A South African-born cricketer, Ryan ten Doeschate plays international cricket for the Netherlands owing to his Dutch ancestry. He has also represented Essex since 2003.

From the time he announced himself in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, he has been the big name in Dutch Cricket. He scored an unbeaten 259 and finished the tournament with a spell-bounding average of 228.66 which included four successive centuries. Surprisingly, he was also the tournament’s highest wicket-taker. Followers of county cricket started to know him after Essex discovered him in the pre-season tour of 2003 of South Africa. As of March 2011, his ODI batting average of 67.00 was the highest in ODI cricket by a batsman with more than 20 innings, leaving behind even the big names of World Cricket, the likes of Hashim Amla, Michael Bevan and for that matter even Sachin Tendulkar. Consistent performances led him to be shortlisted for the inaugural ICC Associate ODI Player of the Year Award in 2007 and he went better in 2010, winning the ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year Award.

He was the only player from the Associate nations to be selected to play in IPL 2011, when he was bought for $ 150,000 in the auction by Kolkata who also bought him back in the 7th season. He also became the second Dutch player after Dirk Nannes to have participated in the IPL. Ten Doeschate stopped playing for Netherlands and has somewhat become a Twenty20 freelancer, playing across the globe in various continents. His hard-hitting abilities, ability to take wickets on a consistent basis makes him a stand-out player and it’s a pity to not see him at the international stage anymore.