Max O’Dowd has become one of the most recognisable faces of Dutch cricket, carrying both the responsibility of an opening batter and the pride of representing a team built on diversity. From his roots in New Zealand and the Netherlands to stints in England and Bangladesh’s BPL, O’Dowd has seen the game from multiple lenses. As the Netherlands face the TIgers in their first full member tour since 2022, the 31-year-old batter spoke to Daily Sun’s Tanvir Ahmed Pranto about the team’s unity, their World Cup ambitions, and what makes Dutch cricket a special blend of cultures and flair. Here are the exceprts:
 

Daily Sun: Max, how's it going in Bangladesh so far? 
Max O'Dowd: It's been good. It's been a couple days. We enjoyed it. It was nice to train yesterday and get outside. Even though it rained a bit, it's lovely to be here again. 

Daily Sun: Your father played first-class cricket in New Zealand and coached in the Netherlands. You also played a bit of cricket in New Zealand. What made you decide that you’d play for the Dutch?
Max O'Dowd: When I was around 20, and then I was jumping in between New Zealand Cricket and the Netherlands Cricket and probably my performance in New Zealand didn't assure any selection over there. So I ended up staying in the Netherlands and got my opportunities that way. It wasn't really a decision and more just happened to work out that way. 

Daily Sun: You’ve played league cricket in New Zealand, a little bit in England and obviously in the Netherlands as well. Can you describe a specific moment from your early days with the Dutch cricket that stayed with you? 
Max O'Dowd: I guess for me, it's always just been about a place where I can develop quickly and a place that I enjoy as well. I've played, like you said, I played everywhere in New Zealand, England, the Netherlands even played here in the BPL obviously. For me, I think it's just the coaching stuff  I've experienced in my time in the Netherlands has been massive. I really enjoyed it. They've really helped me get better quickly and that's something that is really important for me. And obviously playing in the Netherlands has been really awesome. 

Daily Sun: The Dutch have a reputation for upsetting big teams on big stages. What is a behind-the-scenes story from those big wins that sums up the team's philosophy and mood before the matches?
Max O'Dowd: Actually a lot of it is preparation, and understanding that obviously some teams are, I guess, considered bigger in people's words, but for us, it's just about doing our processes and really understanding what's important to beat certain teams and doing a lot of homework, which is something that we do a lot. So it's preparing as well as we can. And, and that often leads to good performances and, you know, sometimes it means we beat teams. Sometimes it means we don't. And, that goes across all qualities of sides.  

Daily Sun: What's the most significant challenge for an Associate nation like the Netherlands in competing consistently against top-tier teams? Is it resources, exposure, or something else entirely?
Max O'Dowd: It's not easy, obviously. In associate Cricket, I think there's a lot of challenges. We obviously don't get the amount of games that a lot of full members get. We obviously play a lot of cricket, but normally it's within the associate brackets themselves. This is our first full member tour away ever, I think, in Bangladesh, and I think the first full member tour we've had since 2022. So in order to really consistently get better and play the best, you know, we want to be playing the best teams all the time and this is another great opportunity for us to test ourselves and use it as good preparation for the T20 World Cup next year. 

Daily Sun: The Dutch team is a diverse group of players. How does that diversity of culture, experience and playing styles contribute to the team's success on the field?
Max O'Dowd: That's a great question because there's a lot of different cultures inside and I think the beauty is that, obviously we have players from all over the world with our team, but we all kind of represent the same goal which is to do the best for the Netherlands. I think everyone has their own family ties to the Netherlands heritage whether it be their mother, or their father, or their grandparents, and there's always a piece of that family, that's really proud for his son or their grandson to represent the Netherlands and I feel the same way with my mother being Dutch and obviously growing up in the Netherlands but we've got people from all over the world and I think that culture is is really special. It's an awesome kind of group to have. 
And on the field, everyone has their own kind of flare. I think that's the beauty of it. Everyone brings their own style but like I said, you know, we I think our cultures are more far off field kind of things how we gel and how we all come together and then on the field, we all unite under that one flag, and try and do the best we can.

Daily Sun: You’ve had your time here in the BPL, playing with or against the top players of the country. How was the experience and learning since it’s different from what you experience in the Netherlands?
Max O'Dowd: I took a lot from that. It was awesome coming over here for my first time in 2023 just after the India World Cup. It was an awesome opportunity and I really loved it. It was great just to play against some of the best players in the world and some of the best Bangladeshi players over here across Sylhet, Dhaka and Chattorgram. I really loved it. It was a big challenge and  I thought the quality of the competition was very strong and I'd love to be back one day, but we'll see.

Daily Sun: The team has just qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup. What is the team's collective goal from this series, is it continuing the momentum or building a team for the future?
Max O'Dowd: It's a bit of both, I guess. Obviously qualifying for the World Cup is massive because now we have something to work towards. Yeah, it's always just trying to build on the performances we've been having and, and for a squad to get better and better so that when we go to the World Cup, we don't just rock up to perform. I think we want to try and make it as far into the tournament as we can, and that's the goal and to get guys in the right shape of mind, over the next five months, or whatever it is to really be ready for that.

Daily Sun: As an opening batter, you will be facing a class bowling attack from Bangladesh, particularly the pace bowlers. What is the one major technical or mental adjustment you’ve been making for this series to counter them?
Max O'Dowd: I guess for me, it's been just about trying to elevate my game, trying to elevate my strike rate and really just try and get in the right frame of mind. I've tried a few different things to adjust my technique a little bit, but nothing crazy. It’s all trying to do my basics right. 

Daily Sun: If you could take one aspect of Bangladeshi cricket culture and bring it back to the Netherlands, what would it be and why?
Max O'Dowd: The fans. I wish we could have the same fans as the Bangladeshis have. It's the support you guys get is amazing. It's something we probably lack. I mean, we definitely get support in the Netherlands by the small cricketing community that is there. But I mean, outside of the cricketing community, not many people know about cricket in the Netherlands. So yeah, the Bangladeshi fans, every time I've been here, it's been packed out. I remember playing against Sylhet Strikers here and it was fully packed, and it was an awesome game. And that's something that I'd love to see.