Players who beat South Africa in the World Cup have delivered Uber Eats, worked in real estate and as electricians
Dustin Silgardo18-Oct-2023Scott Edwards, 27
vs SA: 78* off 69Raised in Australia, Edwards had begun an electrical apprenticeship when the then Netherlands coach Ryan Campbell, who Edwards had played club cricket under, asked if he was interested in playing for them – Edwards qualifies as his grandmother is Dutch. He became the captain in 2022 and is one of just four players who has a central contract with the Netherlands board but he still has to coach and play club cricket in Australia during their summer to make ends meet.Roelof van der Merwe, 38
vs SA: 29 off 19 and 2 for 34Born in Johannesburg, van der Merwe played 26 internationals for South Africa before switching allegiances to Netherlands, where his mother is from, in 2015. His most memorable moment in orange before Tuesday night’s eye-popping celebrations was his spectacular catch to dismiss David Miller in Netherlands’ upset of South Africa in Adelaide at the 2022 T20 World Cup. Van der Merwe has played T20 cricket in various leagues, including for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. His main commitment is to Somerset, and he had to miss the World Cup Qualifier owing to his contract with them.Related
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Paul van Meekeren, 30
vs SA: 2 for 40During the Covid-19 pandemic, times were hard for van Meekeren. He should have been playing the T20 World Cup for Netherlands in November, 2020. Instead, he was delivering Uber Eats to get by. One of the few homegrown players, van Meekeren made his international debut in 2013. Since there isn’t much money in playing for the national team, he signed up to play for Gloucestershire. He was also one of the players to have missed the Qualifier. He was recently released by Gloucestershire, which could make it hard for him to continue being a full-time professional cricketer.
Should’ve been playing cricket today. now I’m delivering Uber eats to get through the winter months!! Funny how things change hahaha keep smiling people https://t.co/kwVEIo6We9
— Paul van Meekeren (@paulvanmeekeren) November 15, 2020