Lady doctor Caroline de Lange is not a doctor for a while. She is a cricketer representing the Netherlands in the ongoing T20 World Cup for women in England. It’s the Dutch team’s maiden T20 World Cup.
She had to choose, and choose she did, in favour of the T20 tournament. “I had already made the decision before the qualifier, ‘If we qualify, I’m going to quit first of May’ and we qualified. I love my job, but I was really happy,” de Lange, who completed her graduation early last year before picking up an internship job in a hospital in the Hague, told ESPNcricinfo.
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But by the time the qualifiers — there were many — ended and the Netherlands qualified eventually, she had run out of all her leave, and as a result, she had no other option but to quit her job. Don’t worry, as it wasn’t the end of the world for her because she found another medical job where she will resume her medical career after the World Cup is over next month. De Lange talks about her choice of profession and her work with the neurology department.
“…When I did my internships, I was like, ‘oh, no, the hospital’s not for me, it’s just a bit too much’. But I know what’s good for me, so I know I had to do that because I usually need to get used to something, ease in a bit, and then I’m comfortable. It was a bit of a gamble, but it turned out very well, and I learned a lot about who I am as a person and as a doctor, so it was really useful.
“The first job, it was a bit tough to combine. I had a lot of night shifts and a lot of evening shifts, but I did that because I also wanted to have a proper first job, do the night shifts alone, do those ER shifts alone and really become a doctor… to feel comfortable in the role. It was tough, but I really enjoyed it, and I’m not the only one,” she said.
Netherlands are not just participating, they are here to win a few games!
De Lange is not the only such player in the Dutch squad who is not a professional cricketer. Sterre Kalis is the only full-timer. This afternoon ( 3pm India time), the Dutch kick off their campaign with a group stage game against Bangladesh. In a tri-series last month in Scotland, the Netherlands had beaten the team from the subcontinent once. And that gives de Lange a lot of hope. “We’ve shown by beating Bangladesh, we can actually really compete on that level. We want to show the world that we can play good cricket… you want to play your best cricket, and I think we can then achieve some good results. Obviously, we’re very happy to be here, but everyone’s also very competitive, and we want to get wins and do well,” she said.