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Netherlands all-rounder Logan van Beek wants the men's cricket team and the board to not chase the Test status as it could hamper the development in the white ball formats. Van Beek, speaking on the eve of the World Cup match against Australia made the surprising remark. 

Explaining the reasoning behind his statement, Van Beek said he loved Test cricket and playing it but if the Dutch had the Test status, it would mean the likes of him and teammate Colin Ackerman would not be able to play county cricket or in New Zealand. 

"I think chasing Test status could hamper getting more players involved in the Netherlands. I think the beauty is, for me personally - like if the Netherlands had Test status, then I wouldn't be able to go back and play in New Zealand or Colin Ackerman they can't go play County cricket or anything like that."

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Van Beek said instead of chasing the test team status, T20 and ODIs should be prioritised while giving opportunities to players from countries around the globe to come and play for the Netherlands. 

"So I think the more we can, I guess at this stage, focus on the T20 and one-day cricket and give guys the opportunity to play in other leagues and around the world and give people in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh doesn't matter if they've got Dutch passports or if they want to play international cricket to come to the Netherlands do the qualifications like Teja Nidamanuru and Sybrand Engelbrecht have."

Also read | Most Overs Bowled By Spinners In A World Cup Match

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I love Test cricket: Van Beek 

As for the longest format of the game, Van Beek said Test matches were still the ultimate form of the game and players needed to play it to develop transferable skills.  

"I love Test cricket. Test cricket is something that I grew up watching. I still play four-day cricket in New Zealand and in county cricket. I firmly believe it's a great baseline to learn how to bat time, learn how to bowl long spells, but also learn how to play when you're tired."

The Netherlands have given a great account of themselves as a white-ball team in the last year-and-a-half. The Dutch side beat South Africa in the T20 World Cup last year before repeating the same feat in the ODI World Cup, earlier this month. During the World Cup qualifiers, battling all odds, with key players missing, the team managed to qualify for the marquee tournament and arrived in India before playing a single ODI. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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