The past few weeks have been delightfully chaotic for Netherlands women's captain Babette de Leede, a fitting description for the Dutch side's entire year. Six months after securing a maiden Women's T20 World Cup berth via the Global Qualifiers, that euphoria still crackles through the camp.

The Netherlands enters the 12-team World Cup as the only side without any contracts. De Leede is an exception, holding a professional domestic contract in South Africa. For the rest, pure love for the game keeps the unit going.

"They Think I Play Croquet"

Before their tournament opener against Bangladesh, de Leede told reporters how even those closest to her misunderstand her sport.

"When I tell people from university that I play cricket, they think I play croquet. They ask me, 'Why do you go to the gym so often when you play croquet?' The rest of the country doesn't really know what's going on. My friends say, 'Good luck, I hope you hit home runs today,'" the 26-year-old said.

Historic Win Over Bangladesh

Days ahead of the World Cup, during a tri-series involving Scotland, the Netherlands pulled off an incredible eight-run win over Bangladesh, the side's first-ever victory over an ICC full member. Losses followed in later tri-series matches and warm-ups, but the Dutch hold onto that triumph to inspire their World Cup campaign.

De Leede reflected: "When we played Bangladesh in the qualifier in January, we lost badly. We sat down as a team and said, 'We made it to the World Cup, but we need to improve to compete.' We trained really hard. Now beating them is special, we want to show the world the talent we've got."

Life Without a Contract

Despite her packed schedule of training, warm-up matches, and global media requests, de Leede remains happy to talk about her team. A World Cup brings extra attention, and she understands its value even as she leads a side with no contractual security back home.