Ryan TenDoeschate is a star in every sense of the word. Playing for Netherlands in the international scene, he is undoubtedly the best player of all time from the associate cricket teams. Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, TenDoeschate rose to prominence while playing in England for Essex.

 

Due to his Netherland citizenship, he was eligible to play for Netherlands and has done so internationally throughout his career. His affiliation with the Orange might have deprived him from playing Test cricket, but his reputation in world cricket makes him a figure of reverence.

Indeed, not only has he played in almost every country and in almost every T20 league, he also holds the record of the highest ODI average among any player that has played at least 20 matches (TenDoeschate's average is 67 after 32 innings with 1541 runs).  Be it the Bangladesh Premier League or HK T20 Blitz in Hong Kong (where he played for HKI United), he is a man with experience of playing on any conditions.

And right now, he is playing for Prime Doleshwar in the Dhaka Premier League. Cricfrenzy caught up with him right after the Hong Kong T20 Blitz concluded and asked him a few questions…

 

 

Cricfrenzy (Cf): How are you? How did you enjoy your time in Hong Kong T20 Blitz?

Ryan TenDoeschate (RTD): I had a great time in Hong Kong. Cricket didn't go according to plan, but teamed up with some good people and the competition is growing in strength. HK is a great city.

Cf: Why did you decide to retire from the Netherlands national cricket team and then come back?

RTD: The time felt right to give it [playing for the national team once again] a try. After not enjoying the setup back in 2011 and wanting to focus on other things, I decided to try it out again and really enjoyed the Dubai trip. I'm keen to help out if and when I can.

Cf: Anything on your absence in the Bangladesh Premier League?

RTD: I didn't have a great BPL two years back [with Dhaka Dynamites] and didn't get many opportunities at Comilla [Victorians] last year, so wasn't overly surprised not to get picked up this time.

Cf: What do you think of Bangladesh’s loss to Sri Lanka in the tri-nation and Test series?

RTD: I didn't watch the tri-series. I also think it's unrealistic to expect Bangladesh to be world beaters all of a sudden. Sri Lanka are a good international team. Bangladesh’s progress has been phenomenal, but it's not right to put undue expectation on them. Progress will be gradual with many setbacks along the way. The wicket in the last Test match looked hard work, particularly on the back of the Chittagong Test. It looked like an unnecessary gamble to win the series or just not getting the pitch they wanted.

Cf: Would you play for Bangladesh if given the opportunity?

RTD: I'd love to play Test cricket for any nation. I'd also like to have powers of invisibility and be able to fly.

Cf: Favourite Bangladesh player?

RTD: Mashrafe [Mortaza].

Cf: What do you think of Bangladesh cricket?

RTD: Incredible progress, must be better away from home; which goes for nearly every Test team.

Cf: You are perhaps the best cricketer in the history of associate nations, do you sometimes regret that you may not have played as much international cricket as you could have because of your allegiance with Netherlands?