Holland go into today’s game against Bermuda knowing only an outright victory will give them any chance of advancing to the finals of this year’s Intercontinental Cup.

Having drawn with the Kenyans in their only game so far in March — garnering six points from a possible 20 in the process — a win would set up a winner-takes-all clash with table-toppers Canada in December.

“This is a must-win game for us,” said Holland coach Peter Cantrell yesterday.

“We have to get all the points and that would set up a nice final game in our group against Canada. Unfortunately with the poor weather that we are having in Pretoria, the ground is really wet and and so we are expecting to lose quite a bit of time, especially as there are more storms forecast for the rest of the week.

“The other side of it is that we haven’t been able to do much outside practice so far. Most of our guys haven’t had a bat or a bowl on grass since the end of August.”

The 2001 ICC Trophy champions have one or two players currently enjoying a good patch of form.

Daan van Bunge was one of the stars of the recently-concluded ICC Winter Training Camp, scoring three half centuries in five innings against South African provincial opposition.

Another player who is relishing this competition is Ryan ten Doeschate, who averages 121 with the bat, while the likes of Luke van Troost — brother of former Somerset county quick bowler Andre — and batsman Bas Zuiderent are also potential match-winners.