5 Players to watch out for in 2018 Netherlands Tri-Nation Series

In light of Scotland's stunning outing against England earlier the week, there has been an uproar of support for the involvement of more teams in the World Cup. Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands have been the three most talked about countries while discussing the aforementioned possibility as all of them missed out on the very limited berths for the 2019 World Cup in extremely close circumstances.

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However, if the transitive property of inequalities is considered, the three European sides will face off each other in a double round robin tri-series to be held in the Dutch cities of Rotterdam, Deventer, and Amstelveen as each team will be eager to assert its dominance in a format they all have been pretty inactive in since last year.

Ireland have played their first ever Test match and have other white ball fixtures lined-up against India. Similarly, Scotland are scheduled to play Pakistan in two T20Is. They will be up against a fresh-faced Netherlands side afflicted by clouds over player availability due to the ongoing County season.

Contests between these sides, be it in World Cup where it's all about making a statement at the global stage or in the World Cricket League where we witness some of the toughest cricket is played away from the sight of the masses, have always been close with not much to choose from among the teams.

With ICC's recent developments, all these sides are no longer associates but full-members in T20Is, along with 101 other countries. Nevertheless, the new stature will motivate them. Let us look at five players who can turn the tides in the favor of their teams in this closely fought tournament.

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#5 Kevin O'Brien

Years of the grind at the international level has made O'Brien a humbled yet tough nut to crack

The biggest star of Irish cricket has seen his share of dizzying highs and frustrating lows all throughout his career. But now the most experienced cricketer in this Irish squad, O'Brien's confidence will be at an all-time peak having just scored an odds-defying century against Pakistani bowling, which, to put things in context, allowed the English batting to average 26.3 in their own home conditions.

With an ability to take apart any bowling line-up in the world along with an umpteenth reference of him doing unspeakable things to Andrew Strauss' England at Bangalore in 2011, O'Brien will be someone on whose performance the fate of his team will hinge.

Also, if we look beyond his six-hitting prowess, he is a very underrated T20 bowler conceding only 18 runs for a wicket and dismissing a batsman once every 15 balls.

Take him lightly at your own peril.

#4 Pieter Seelaar

Ireland v Netherlands - ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier

The newly appointed skipper of Netherlands as a replacement for Peter Borren, Seelaar has come a long way from his early days in the orange when he flaunted his Penguin moves after dismissing Paul Collingwood at Lord's in Netherlands' shock triumph over England in 2010. Bursting into the international scene as a mere teenager, Seelaar has a made a name for himself in the Dutch side and is now a mainstay in the side.

Seelaar is an excellent bowler of the format and is notably one of the few finger-spinners who is very effective in the death overs. Molding his style of bowling with his favorite cricketer Dan Vettori as a template, he has achieved success with consistency at the international level. To put that into perspective, his economy rate in the format is better than six of the top ten ranked T20I bowlers.

#3 Matthew Cross

Scotland v England - ODI

When Calum MacLeod struggled for consistency at the apex of the batting, Cross came in and his stroke-filled style of play allowed MacLeod to settle in and work his magic at the less frenetic position of the one-drop batsman.

Cross is one of the most exciting things about Scotland cricket, and to make a mark in a team that recently has had a host of players putting up performances that demand recognition, it is a tough ask.

In the ODI against England, Cross burst into a flurry of boundaries right from the shot of the pistol, bestowing no mercy upon the usually revered skills of Mark Wood and David Willey. In an innings of belligerence, he smashed 10 fours in a score of a quickfire 48 to put up 103 with Kyle Coetzer in just 13.4 overs. Donning a T20 strike rate of 136, he will take on the opponents with both form and confidence on his side.

#2 Roelof van der Merwe

Delhi Daredevils' bowler Roelof van der

Playing in his second dig as an International cricketer for the Netherlands after representing South Africa, Van der Merwe is one of the most experienced players who will be featuring in this competition.

With over 170 T20 caps, he has played all around the world and is the only cricketer from these three countries to have played in perhaps the most competitive tournament of them all, the Indian Premier League.

He will be a very important part of the team with his canny left-arm orthodox spin, more than handy batting skills. He strikes the ball at over 130 and has an average of 18.82 with the ball while picking a wicket almost every 16 balls, more than respectable for his genre of bowling.

In a middle order that is rather short on experience, Van der Merwe's role becomes all the more important as he will be the one who will have to play the pacifier if things get turbulent as well as will be given the duties of finishing off the proceedings.

#1 Gary Wilson

Ireland v New Zealand - International Cricket

Another player who has only been handed the leadership role, Wilson has been around with the Irish squad and has seen the days of immortalized giant-killing as well as the struggle to be consistent in their results against teams of their tier in international cricket.

Wilson now has the chance to lead Ireland in a new age with young cricketers, raring to have a go, at his disposal along with the old warhorses in the likes of Paul Stirling, George Dockrell, and William Porterfield.

In a tournament where teams are evenly matched and games will have a high tendency to go down the wire, it will be interesting to see how Wilson makes the decisions that will be bound to have immediate consequences on the outcome of the matches. With 10 T20 fifties, he is no mug with the bat and can be relied upon well and truly in times of strife.