dutch father on December 15, 2003, the 22-year-old is among the younger players in the side, one who harbours ambitions beyond merely participating in world tournaments.
The off-spinner is fed straight into the Netherlands top-order batters in the nets as the big hitters prepare for their range-hitting drills ahead of their second T20 World Cup game against Namibia. The Dutch, fresh off their heartbreak against Pakistan, are in the mood to respond, and Zach Lion-Cachet bears the brunt of it, tasked with giving them the kind of practice they hoped they had a few days earlier.
Either it is his good fortune, or the batters are still carrying the residue of disappointment, but the hits are not clean. Not many balls disappear into the stands. In fact, only a handful even reach the boundary rope.
SPORTING ROOTS, CRICKETING DREAMS
A member of the travelling Dutch staff casually mentions that Zach’s mother was a former tennis player, while his father played rugby for the Netherlands. A quick Google search confirms the story. Zach’s mother, Sarah Loosemore, born in Wales, was not just another professional. She was Britain’s youngest national champion and the country’s No. 1 tennis player for a period during her career.
Someone at the ground suggests that Zach’s father may even have captained the Netherlands rugby team.
Zach himself, however, gravitated towards football and cricket while growing up in England. Until the age of 16, he was part of Southampton’s football academy before eventually choosing cricket. Having made his international debut in 2023, the right-hander is still shaping his game, learning on the job across formats, conditions and levels.
The Royal Dutch Cricket Association has been making a concerted effort to provide young cricketers with better preparation, despite the limited size and resources of the country’s cricketing ecosystem. Ahead of the World Cup, a section of the squad trained in South Africa, while the batting group was sent to Mumbai to acclimatise to subcontinental conditions.
The full squad eventually assembled in Chennai, ten days before flying to Colombo for their opening match of the tournament.
“At least they don’t have to spend their own money anymore,” the team manager says ahead of the Namibia clash.
“I’m not saying they’re earning big money. But they don’t have to dip into their own pockets either. I think we’ve reached a break-even point in Dutch cricket,” he adds.
That’s the dual life many associate players live.
LESS EXPOSURE, MORE EFFORT
Netherlands all-rounder Colin Ackermann, meanwhile, calls for greater exposure for associate nations. Despite being regular World Cup participants, the Dutch had not played an international match since September 2025 before this tournament.
“There’s a very easy solution,” one staff member says. “Teams touring England in the summer can just come to the Netherlands for their preparations. We’re ready to play.”
While cricket may be more financially viable than it once was, several Dutch players have had to place other parts of their lives on pause to be here.
All-rounder Bas de Leede, who is enroled at university, has taken special permission to travel for the World Cup. Spinner Saqib Zulfiqar, who works as a Business Intelligence manager at ABN AMRO, has taken a break from his banking job to represent the Netherlands, much like USA’s Saurabh Netravalkar.
Once the Dutch return home, Saqib will have to log back in and respond to the emails waiting in his inbox. He probably earns more at the bank than he does on the cricket field.
With the Winter Olympics underway, the T20 World Cup has generated little buzz back home in the Netherlands. But John, the team’s media manager, a warm presence in his mid-60s, says that a win over Pakistan would have changed everything.
It would have been huge.
As the Dutch prepare to take the field against Namibia, the question lingers. What would sustain exposure to top-tier opposition actually do for teams like these? Would Saqib leave his job to pursue cricket full-time? Would players like Zach Lion-Cachet take up the game earlier than 16? Would the Dutch board have the resources to build dedicated cricket stadiums, to deepen the roots of the sport?
For now, we stand on the edge, unsure of how it will all unfold, much like those nets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where Zach keeps running in, ball after ball, part of a larger hope that is still taking shape.
The Netherlands know that one big win can change everything, not only the results, but futures. Especially for players like Saqib Zulfiqar and Zak leon-cash-ay.
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