Ryan ten Doeschate established himself as one of the finest cricketers ever produced by an Associate nation, winning the ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year Award three times between 2008 and 2011. He was also a captain of the highest standing during his time in the county game with Essex, and he played five years for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL - the first Associate player to gain such a contract.

His most notable international performances were his two centuries in the 2011 World Cup, including an exhilarating 119 that almost stunned England. After that tournament, however, he played no ODIs, and was largely unavailable for Netherlands selection - though he made a comeback in 2017 and two years later helped the side qualify for the T20 World Cup.

Born in South Africa, ten Doeschate, whose hero was Jonty Rhodes, initially pursued a career with Western Province - where Essex spotted him when their side were on a tour of South Africa in 2003. His Dutch descent allowed him to represent Netherlands and qualify under the EU law to play county cricket. With his huge hitting, skiddy bowling and big smile, he soon became a cult figure at Essex, where he played for nearly two decades, twice captained the team to the Championship title, and proved himself one of the team's finest players of his era.

Ten Doeschate's belligerent hitting and canny medium pace earned him lucrative T20 contracts not only in the IPL but also in Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

His bowling was initially seen to be his stronger suit but he built an impressive first-class record, averaging in the mid-40s with the bat. He passed 1000 first-class runs in a season for the first time in 2016, and bowled only occasionally as captaincy took his focus. That season he and new coach Chris Silverwood took the team back into Division One of the Championship. Ten Doeschate led by example, averaging 64 with the bat, making four hundreds, and fittingly, scoring the runs that won promotion. The next year, at 37, he led them to their first Championship for 25 years. Essex failed to defend their title but came back strongly in 2019, winning again, and this time it was coupled with T20 Blast success too.

Two years later ten Doeschate retired from professional cricket after Netherlands' 2021 T20 World Cup - his first time back in international colours in two years - ended disappointingly in the first round. Shortly after, he was appointed Kent batting coach.