Heather Siegers' second act leads her to the T20 World Cup

Matches (31) IND vs AFG (1) Women's T20 World Cup (5) WI vs SL (1) County DIV1 (4) County DIV2 (4) Women's One-Day Cup (4) EUT20 Belgium (2) Sri Lanka A-Team Tri Series (OD) (1) BAN-A vs ZIM-A (1) ACC Women's Premier Cup (2) BAN vs AUS (1) Blast Women League 2 (4) Live 1st ODI • Dharamsala (24.5/25 ov) 194 (2.3/25 ov, T:195) 25/0 India need 170 runs from 22.3 overs. Live Women's T20 World Cup • Manchester (19.6/20 ov) 172/8 AUS Women chose to bat. ScheduleTable UpcomingWomen's T20 World Cup • Southampton Match starts in 2 hrs 23 mins ScheduleTable RESULT Women's T20 World Cup • Manchester (19.1/20 ov, T:162) 121 SCO Women won by 40 runs ScheduleTable Upcoming2nd T20I • Kingston Match yet to begin Live County DIV1 • Leicester (36.4 ov) 103/6 Day 2 - Leics trail by 298 runs. ScheduleTable Tea County DIV1 • Hove (108 ov) 407/7 Day 2 - Sussex lead by 252 runs.

ScheduleTable Live County DIV1 • Nottingham (54 ov) 169/6 Day 2 - Notts trail by 141 runs. ScheduleTable Live County DIV1 • Scarborough (43.5 ov) 120/4 Day 2 - Warwickshire trail by 349 runs. ScheduleTable Live County DIV2 • Northampton (38.1 ov) 113/4 Day 2 - Gloucs trail by 352 runs. ScheduleTable Tea County DIV2 • Blackpool (39 ov) 178 & 143/2 Day 2 - Kent lead by 234 runs.

ScheduleTable Tea County DIV2 • Chester-le-Street (29.4 ov) 118 Day 2 - Derbyshire trail by 259 runs. ScheduleTable Live County DIV2 • Worcester (45.5 ov) 145/5 Day 2 - Worcs trail by 194 runs. ScheduleTable Live Women's One-Day Cup • Chelmsford (28.3/50 ov, T:292) 133/4 ESS Women need 159 runs from 21.3 overs. ScheduleTable Live Women's One-Day Cup • Birmingham (25.5/50 ov, T:315) 122/3 LAN Women need 193 runs from 24.1 overs.

ScheduleTable Drinks Women's One-Day Cup • Beckenham (25/50 ov, T:253) 113/2 BLZ Women need 140 runs from 25 overs. ScheduleTable Live Women's One-Day Cup • Taunton (30.4/50 ov, T:304) 181/1 SOM Women need 123 runs from 19.2 overs. ScheduleTable (7/20 ov) 88/2 Bruges chose to field. ScheduleTable RESULT Dambulla (28.1/41 ov, T:231) 231/2 Sri Lanka A won by 8 wickets (with 77 balls remaining) (DLS method) ScheduleTable RESULT 3rd unofficial ODI • Rajshahi (48/50 ov, T:299) 301/6 BAN Emerging won by 4 wickets (with 12 balls remaining) RESULT Final • ACC Women's Premier Cup • Kuala Lumpur (18.1/20 ov, T:96) 96/4 THA Women won by 6 wickets (with 11 balls remaining) ScheduleTable RESULT ACC Women's Premier Cup • Kuala Lumpur (18.3/20 ov, T:108) 108/4 IDN Women won by 6 wickets (with 9 balls remaining) ScheduleTable RESULT Zemst (17.4/20 ov, T:145) 123 Gladiators won by 21 runs ScheduleTable Upcoming3rd ODI • Mirpur Match yet to begin UpcomingWomen's T20 World Cup • Birmingham Match yet to begin ScheduleTable UpcomingWomen's T20 World Cup • Birmingham Match yet to begin ScheduleTable UpcomingWCL 2 • King City (NW) Match yet to begin ScheduleTable UpcomingBlast Women League 2 • Match yet to begin ScheduleTable UpcomingBlast Women League 2 • Horsham Match yet to begin ScheduleTable UpcomingBlast Women League 2 • Match yet to begin ScheduleTable UpcomingBlast Women League 2 • Match yet to begin ScheduleTable S Sudarshanan Published: Jun 13, 2026, 2:47 PM (20 mins ago) Siegers' 28 in 12 balls and 1 for 19 against USA proved decisive in Netherlands' qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup • Pankaj Nangia/ICC via Getty Images It was a phone call from her sister that changed the course of Heather Siegers' career.

Last year Siegers found herself in the quandary that most athletes find themselves in at some point - when to call time on your sporting career, and whether or not to give it one last push. For her, the decision was made in October 2025. Having played cricket for over 15 years - from much before Netherlands achieved T20I status in 2018 - Siegers had had a hard look at her future and decided that financial freedom was paramount. She was 29 and was two months into a traineeship with Tata Steel.

She had been juggling work and education with cricket at the time. She decided to retire from cricket and work full-time, a decision she had made peace with. Netherlands were playing the inaugural Women's Emerging Cup in Thailand, when Silver Siegers, also a Netherlands cricketer, rang her older sister. The qualifying tournament for the Women's T20 World Cup was about two months away, and Netherlands were pooled with Scotland, Thailand, Nepal and Zimbabwe in Group B.

