An aggressive middle-order batsman, Roelof Erasmus van der Merwe is a South African-born dutch cricketer who represented South Africa in the 2004 U19 World Cup before making his first-class debut in 2006 for Northerns. Also known as “Roela”, he made his domestic debut with Northerns in 2006 but found success when he moved to franchise cricket with the Titans in the 2007-08 season. He went on to play for the South African national team in 13 ODIs and as many T20Is. However, lack of regular playing opportunities made him turn his attention to the Netherlands instead. He also bagged an IPL contract from the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2009 and in 2011, he was signed by the Delhi Daredevils. Roelof made his official Dutch debut in 2015, in a T20I fixture against Nepal. By doing so, he became only the 5th man in history to represent two countries in T20I cricket. Since getting his dutch passport, Van der Merwe has been able to play county cricket as a local and started his domestic career with Somerset in 2016. A successful season for Roelof ended in 2017, particularly in white-ball cricket where he hit a memorable 165* against Surrey in the Royal London One Day Cup. He played a major part in helping Somerset to the quarter-final stages of both formats. His hard work finally got paid off and in September 2018, Roelof was awarded his County Cap by Somerset legend Roy Kerslake. In 2021, he was drafted into the London Spirit squad for the inaugural edition of the Hundred. A seasoned campaigner like van der Merwe can be a utility player for the franchise to clinch the maiden title. (As of May 2021)
