Netherlands captain Babette de Leede is looking forward to leading her team in its first-ever ICC Women’s T20 World Cup appearance, describing the tournament as a unique opportunity to showcase Dutch cricket on the global stage.

The Women’s T20 World Cup will be held in England and Wales, and de Leede believes the conditions will feel familiar for her side.

"It is an amazing opportunity for us as a team to show the world the talent we have got. Moreover, it is very special that it is almost like a home World Cup for us, with conditions similar to those in the Netherlands," she said.

The Dutch skipper also expects strong support from fans due to the close proximity between the Netherlands and England.

"We expect a big orange crowd at all of our games. It will be an experience of a lifetime."

While this will be the Netherlands' first appearance in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the team has previously competed in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and arrives with growing confidence after a successful qualification campaign.

Reflecting on their previous attempt to qualify for the tournament, de Leede said the squad learned valuable lessons after falling short at the 2024 Global Qualifier in Abu Dhabi.

"At the previous Global Qualifier in Abu Dhabi in 2024, we played okay, but not well enough to qualify."

"After that tournament, we realised what needed to be done to qualify for the next World Cup, and all gave it our 100 per cent."

The journey toward qualification began with the European Qualifier in the Netherlands in 2025, where the Dutch side secured a place in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier held in Nepal earlier this year.

The team also benefited from participating in the ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2025, finishing third with five victories. De Leede described the competition as an important step in the team's preparation.

"In Nepal, our dream scenario became reality by winning our first five (four) games, which meant we had qualified with two more games to play."

Cricket has been part of de Leede’s life from an early age. She comes from a well-known cricketing family, with her uncle Tim de Leede representing the Netherlands at the 2003 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and her cousin Bas de Leede playing for the national men's team in recent ICC tournaments.

"I grew up in a cricket family, so as a kid I played cricket in the house with my younger brother," she said.

She also highlighted how competing alongside boys during her youth helped accelerate her development as a player, eventually leading to her international debut as a teenager.

Looking ahead to the World Cup, de Leede believes the Netherlands can benefit from entering the tournament as underdogs.

"I think playing as the newcomers and underdogs (the lowest-ranked team) might work in our favour to surprise some teams and cause some upsets."

"Our goal is to win at least two games and finish in the top eight so that we don’t have to qualify for the next T20 World Cup."

Before the tournament, the Netherlands will continue preparations through a tri-series involving Scotland and Bangladesh. De Leede views the matches as an important opportunity to build momentum and match fitness.

The Netherlands will begin their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign against Bangladesh on June 14, aiming to make a strong impression in their historic debut appearance on the world stage.