Roelof van der Merwe

Roelof van der Merwe
Van der Merwe bowling for Somerset in 2016
Personal information
Full name
Roelof Erasmus van der Merwe
Born (1984-12-31) 31 December 1984
Johannesburg, Transvaal Province, South Africa
NicknameThe Bulldog, Terminator
BattingRight-handed
BowlingSlow left-arm orthodox
RoleBowling-all rounder
International information
National sides
ODI debut (cap 96/67)5 April 2009 
South Africa v Australia
Last ODI12 June 2025 
Netherlands v Scotland
ODI shirt no.52
T20I debut (cap 41/35)29 March 2009 
South Africa v Australia
Last T20I16 November 2024 
Netherlands v Oman
T20I shirt no.52
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2006/07–2013/14Northerns
2007/08–2014/15Titans
2009–2010Royal Challengers Bangalore
2011–2013Delhi Daredevils
2011Somerset
2011/12Brisbane Heat
2014St Lucia Zouks
2016–2024Somerset
2019Tshwane Spartans
2021London Spirit
2022Northern Superchargers
2022/23Sunrisers Eastern Cape
2023Welsh Fire
2023Barbados Royals
2024Dubai Capitals
2024/25Titans
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA
Matches 39 60 80 218
Runs scored 278 493 3,588 3,127
Batting average 13.90 22.40 32.03 25.01
100s/50s 0/1 0/2 6/22 1/11
Top score 57 75* 205* 165*
Balls bowled 1,963 1,135 10,252 9,725
Wickets 45 64 150 287
Bowling average 34.37 19.04 33.79 27.25
5 wickets in innings 0 0 1 4
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 3/14 4/35 5/174 5/26
Catches/stumpings 13/– 23/– 61/– 92/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 12 June 2025

Roelof Erasmus van der Merwe (born 31 December 1984) is a Dutch-South African professional cricketer who has played internationally for both South Africa and the Netherlands, one of the few players to represent more than one international team.

Born in Johannesburg, Van der Merwe made his first-class and List A debuts for Northerns during the 2006–07 season, before moving into franchise cricket with Titans the following season. An all-rounder, he bowls left-arm orthodox spin and is a right-handed middle-order batsman. He played One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket for South Africa between 2009 and 2011, playing 13 times in each format. Van der Merwe gained a Dutch passport in June 2015, and was selected in the Netherlands squad for the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.