The Netherlands arguably produced the most important upset of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, defeating the unbeaten South Africans to register their first win of the marketing campaign. Defending a complete of 245 runs, in a 43-over-per-side contest, the Dutch bowled out the Proteas for simply 207 runs. From skipper Scott Edwards to pacer Logan van Beek and spinner Roelof van der Merwe, there have been many match-winners for the Netherlands within the contest. One of them was seamer Paul van Meekeren, a man who delivered meals by means of Uber Eats in 2020 to make ends meet.

Van Meekeren picked up two vital wickets of Aiden Markram and Marco Jansen to ship South Africa essential blows within the Netherlands’ bid to defend the overall of 245 runs. While the end result despatched shockwaves throughout the cricketing universe, it is the story of gamers like Van Meekeren that makes Netherlands’ victory much more respectful.

In his personal phrases from a tweet in 2020, Van Meekeren revealed that he was delivering meals for Uber Eats after the Men’s T20 World Cup was postponed in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

“Should’ve been playing cricket today now I’m delivering Uber eats to get through the winter months!! Funny how things change hahaha keep smiling people,” he had posted on social media.

In an interview, Van Meekeren admitted that he needed to take up a job at Uber Eats to make ends meet as cricket had witnessed an indefinite break as a result of pandemic.

“I had enough savings but they’re savings that I don’t want to touch,” he advised The Cricketerthroughout a chat three years in the past. “But I’ve dipped so deep into my reserves now that I had to think about what I was going to do this winter, because there isn’t going to be any cricket. I need some income,” van Meekeren stated.

“At the start, I was looking for a job to just cover the simple things like petrol, food, rent, phone bills and those kinds of things,” he stated. “But then, I also wanted to be as flexible as possible if any cricket opportunity did come up – whether with the Dutch team, franchise cricket or a chance to train with a county. That’s what happened and I’ve been very open about it to my friends: I was never ashamed of the fact that I was going to do it,” he added.

Van Meekeren, a tenacious character, each on and off the sphere, is the proper instance of the resilience that Dutch cricketers have proven to come back this far. Van Meekeren’s rise from a  chapter in his profession that he wouldn’t wish to return to, could possibly be a lesson of fortitude and dedication for a lot of others like him.