CWC Match Number 40, England VS Netherlands Played at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, India on 8 November 2023
England 339/9 (Ben Stokes 108, David Malan 87, Chris Woakes 51, Joe Root 28, Bas de Leede 3/74, Aryan Dutt 2/67, Logan Van Beek 2/88)
Netherlands 179 All Out :179 All Out in 37.2 Overs (Teja Nidamannum 41*, Scott Edwards 38, Wesley Barresi 37. Sybrand Engelbrecht 33, Moeen Ali 3/42, Adil Rashid 3/54, David Willey 2/19)
England Won by 160 Runs
Player of the match: Ben Stokes
English Three Lions finally roared. In the 8th Match of their 9th reigning champions England winning huge by 160 runs against ICC Associate qualifier Netherlands salvaged some pride. With their last match left against Pakistan at Kolkata Eden Gardens on 11 November 2023 England now has a fair chance of finishing among 8th and win access to the Champions Trophy 2025.
Winning the toss and electing to bat England played true to their potential. In their allotted overs batting against friendly fires of their Dutch neighbors England scored 339/9. Netherlands with several batsmen getting starts but failing to convert got wrapped up for 179 all out in 37.2 Overs. Huge win by 160 runs elevated England to 7th position from the rock bottom. Of their 8 matches England won only against Bangladesh and Netherlands. The reigning champions was tipped as top favorites alongside with host India in the pre-tournament assessment and analysis. But their mission CWC 2023 ran into rough ride losing the very first match of the tournament against New Zealand. In the course the lost to South Africa, England, Afghanistan, India, and Sri Lanka. England plays their last match against Pakistan. English big guns did not fire as expected in the tournament. The players could not execute their plans. At least England can now qualify for the Champions trophy redeeming.
Even on the day when England produced 339/9, Jonny Bairstow (15) , Jos Buttler (5) could not get out of their lean form. However, Ben Stokes coming to his own scoring 108 in 84 balls held the innings together. The other major contribution came from fluent David Malan 87 in 74 deliveries and Chris Woakes 51. Dutch All Rounder Bass de Leede took 3/74, Aryan Dutt took 2/ 67 and Logan van Beek 2/88. Dutch players are not unknown to English batters as few plays cricket in England. After a long tournament ICC associate team not used to playing against quality oppositions in such a short time could not continue their momentum.
Dutch batting crumbled under huge target against quality spin attack of England. Few players like Teja Nidamannum (41*), Scott Edwards (38) <Wesley Barresi (37), Sybrand Engelbrecht 33 got start. But not could make it deep or big to challenge English target. English spin duo Moeen Ali (3/54) and Adil Rashid (3/54) strangled them after English pacer David Willey breaking the backbone of Dutch middle order taking the wickets of Colin Ackerman and Sybrand Engelbrecht. Neterlands innings crumbled to 179 all out. England winning big by 160 runs climbed to 7th position from the bottom. There is fair chance now that they finish within top eight. England will then appear in the Champions trophy.
English think tank need doing lot of soul searching. Their Basball Brand of dynamic cricket did not work on Indian Wickets and condition. Top gums did not fire regularly. Perhaps the team did not have horses for the courses.
BDST: 0858 HRS, NOV 09, 2023
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