Netherlands vs England

 Netherlands vs England

England blazed down a target of 245 in 30.1 overs to seal a 3-0 clean sweep against Netherlands in Amstelveen and go top of the World Cup Super League in the process.

Jason Roy and Jos Buttler put on an unbroken 163 for the third wicket in just 20.1 overs, with Roy reaching an 86-ball hundred - his first ODI century since the 2019 World Cup - off the final ball of the 30th over, driving Bas de Leede through mid-off for four; Buttler crunched the next ball, off Tim Pringle, over the media tent for six to seal the win.

Netherlands were well-placed at 203 for 3 with a ball left in the 40th over after being asked to bat first by Buttler, deputising for the injured Eoin Morgan, but lost their last seven wickets for 41 runs and were bowled out with four deliveries unused.

David Willey was the pick of the England attack with 4 for 36, returning to mop up the lower order after dismissing Vikramjit Singh for the third time in the series, and Netherlands were clearly some way short of par on a fresh, dry pitch on another beautiful day in Amsterdam's suburbs.

Scott Edwards, who has replaced the retired Pieter Seelaar as Netherlands' captain, made his third half-century of the series while de Leede and Max O'Dowd also reached 50, but none could press on and convert their starts into something substantial.

Roy was dropped twice, on 51 by Edwards off Aryan Dutt and inexplicably on 75 when Fred Klaassen, playing his first game of the series after county commitments with Kent, induced a leading edge with a slower ball but put down a straightforward caught-and-bowled chance.

Paul van Meekeren, who had recovered from an ankle injury he suffered while playing for Gloucestershire, struck twice at the end of the powerplay after England had set off at a relentless pace: Phil Salt was bowled by a nip-backer for 49 off 30 balls, and Dawid Malan set up on off stump only to be bowled around his legs without scoring.

But Roy and Buttler - bizarrely, batting together in an ODI for only the third time - continued to attack and flogged each of the six bowlers that the Netherlands used. Buttler took 26 from a van Meekeren over, including a merciless slog over square leg as a back-of-the-hand slower ball went wrong, but there was still time for Roy to complete his hundred.

Buttler was again promoted to No. 4, a role which he seems increasingly likely to fill in the 2023 World Cup as England look to make the most of his talent, and shuffled his bowlers well in Morgan's absence, confirming his status as the out-of-form captain's heir apparent.

After Willey had removed Singh, plinking a pull to short midwicket, David Payne, making his England debut at the age of 31, was unfortunate not to pick up an early wicket as he found some nip off the seam with the new ball. With the final ball of his third over, he induced a top-edged pull from Tom Cooper, but Liam Livingstone lost the ball in the sun and pulled out of the catch, letting it drop a few metres away from his feet.

Netherlands vs England, 3rd ODI Highlights: England complete 3-0 sweep

20:56 IST: That concludes England's fruitful tour of the Netherlands where they stamped their authority. Back home, England's Test team is ready in Headingley to face New Zealand for the final match of the series. That begins on Thursday, 23rd June 2022, at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT). Do join us in advance for the coverage. Cheers!

20:51 IST: The English players come up to pose with the trophy. Laughter all around and Eoin Morgan has also joined his boys. Excellent series win for the defending champions and they have displayed to the world their insane batting resources.

20:55 IST: Jos Buttler, the stand-in skipper of England, is also the Player of the Series. Says that he is very happy and they were wonderful with the ball and they finished things off nicely. Talks about his form and says that he is in a good space and is looking to continue this momentum. Tells that they have a great depth in their squad and they are looking forward to the future. Mentions that David Payne bowled well on his debut and Philip Salt was also quite good and applauds the fans, especially the Barmy Army, for their immense support.

20:49 IST: Scott Edwards, the Dutch captain, says that from where they started the series, they have taken some good learnings. Wants to come hard in the next series. He is happy with his personal form and shares that the pitch was a bit harder than the last game. Adds that they lost wickets at the death and credits the English bowlers for restricting them. 

20:52 IST: Jason Roy picks the Player of the Match award for his sublime century! The English opener says that he is chuffed to finish on a high. Adds that they always wanted to stay to their standards throughout the innings, they stumbled a bit in the batting department in the last game but overall it has been good. Mentions that it is a perfect start for them to a big summer ahead of the big Test. Tells that the new players have stepped up and feels that they have a bright future ahead. Signs off by saying that fans have been unbelievable and they should make a habit of coming here.

20:40 IST: Stay tuned for the presentation...

20:39 IST: The chase started on the same note as everyone expected. Philip Salt and Jason Roy straight away went into the top gear and punished the Dutch bowlers mercilessly. It was a disastrous bowling plan from the Netherlands in Powerplay 1. They were stubborn to bowl short and the English openers feasted. Paul van Meekeren picked up two wickets in one over to peg England back a wee bit, but then Jos Buttler arrived to partner Jason Roy, and together the duo completed the demolition job with an unbeaten 163-run stand. 

20:58 IST: During Netherlands' batting innings, everyone wanted them to score above 300 to challenge the English batting. They did have the platform but in the last 10 overs, their innings crash-landed. Their three batters scored 50-plus but none stayed for long to make their knocks count. The English bowlers sized up the conditions quite well, didn't go for magic deliveries and stuck to disciplined lines to reap rewards. David Willey picked a four-fer and impressed both with the new ball and towards the death. 

20:58 IST: England cruised to another remarkable win to complete a whitewash, and by doing so, they have jumped to the top in the 2020-23 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League standings. Once again their ruthless batting was too hot to handle for the Dutch boys as they overhauled the target without breaking a sweat. 3-0 it is, as was expected at the start of this tour. Not sure how much the Netherlands will gain from these hammerings that they are getting quite consistently. 

20:55 IST: 30.1: Tim Pringle to Jos Buttler, SIX! Buttler finishes it off in style. Flighted delivery, full and around middle, Buttler picks it up and dumps it over long on for a maximum. England win by 8 wickets with 119 balls to spare!

20:35 IST: Tim Pringle to bowl what could be the last over of this match

After a sedate start, the Netherlands upped the tempo to reach 47 for 1 at the end of the powerplay with Cooper, who looked increasingly fluent as his comeback series has worn on, stroking Willey for three boundaries in an over.

Brydon Carse, auditioning for the Liam Plunkett role as England's enforcer, was thrown the ball in the middle overs and stuck to his guns, continuing to bang the ball in despite being pulled for four twice in his second over. He had Cooper caught at deep backward square leg on the hook, Livingstone managing to pick the ball up through the sun thanks to a flatter trajectory.

Edwards and de Leede had to rebuild after the loss of two set batters and the Netherlands went more than 10 overs without a boundary in the middle overs, though both batters rotated well. Edwards was dropped at fine leg by Dawid Malan when top-edging a pull off Carse, shortly after de Leede - the coming man of Dutch cricket - had brought up his maiden ODI half-century.

He fell soon after, top-edging a pull off Carse to Adil Rashid who ran round from midwicket to square leg, and as the Netherlands looked for a grandstand finish, their innings unravelled: Teja Nidamanuru was sharply stumped by Buttler off Rashid, Logan van Beek chipped Willey to mid-off, and Pringle was run out after a mix-up with Edwards. Willey also removed Dutt and van Meekeren to finish the job, with Payne picking up his maiden ODI wicket when Edwards failed to pick his slower ball and miscued to mid-on.