The North Sea Pro Series was a professional cricket league featuring teams from the Netherlands and Scotland, first contested in 2014. A joint venture between the Royal Dutch Cricket Board (KNCB) and Cricket Scotland, the Pro Series comprised a 50-over tournament, the North Sea Pro 50, and a 20-over tournament, the North Sea Pro 20.
The first fully professional league in either country, the competition had been described as "formulated to bridge the gap between club and international cricket for professional cricketers".William Dick (3 May 2014). "North Sea Pro Series bridging the gap" – The Herald. Retrieved 20 January 2015. The inaugural season featured four franchises, two from the Netherlands and two from Scotland, and both the 50-over and 20-over tournaments were won by the Highlanders, a Scottish franchise.Bertus de Jong (11 June 2014). "Highlanders seal North-Sea double on wet weekend" – Cricket Europe. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
In 2016, the North Sea 50 Trophy was held on 1 September as a final match between the Dutch 50 over champions the South Holland Seafarers and the Scottish 50 over champions Eastern Knights.
The series did not return in 2017, replaced in Scotland by the Regional Pro Series featuring three domestic franchises, the first edition of which was held in 2016.
Background Cricket Scotland and the KNCB are both associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and both the Dutch and Scottish national teams have played in multiple World Cups. Both teams currently have Twenty20 International (T20I) status, while Scotland also holds One Day International (ODI) status. The impetus for the creation of the Pro Series was the exclusion of the Dutch and Scottish national sides from the new Royal London One-Day Cup, which replaced the Friends Provident Trophy as the premier limited-overs competition in England and Wales. Andy Tennant, performance director for Cricket Scotland, described the Pro Series as "an ideal opportunity for us to stand on our own two feet and begin to develop a strong domestic professional competition for our best cricketers."John Pennington (1 April 2014). "Dutch, Scottish Boards Launch North Sea Pro Series" – Cricket World. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
The North Sea Pro Series, contested in May and early June during the 2014 season, does not overlap with the Scottish National Cricket League or the Dutch Topklasse, the top-level club competitions in each country.
Franchises
Franchise Home grounds Captain (2014) Coach (2014) Highlanders Titwood, GlasgowNunholm, Dumfries Craig Wallace Toby Bailey Northern Hurricanes Sportpark Het Schootsveld, DeventerSportpark Maarschalkerweerd, UtrechtVRA Ground, Amstelveen Peter Borren – Reivers Forthill, DundeeLochlands Park, ArbroathRaeburn Place, Edinburgh Richie Berrington Steven Knox Southern Seafarers Hazelaarweg, RotterdamSportpark Duivesteijn, VoorburgSportpark Thurlede, Schiedam Stephan Myburgh –
Seasons +Pro 20 championshipYearWinnerRunner-up3rd Place4th Place 2014 Highlanders Northern Hurricanes Southern Seafarers Reivers 2015 Highlanders Southern Seafarers Northern Hurricanes Reivers
+Pro 50 ChampionshipYearWinnerRunner-up3rd Place4th Place 2014 Highlanders Southern Seafarers Reivers Northern Hurricanes
2014 season Squads HighlandersBatting and fielding for Highlanders, North Sea 20 Series 2014 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2015.HurricanesBatting and fielding for North Holland Hurricanes, North Sea 20 Series 2014 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2015.ReiversBatting and fielding for Reivers, North Sea 20 Series 2014 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2015.SeafarersBatting and fielding for South Holland Seafarers, North Sea 20 Series 2014 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2015. Craig Wallace (c, wk) Aman Bailwal Calvin Burnett Fraser Burnett Ewan Chalmers Alasdair Evans Cameron Farrell Hamish Gardiner Chayank Gosain Gordon Goudie Michael Leask George Munsey Matthew Parker Marc Petrie Mark Watt Peter Borren (c) Colin Ackermann Rahil Ahmed Ben Cooper Quirijn Gunning Mahesh Hans Mohammad Kashif Sverre Loggers M. U. Malik Mohammad Wasim Mudassar Bukhari Saqib Zulfiqar Shahbaz Bashir Sikander Zulfiqar Vinoo Tewarie Leon Turmaine Paul van Meekeren R. U. Zulfiqar Richie Berrington (c) Niall Alexander Scott Beveridge Con de Lange Michael English Kasim Farid Hamza Tahir Majid Haq Omer Hussain Moneeb Iqbal Scott McElnea Graeme McLaren Calum MacLeod Navdeep Poonia Abdul Sabri Safyaan Sharif Neil Smith Simon Smith (wk) Andrew Umeed Iain Wardlaw Craig Young Stephan Myburgh (c) Wesley Barresi Sebastiaan Braat Tim Etman James Gruijters Bobby Hanif Tom Heggelman Farshad Khan Vivian Kingma Josh Lenssen Ahsan Malik Hidde Overdijk Ali Qasim Jelte Schoonheim Pieter Seelaar Lesley Stokkers Zachary van Baren Matthijs van Schelven
Points table +Pro 20 ChampionshipPositionTeamMatchesWonLostTiedNo ResultPoints1 Highlanders66000242 Northern Hurricanes62301103 Southern Seafarers6130284 Reivers614016
+Pro 50 ChampionshipPositionTeamMatchesWonLostTiedNo ResultPoints1 Highlanders63102192 Southern Seafarers62103153 Reivers62301114 Northern Hurricanes613028
2015 season +Pro 20 ChampionshipPositionTeamMatchesWonLostTiedNo resultPoints1 Highlanders1210101422 Southern Seafarers125601223 Northern Hurricanes123603184 Reivers12270314
References