Here’s another oldie – https://bernardjporter.com/2019/06/20/7789/ – disinterred in the light of the current one-day series between England and the Netherlands, played in the Netherlands, and before crowds of several thousands. And it wasn’t just any old rubbish, so far as the England team was concerned; most of them are established ‘Test’ players, giving their all. England are 2-0 up so far, with the Dutch being hammered in the first match, but putting on a better show in game no.2. So Britain’s ‘informal empire’ – and the best side of it – is still out there, colonising Europe, as well as overseas.
I looked up the biographies of the Netherlands team. Most of them, as indicated in that earlier post of mine, came originally from overseas; but there were a few recognisably Dutch names among them. I always thought Holland would be a likely convert to cricket, in view of the South African (‘Afrikaner’) connection, and the fact that the country is so flat. Which should be ideal for cricket, even with all those windmills in the way.
Porter’s Pensées 
I reread the 2019 entry but was not quite satisfied with your explanation of why football spread outside the empire but cricket did not. The division between gentlemen and players is not intrinsic to cricket, surely. Not all matches played on village greens would have involved professionals, one presumes; nor would games played by young people. Eton must have played cricket, and I cannot imagine them allowing ‘players’ in any of their teams.
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