From trainee electrician in Australia to leading Netherlands to a World Cup win vs SA - The Scott Edwards story

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When Scott Edwards was born in Tonga, an island country in the South Pacific, nobody would have imagined that he would go on to lead the Netherlands cricket team which will beat South Africa in an ODI World Cup.

Edwards spent only the starting couple of years in Tonga before moving to Australia. His parents are Australians. The Dutch ancestry of Edwards, who currently lives in Rotterdam, is traced to his grandmother Tineke van der Wolk. The same paved way for him to feature in the Netherlands Cricket team.

During his time in Australia, Scott Edwards played semi-pro club cricket and made ends meet by training as an electrician. The boy who lives just half an hour away from the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), had a fascination for playing cricket since his early days. The doors opened up for him when he played for a Dutch club for one year.

Born in Tonga, brought up in Australia, winning World Cup matches for Netherlands

“Born in Tonga, lived there for the first two years, obviously grew up in Australia, my father’s side (grandmother) was of Dutch origin. Played for a Dutch club for one year, came back to Australia for a couple of years, got called up by Ryan Campbell, the national coach at that time, to play in a series in the UAE. Ever since then, I have been based in the Netherlands. Six months there, and six months in Australia in the summer, playing cricket," he told RevSportz.

Campbell, who was then the head coach of Netherlands, recognised Edwards’s potential early and he soon drafted him into the national side for the Intercontinental Cup game against Namibia in Dubai. The wicketkeeper-batter hasn’t looked back since.

Edwards took over Netherlands captaincy last June after Pieter Seelaar gave up cricket due to his persistent back issues. He led Netherlands to the main round of the T20 World Cup 2023 last year.

Adding more feathers to his cap, the young and dynamic leader led his team beautifully in the 10-team World Cup Qualifiers. The side pipped the likes of hosts Zimbabwe and West Indies to grab one of the two spots up for grabs to qualify for the mega event in India. Sri Lanka were the second team to qualify.

On Tuesday, Scott Edwards guided Netherlands to their third and biggest ever World Cup victory. Before the match against South Africa, Netherlands had lost 20 of their 22 ODI World Cup matches. They defeated Namibia in 2003 and Scotland in 2007.

Netherlands beating upbeat South Africa has stunned the cricket fraternity but Edwards isn't done yet. The Aussie spirit in him to keep aiming for more has always been there, he just let them out in words for the first time after the big win against South Africa. "Hopefully a few more [wins] to come," the talismanic leader of Netherlands cricket team after winning the Man of the Match award for his unbeaten 69-ball 78 which propelled his team from 112/6 in 27 overs to 245/8 in the 43-over per-side match.