The former captain of Pakistan criticises umpiring during the 2023 Cricket World Cup match between India and Pakistan
In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, the Netherlands arguably produced the biggest upset by defeating the unbeaten South Africans to register their first win of the campaign. Defending a total of 245 runs in a 43-over-per-side contest, the Dutch bowled out the Proteas for just 207 runs. From captain Scott Edwards to pacer Logan van Beek and spinner Roelof van der Merwe, there were many match-winners for the Netherlands in the contest. One of them was seamer Paul van Meekeren, a guy who delivered food through Uber Eats in 2020 to make ends meet.
Van Meekeren picked up two important wickets from Aiden Markram and Marco Jansen to deliver South Africa crucial blows in the Netherlands' bid to defend the total of 245 runs. While the result shocked the entire cricketing universe, it's the story of players like Van Meekeren that makes the Netherlands' victory even more respectful.
In his own words from a tweet in 2020, Van Meekeren revealed that he was delivering food for Uber Eats after the Men's T20 World Cup was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He had posted on social media, “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.”
In an interview, Van Meekeren admitted that he had to take up a job at Uber Eats to make ends meet as cricket had witnessed an indefinite break due to the pandemic.