By Jamie Lillywhite

Ten Doeschate has played some lusty cameo innings for Essex

With so many players having dual nationalities nowadays, cricketing cul-de-sacs have opened into fields of opportunity.

Ryan ten Doeschate is one such case in point - and the Netherlands now rate him the best player in the world outside the Test-playing nations, his career having been transformed by English county cricket.

And he showed there was at least some truth to his star billing by taking 5-57 in a warm-up match against India in Jamaica on Tuesday.

Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, his big break came on an Essex winter tour.

"Essex came out to Cape Town in pre-season in 2002 when I was still playing for Western Province B," he told BBC Sport.

"I played against them and did fairly well. Graham Gooch and Peter Kirsten got together and discussed the possibility of me coming to England.

"I came over in June that year for a trial and they signed me straight away."

Since then, he has evolved from a wayward paceman into an all-rounder, delighting Essex followers with some lusty big-hitting.

"When I arrived I don't think I was ready to play first-class cricket but the benefit of a two-year contract is that I had a lot of time to learn and luckily I was able to adapt, especially in one-dayers," he said.

Will Ten Doeschate ever swap Dutch orange for South African green?

Having established himself at Essex, Ten Doeschate had the chance to branch into international cricket when he made his debut for the Netherlands in 2005.

"I've got a Dutch father and Holland spend quite a lot of time in Cape Town," he said.

"I knew the previous coach, Emerson Trottman, who got me involved, and I had to go though the whole qualifying procedure."

So how does a county dressing room differ from an associate side, who might play only a handful of matches a year.

"It's a lot more professional at Essex, the intensity is far greater," he said.

"The Dutch side is comparable to club cricket where guys are trying to have a laugh - obviously taking it seriously - but the intensity is not the same.

"I think you feel a lot more comfortable in a county dressing room because you're around the guys 25 days a month so the familiarity is a lot stronger."

Not that there is any lack of spirit amongst the Netherlands squad, who, bolstered by Ten Doeschate, enjoyed a promising World Cricket League programme in Nairobi this year.

Four wickets defeated Canada, a century and three wickets set up victory over Bermuda and four more wickets helped to end the campaign with a win against Ireland.

Now the team is in the Caribbean for their third World Cup campaign, having won only one of 11 encounters, against Namibia in their final match in South Africa four years ago.

Ryan is a world class performer when he's playing well Essex and Netherlands bowling coach Ian Pont

They contest Group A with the top two one-day sides, South Africa and Australia, plus the rather more even prospect of a clash with Scotland.

"From a team point of view I'm taking a very realistic stance, but at least to beat Scotland [who recorded a two-run win against them in the World Cricket League] is our goal," he admitted.

"But the Dutch guys are quite upbeat about causing a major upset so that would be amazing if we could throw something in the mix against, I would imagine, South Africa rather than Australia.

"Personally I just want to give a good account of myself.

"I don't want to be someone who bullies weak attacks from other associate countries and is then given a hiding by the big sides."

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And as fate would have it, his first taste of World Cup action will be against the country of his birth.

"Other people are making more fuss of it than I am, it will be really nice but it is just another tough game," he said.

But what if a spectacular performance was to lead to enquiries from the South African selectors?

"That would be fantastic, but you have to put everything in perspective.

"You can go bullying Canada and Bermuda and doing fairly well in one-day cricket domestically, but it's a different kettle of fish against top sides.

"It would be a dream - very ambitious - but a dream to play one-day cricket for South Africa."