"When my sister called up, she said, 'We are in great form, and looking at our pool [for the T20 World Cup Qualifier], I think we really do have a shot. But we need you. So would you consider coming back for one more try?'" Siegers says. "As a sportsperson, there's always one thing that you would have wanted to accomplish that you haven't quite done.

I guess some athletes are very lucky to say, 'No, I've achieved everything I wanted to.' For me, the World Cup was something that I had not achieved and always wanted to." After talking to her partner and parents, Siegers decided to give her dream another shot. That she had become, a few months before, only the second woman from Netherlands, and fourth overall for the country in men's and women's cricket, to hit a T20I centurymade the decision a little easier. "You'd rather regret going than regret the possibility of not going and then being like, 'Oh, what if I had?' So that's why I did. I guess I have to blame my sister for this one!" For a few years now - Siegers doesn't recall exactly when she put it up - there has been a small cardboard poster on the wall of her bedroom on which she has handwritten "T20 World Cup 2026".

During their conversation, Silver brought up that poster. "I sometimes find it hard to find motivation to wake up super early, then go to the gym before work," Siegers says. "So if there is a reminder of why you are doing it daily - the bigger picture - it really helps me just do what needs to be done. It made me work hard and go to training even when it's a tough day." International cricket does not come easy to most players.

For those from the Associate nations, the path is a little more winding. It is only now that pathways are being established, contracts drawn, and more matches organised. Siegers' entry into the sport was itself accidental. "I used to play soccer when I was six and then my parents were like, you should play another sport for summer, because soccer was only in the winter," she says.

"In my neighbourhood there was a sports clinic day every year where kids could try and decide which sport they wanted to pursue. You had to sign up for it, and there were limited seats for every sport. My brother and I rocked up late to this clinic. Only cricket had a few spots left, so we signed up.

I, thankfully, enjoyed it, and never looked back, really." Siegers is among only four Netherlands batters with 1000-plus runs in women's T20Is. None of the other three have scored their runs at a faster clip than Seigers' 119.83. She has also taken 38 T20I wickets with her offspin.

But at the start it was wicketkeeping that drew her interest. It offered her a chance to be more involved in the game than fielding at short third, even though she enjoyed fielding. She was only 13 when she was drafted into the Netherlands side. At the time, Netherlands played in England's County Championship Division 2.

"That was my wicketkeeping era, and the Dutch wicketkeeper at the time [Miranda Veringmeier] had broken her finger. They called me up to fulfil that role, and then they enjoyed my batting. So I got to stay even after she recovered." Siegers still holds the 57 not out she scored against Cumbria in the ECB Women's T20 Cup 2012 in her first season close to her heart. "I batted at No. 5 and got to my fifty quicker than opener Helmien Rambaldo, who was still in." Siegers stood out for her strokeplay, her aggressive batting seemingly belonging to a different era.

At 19 she was appointed Netherlands captain. But matches for the side were far too infrequent. In her first four-odd years, Siegers played only four to five matches per year on average. That made building habits and momentum a little challenging.

It was a steep learning curve for a young team. "The part I enjoyed most about captaincy was the on-field stuff - coming up with ideas and tactics to win," she says, "even though we were often the underdogs or the less-rated team. I found it a very enjoyable challenge to beat higher-ranked teams with tactics instead of just being better." Siegers would captain Netherlands in 39 T20Is before handing over the reins in 2024 to Babette de Leede, who earlier this year surpassed Siegers on matches led. "It was very important to be able to have a handover period where I could help the next captain while still being there," Siegers says.

"At that point, I already knew that I wasn't going to play for a very long time anymore. We then made the decision to give Babette the captaincy and help her as much as I could during the games on and off the field." Siegers played a vital role in helping Netherlands qualify. In a must-win match against USA at the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Nepal, Netherlands were chasing 130. With inclement weather around, Siegers scored 28 off 12 balls - to follow up her 1 for 19 with the ball - to give Netherlands a flying start.

That proved crucial because Netherlands were 21 runs in front on DLS when the rest of the game was washed out. "I think that there was a lot of tension around that game," she says. "Everyone was very excited and we knew the possibility [of qualifying] going into that game.

But after qualifying, you're so focused on what you have to do at that moment, so you shut off all that outside noise and emotions. I didn't really realise what was happening straightaway but once it really sank in, it was just mostly disbelief, because it has been such a journey. Pieces falling into place, I guess." The feeling of being at a World Cup is still to sink in for Siegers. The current routine of staying in hotels, training, and then playing the tri-series and the warm-up games feels similar to the numerous qualifiers she has been part of.

It perhaps will truly hit when Netherlands step onto the field at Edgbaston to face Bangladesh for their first ever T20 World Cup game on Sunday. "The first match in a stadium with a crowd - that is what is going to make it feel real," Siegers says. She lays out her plans: "I want to play good cricket. You can get unlucky and sometimes someone is just better than you.

But I want to look back and be like, oh, yeah, I've made the right decisions. It hasn't always paid off or the execution wasn't quite there.

But I didn't do anything stupid or something. I just made the right decisions and I've backed myself and I look forward to measuring myself against the good bowlers." A lot can happen over a phone call. You could end up playing your first World Cup after choosing to walk away. Heather SiegersNetherlands WomenNetherlands S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Sudarshanan7 Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • Cookie Policy • Feedback