well, how do you follow it? The logical answer – if logic has anything to do with what happened in Amstelveen on Friday – would be England aiming to top the 500. And on the back of a record-breaking performance, a fearless 70-ball 162 by Jos Buttler, few would be racking up a similar score against him if he batted first again.
An element of stick cricket was the way Butler demolished the Dutch, hitting sixes on trees around the ground as if tapping carelessly on a keyboard. I wish office work was so much fun.
England’s white-ball revolution is now so deep in the home game category that the two men reaching three figures with Butler was doing so in ODIs for the first time. David Malan has long been involved in all formats – and became only the second England male player to score a century in all three – but Phil Salt was making just his fourth appearance, and made a fine Jonny-Bairstow-effect at the top. Order.
Meanwhile, Liam Livingstone had a 17-ball fifty, his first in ODIs as well as another England record. Those in the Test squad, including Bairstow, Joe Root and captain Ben Stokes, may not be worrying about their place in the pecking order just yet, but it is a reminder of the depth available to England in white-ball cricket. , (As did another record in the Blast later on Friday.)
To be fair to the Netherlands, a couple of catches were dropped that could have stoked the wrath of England had they not done too much wrong. However the captain, Peter Seelar, may choose not to reintegrate the visitors. “It was a good moment to get Jason Roy out,” he laughed later, recalling the opening dismissal that left England at 1 for 1 in the second over. All the times one of 26 sixes (another record) cleared the boundary-riders comfortably.
In the face of such a phenomenal chase, the Netherlands did well to bat through the overs, intercepting two balls, and ensured that the margin defeat was not likewise record-breaking.
Without some of their best players who have opted to play in county cricket, talent was clearly lacking. But at the core of the Netherlands team – players like Seelar, Max O’Dowd, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards and Logan van Beek – have plenty of experience to bounce back from adversity. “It will make us better cricketers in the future,” said Seelar, and the Dutch will be hoping to prove it directly.
form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first match)
Netherlands: LLLLL England: WWWWW
in the headlines
Despite visiting carnage at the VRA ground by England’s batsmen, it was the Netherlands player who landed the KNVB with a repair bill for breaking a window pane to go along with an estimated €1,000 hit for lost balls. Max O’Dowd Run-a-Ball 55 gave a glimpse of his range, with some Shane Watson-esque tumbling down the ground. The Auckland-born opener has become the top-order banker in ODIs at an average of 45.61. He is also the only man to score a T20I century for the Netherlands – and he may need to tap into that mindset if England are to be challenged.
Centre Stage. Name in the light. Booked place in Hall of Fame. joss butler Will have a tough job of the day, but there is no doubt that he is at the moment with his fanfare as a white-ball batsman. Without sounding like a broken record, there were many he missed a lot – a century in 47 balls was a slow one from his best; Scoring 150 off 65 balls was also a single ball behind AB de Villiers; with Only 14 sixes, he was three short of the high-water mark in ODIs. But if England continue to hone his talent and deploy him at No. 4, there could be a possibility to go further.
team news
The Netherlands are likely to stick with a spin-heavy strategy, but can bring in either Tim Pringle – the slower left-hander whose father Chris played for New Zealand – or 19-year-old legspinner Shariz Ahmed. If he retains his position, it will be a crucial test of the character of Philippe Boisven, who conceded 108 runs in his ten overs.
Netherlands (Possible): 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Musa Ahmed, 4 Tom Cooper, 5 Bass de Lead, 6 Scott Edwards (wk), 7 Peter Seelar (c), 8 Logan van Beek, 9 Shane Snatter, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Philip Boisven / Tim Pringle.
Morgan is generally reluctant to rotate for it, and has previously suggested that he try to play all three games despite recent injury problems. Sam Curran, who bowled nine overs on Friday, is likely to be rested, with Brydon Carsey coming in and offering some right-arm variation to the seam-bowling department.
England (Possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Phil Salt, 3 David Malan, 4 Jos Buttler (wk), 5 Eoin Morgan (c), 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Bryden Cars/Sam Curran, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Rees Topley
pitch and conditions
As evidenced by England’s world-record 26 sixes, Amstelwein’s boundaries are clearly evident – although the same pitch will be used for Friday’s run-fest, which could slow some scoring. Even bigger crowds are expected, but they may also face proceedings interrupted by some rain.
statistics and general knowledge
England’s 498 for 4 was a new high in ODIs (you must have heard). They are now responsible for the top three scores in the format. England also became the second team after South Africa to score three centuries in an innings, having done so twice.
Amstelveen has regained the record for the highest ODI total, previously held by Sri Lanka at 9 for 443 against the Netherlands in 2006, before England had twice eclipsed that score at Trent Bridge.
During the destruction, Butler became the tenth Englishman to score 4000 ODI runs.
Roy is ready to play his 100th ODI. Cooper needs one more run for 1000 runs in ODIs.
There are two milestones in the Netherlands for Sealar. His 58th cap would put him on a par with Peter Boren for most appearances; And he needs one more wicket to replace Mudassar Bukhari as Netherlands’ leading bowler in ODIs.
mention
“You can’t drop the best batsman in the world twice in an over. Phil Salt was [also] Dropped to 30 or 40. I’m not going to say it’s going to be a completely different game, but you probably won’t be looking at 498.” Netherlands captain Peter Seelar Russia paying heavy price for drop catch
“We don’t take days like this lightly at all. We earned it a nudge today, that doesn’t mean we won’t be up against it on Sunday or Wednesday. We’ve worked incredibly hard To earn a day like today.” of england Eoin Morgan Admits that days like the first ODI don’t come often
Alan Gardner is deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick
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