The series is on massive importance for the Proteas as they are ninth on the Super League standings with 34 points.

The Proteas need to move within the top seven in order to avoid playing in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup qualifiers.

Maharaj said the goal is to win big against the Dutch.

“It's really important. We know that there are Super League points at stake and obviously we need to qualify for the 2023 World Cup. So, every series from now on is important from a points point-of-view.

“No series can be taken lightly, especially this one. As much as we have rested some of our regular players, there are still a lot of members that have been involved in the One-Day squad.

“We are not going to take this series lightly and we are going to try and get the maximum amount of points from the three games.”

Meanwhile, the squad has been forced to make some changes after the Lungi Ngidi tested positive for Covid-19, while Lizaad Williams is battling with an intercostal muscle strain. Junior Dala has been called up as cover.

The 1st ODI between South Africa and the Netherlands starts at 10:00 on Friday morning at SuperSport Park.

Proteas - Keshav Maharaj (captain), Daryn Dupavillon, Junior Dala, Zubayr Hamza, Reeza Hendricks, Sisanda Magala, Janneman Malan, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Wayne Parnell, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kyle Verreynne, Khaya Zondo.

Netherlands - Pieter Seelaar (captain), Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Vivian Kingma, Max O'Dowd, Scott Edwards, Boris Gorlee, Clayton Floyd, Musa Ahmed, Brandon Glover, Fred Klaassen, Roelof van der Merwe, Saqib Zulfiqar, Stephan Myburgh, Shane Snater, Timm van der Gugten.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport