The Netherlands cricket board (KNCB) has admitted responsibility, after flagging to the ICC that they had fielded an ineligible player during a women's T20I against Italy on Tuesday (May 28).
The match in question took place at Schiedam in Rotterdam, the first of a four-match series between the two countries. The Netherlands won the game by 94 runs, Babette de Leede scoring an unbeaten 82 off 42 balls before Italy finished their 20 overs on 84-9. Following the match and once they had realised their error, the KNCB reported to the ICC that they had selected a player not qualified to play under the ICC's player eligibility regulations.
In a press release on Wednesday (May 29), the KNCB said: "The ICC has informed the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB) regarding an irregularity in the line-up of the Dutch Women's Cricket Team in the match between the Netherlands and Italy on Tuesday, May 28.
"Although no additional details have been communicated yet, the KNCB acknowledges that it was correctly identified for this error and will make the necessary adjustments in the next match to comply with the regulations."
Although no confirmation of the identity of the player in question has been given by the board, the Netherlands fielded two T20I debutants in the match: Madison landsman, who played in the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup last year, and batter Sanya Khurana.
There are a number of possible sanctions the ICC could issue for the error, including suspension for the player and "adjustment, overturning or amendment" of the result of the match. The ICC has not yet publicly commented on the incident.
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