Hidde climbing the ladder

Hidde

The mountain goat, as he was endearingly nicknamed during his time at the GKC HPA in 2017 for his prowess climbing the peaks in Cape Town is now climbing the ladder in Dutch Cricket. After attending the High Performance Academy in South Africa two seasons ago, Hidde returned to the Netherlands to fulfill an internship and continue his studies in real estate. This proves that Hidde has a mature head on his shoulders as he aims to keep a balance in his life. “I have to keep improving my cricket and finish my studies as soon as possible”, he says with a smile on his face.

Hidde’s energy and enthusiasm for the game rubbed off on all the players at the HPA. His consistent positivity was contagious as he rose to every challenge. Hidde reflects on the time in Cape Town saying, “When at the HPA, the opportunity to play cricket every day with a great bunch of guys and willing coaches was an amazing experience, I loved the positive culture that was created over the couple of months and practicing 5 days a week was tough but extremely enjoyable.”Throughout the2017 season, Hidde had some ups and downs, but started 2018 with a bang with a 48 not out and a five-for against Essex development in XI for the KNCB team, this kick started his season and has been finding some consistent performances with both bat and ball in the Eerste-Klas league.

These performances were rewarded when Hidde was selected for the Dutch National side for games against Nepal and the MCC at Lords in July. “I represented the colours of my country in the youth setup but to do it for the National team is a dream come true and to do it at Lords is something extremely special.” He was also selected alongside close friend, Tonny Staal, who attended the HPA in 2018. This follows a relationship between the KNCB, The Flamingos and Gary Kirsten Cricket, which has been moving from strength to strength every year. Gary Kirsten reflects on this relationship, “We have been fortunate over the past few years to have strong ties with the KNCB. We feel it adds value not only to the individuals but to the system as a whole. We are thankful to Wulf Van Alkemede who has been instrumental in driving this relationship and keeping the consistency to improve Dutch Cricket. We are looking forward to welcoming the new attendees of the HPA 2019 as they aim to upskill in preparation for their upcoming season.

Hidde performed admirably in the 3 games in National coloursdespite the games being rain affected and has returned to his club and continued his all round performances with economical figures and middle order contributions to see his team home as the season draws to a close.

Ryan Van Niekerk, The GKCI Head Coach was very proud of Hidde,“This is an incredible achievement and we wish him all the best as he continues to make his mark at the international level, hopefully this experience propels him to new heights”.

For more updates follow on www.garykirsten.com