Netherlands opt to bat against Ireland in T20 World Cup
Netherlands skipper Pieter Seelaar won the toss and elected to bat first against Ireland in the first round of the Twenty20 World on Monday.
It is the Group A opener in Abu Dhabi with the two teams fighting for a place in the Super 12 stage and Seelaar wants to put early pressure on the opposition.
"Looks a pretty good wicket, we want to get runs on the board and put pressure on them," Seelaar said at the toss.
Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie said he was not too disappointed to be chasing.
"I think it'll stay pretty good for the 40 overs, hopefully we can start well with the ball.
"First game of a tournament of a big ICC event is always special. You grew up watching Irish teams being successful in these tournaments."
Sri Lanka, the 2014 champions, and Namibia are the other two teams in Group A. They meet later Monday.
Teams
Netherlands: Max O'Dowd, Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards (wk), Roelof van der Merwe, Pieter Seelaar (capt), Logan van Beek, Fred Klaassen, Brandon Glover
Ireland: Paul Stirling, Kevin O Brien, Andrew Balbirnie (capt), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Neil Rock (wk), Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Ben White, Josh Little