Amsterdam, 23 September (H.S.): The Royal Dutch Cricket Association has appointed former Australia international Ashley Noffke as head coach of the Netherlands men’s cricket team, handing him the responsibility of guiding the side through qualification campaigns for the 2028 ODI and T20 World Cups.

The 49-year-old succeeds Ryan Cook, who stepped down from the role to spend more time with his family. Noffke has signed an initial two-year contract that will run through the end of 2028.

Noffke represented Australia in one international match and enjoyed an extensive first-class career. He played for Queensland and Western Australia in Australia, while also representing several English county sides, including Durham, Middlesex, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

He was also part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad in the inaugural Indian Premier League season in 2008.

During his first-class career, Noffke scored 3,766 runs and claimed 386 wickets. He became only the third Australian to achieve the notable feat of completing the 500-run and 50-wicket double in a single season.

Noffke has also built an impressive coaching résumé. He guided the Brisbane Heat to a Women’s Big Bash League title and was named Coach of the Year twice. He has also won the Women’s National Cricket League title with Queensland Fire and The Hundred with London Spirit.

More recently, Noffke worked with Pakistan as assistant coach and head of bowling. He joined the Pakistan setup in 2025, working alongside head coach Mike Hesson. During that period, Pakistan reached the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup and the final of the Asia Cup.

Speaking about his new role, Noffke said his approach with the Netherlands would be based on “connection before strategy”. He said his focus would be on helping the team continue its development and make further progress on the international stage.

The Netherlands have qualified for each of the last six T20 World Cups. However, in the 50-over format, the team has made the World Cup only once since 2011, making qualification for the 2028 tournament one of Noffke’s key challenges.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar