At the age of 18, Zuiderent was selected in the Netherlands squad for their inaugural appearance at the Cricket World Cup in 1996.
[1] The following year, Zuiderent was selected in the Dutch squad for the 1997 ICC Trophy, where the team was unable to secure qualification for the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
[3] He produced a man of the match performance in the 5th/6th place play-off against the United Arab Emirates, carrying his bat and scoring 116 not out.
The win ensured that the Netherlands would qualify for the 2007 Cricket World Cup and receive ICC funding and ODI status for four years.
During this period, he did not always appear regularly for the Netherlands team as he believed that playing in matches for Sussex would be more beneficial to his career.