André van Troost

Flamingo since 1990

Fast & Frightening

Koos Oosterholt (1911-1998) is a Schiedam cricket legend. He batted without gloves or box, hit hard, bowled viciously to the edge of the mat and caught many batsmen. Oosterholt was carved from tropical hardwood. This became clear when he, at 49 years old, was hit in the mouth against Sparta on 13 June 1961 by a bouncer from Hugo Meijers. His teeth were all in pieces, but that didn't discourage him. He put the pieces in his pocket and shouted with his bloody mouth to Meijers: "Come on with those shit balls of yours." That day he made 70, a solid basis for the Schiedam victory.

Gymnastics and Cricket

Why is this story at the beginning of the interview with André van Troost? Quite simply, Koos Oosterholt is his grandfather, the man who made sure that cricket blood ran through his veins. André: "I became a member when I was six. Around my twelfth birthday I was subject to a great spurt of growth. Because of my height (now 2m05) and because I had gained a certain flexibility in gymnastics, I was able to bowl very hard early on. I entered the Excelsior first when I was fifteen. My first victim was the national team captain, Steven Lubbers. You can start off worse."

André was of course also involved in representing youth teams. For example, he played against England in Canada. His projectiles terrified the English to such an extent that he was beginning to gain a certain name! This was not without consequences, because when the large English team in the Netherlands came to play a practice game, Somerset man Peter Roebuck ensured contact between his county and the young Van Troost. André spent his school holidays in Somerset between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. He was housed in a hotel above a McDonalds. After having obtained his HAVO diploma, Andre received a contract. "It was a hard life with a lot of travelling. You came home at night, did your laundry and moved on the next morning. "

Top 10 fastest bowlers

At Somerset they knew how to make optimal use of his capabilities. In Taunton they liked to use him on good, fast wickets, which he did his best justice to. During one of his performances against Essex, with renowned names such as Graham Gooch and Mark Waugh, he was in a particular hurry. He took six wickets for 46 runs in front of the Excelsior veteran team, including his father.

A match he also remembers well took place at The Oval against Surrey. "The wicket was rock hard, and I was unplayable that day. The opposition was formidable with Graeme Thorpe, Alec Stewart and Mark Butcher, but they couldn't do anything against me. My 6 for 46 could still be there. It was during the time when the Daily Telegraph counted me among the ten fastest bowlers ever."

Mark Butcher agrees: “André bowled the fastest spell of bowling I ever faced.” André: "I must admit that I was not so accurate but certainly very quick. I was what you would call a shock bowler who bowled maybe 1 for 70 while the stock bowler on the other hand, after doing my destructive and terrifying work, boasted his line and length at 4 for 40."

As a batsman André was usually a negligible factor, only once against Lancashire in 1993 did he help his team to victory in that capacity. The Somerset website remembers it: Last man André van Troost, a player not usually known for his batting prowess, strode to the wicket and immediately proceeded to hit the ball to all corners, including two straight sixes off Peter Martin, being out for 35 off 28 balls. "But this batting exhibition was an exception. I often tried to hit a few sixes quickly, something that often didn't work out."

Three months KNCB

André, of course also played for the Dutch national team. He remembers a match against Zimbabwe, the final of the ICC-Trophee in 1990. "There were about five thousand people at HCC, an atmosphere that is very unusual for cricket in the Netherlands. We lost with 6 wickets, but it didn't really matter."

His career was short but intense. At the age of 26, a back injury forced him to stop. With the money the insurance paid him, he financed a four-year study at the University of Birmingham, after which he went to work in London for Procter & Gamble. 

A short period as CEO of the KNCB followed in 2008, a period in which he ran into the incomprehensiveness of the ICC due to his belief that cricket in the Netherlands should grow in breadth, and the focus should not only be on the national team. This often consisted of foreign cricketers who happened to have a Dutch passport. "I just wanted to tackle this job under the motto ‘not done, always sorry,’ but I soon noticed that there was little support for my vision.” After just three months I gave up and joined Nutricia (Danone) and then Van Lely, where I am now CEO. 

When I look back on my cricket days, feelings of satisfaction dominate. You can say, without over doing it, that Roland Lefebvre, Paul-Jan Bakker and I made a career in England. We were mini celebrities whose actions on the field mattered. Even now, I have not completely detached myself from the cricket world. As chairman of the Excelsior sponsorship committee, I try to raise funds that make the life of my old club a little easier. My brother Luuk is chairman of the cricket department, so we can work together, this pleases me very much."