Photo Credit: Cricket Netherlands
Pieter Seelaar, captain of the Dutch men’s team, has decided to put an end to his impressive Dutch national team career. Due to recurring back complaints, it is no longer possible to be active at the highest level. Scott Edwards will take over from Seelaar as captain for the time being.
Pieter Seelaar: “Since 2020, my back problems have worsened to such an extent that I am very sorry that I can no longer physically give it my all.”
Seelaar (34) made his debut for the Dutch national team in 2005. In 2018 he succeeded Peter Borren as captain. Seelaar is best known as an accurate, economical and effective left arm spinner. In addition, he trained hard on his bats over the years, earning himself a place in the middle order.
International career
Pieter Seelaar played 57 One Day Internationals and 77 international T20 matches for the Dutch team. Especially in the T20Is he has an excellent track record; bowling 58 wickets for 1,290 runs and batting 591 runs in 46 innings with a highest score of 96 not out.
Pieter made his debut for the Netherlands against Warwickshire in May 2005. His ODI debut followed in July 2006 at VRA against Sri Lanka.
Seelaar was part of the team that defeated England on the very last ball in the opening game of the T20 World Cup in 2009 at Lord’s. He bowled in that memorable match 1-33: the wicket of Paul Collingwood, then the captain of England. He was also part of the team that defeated England again in 2014 in Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup.
Pieter Seelaars best bowling performance for the Netherlands was 4 wickets for 15 runs in ODIs and 4-19 in T20Is. His best performance for the Netherlands with the bat was 138 not out. He made this score in February 2017 in a four-day match against Hong Kong for the ICC Intercontinental Cup. Together with Ben Cooper, he made 288 runs, still a record partnership for the sixth wicket.
In addition to being a bowler and batsman, Seelaar also impressed as a fielder, including a fabulous outfield catch against Ireland in 2016 that allowed Kevin O’Brien to pull in.
High Performance Manager Roland Lefebvre: “Pieter has been invaluable to Dutch cricket, first as a player and later as a captain. His leadership style is honest and transparent and is appreciated by the players. He can look back on a wonderful international career that unfortunately ended prematurely due to persistent back problems. We wish him a speedy recovery and all the best for the future.”
Pieter Seelaar — statistics
| Batting | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | ave | BF | SR | |
| ODI | 57 | 39 | 10 | 347 | 43 | 11.96 | 593 | 58.51 | |
| T20I | 77 | 46 | 12 | 591 | 96 | † | 17.38 | 532 | 111.09 |
| FC | 23 | 41 | 10 | 751 | 138 | † | 24.22 | 1538 | 48.82 |
| List A | 140 | 90 | 24 | 953 | 68 | 14.43 | 1513 | 62.98 | |
| T20 | 98 | 57 | 19 | 680 | 96 | † | 17.89 | 613 | 110.92 |
| Bowling | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | wkts | ave | econom | SR | |
| ODI | 57 | 57 | 2609 | 2034 | 57 | 35.68 | 4.67 | 45.7 | |
| T20I | 77 | 64 | 1132 | 1290 | 58 | 22.24 | 6.83 | 19.5 | |
| FC | 23 | 32 | 2450 | 1434 | 35 | 40.97 | 3.51 | 70.0 | |
| List A | 140 | 5582 | 4420 | 126 | 35.07 | 4.75 | 44.3 | ||
| T20 | 98 | 84 | 1468 | 1657 | 65 | 25.49 | 6.77 | 22.5 |
