England Sets New ODI Record With 498 Runs In Dominating Victory Over Netherlands
England’s historic performance against Netherlands showcased a dazzling display of cricket prowess, rewriting the ODI record books with an astonishing total of 498 runs.
Led by Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 162*, alongside notable centuries from Dawid Malan and Phil Salt, England’s dominance left Netherlands reeling and spectators in awe.
England defeated the Netherlands 266 (O’Dowd 55, Edwards 72*, Moeen 3-57) by 232 runs with 498 for 4 (Buttler 162*, Malan 125, Salt 122, Livingstone 66*).
Jos Buttler and his friends were all it took for the Netherlands to improve its well-established reputation as a top party destination. They walked in, broke records, destroyed the venue, and left their hosts wondering what in the world had happened.
After winning the toss on a remarkable surface, Buttler’s savage 162 not out and centuries from Dawid Malan and Phil Salt, along with Liam Livingstone’s 66 from only 22 balls, created an ODI world record total of 498 for 4, leaving the Netherlands with an unlikely target.
The Netherlands lost by 232 runs despite valiant efforts from Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards, who brought them within two balls of finishing their 50 overs. The highest ODI total was 481 for 6, which England had set against Australia in 2018.
After Jonny Bairstow set a breathtaking example to win the second Test match against New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, Buttler amassed his score off of just 70 deliveries. He launched the ball into trees, onto the roof of the Pavilion, over the commentary tent, and onto the nearby hockey fields, leaving no area of the VRA ground or its surrounds safe.
Buttler blasted his way to the mark in just 47 balls to record England’s second-fastest century in ODI history. His fifty-ball knock in 2019 and his forty-six-ball effort in 2015, both against Pakistan, bookend this one, and he currently owns the third fastest time for his team. Throughout the innings, he hit 14 of England’s world-record breaking 26 sixes.
The hosts had a pleasant start to the day when Jason Roy was dismissed by his cousin Shane Snater on the seventh ball he faced. Shane Snater bowled through the gate with a fuller delivery that found the inside edge and rattled the stumps, leaving England at a one-run deficit.
Playing in his fourth One-Day International, Salt reached 122 from just 93 balls to score his first-ever international century with a confident blow. With a stunning cover drive to the boundary off Logan van Beek, he gave Logan van Beek a warning and then hit him for six over midwicket.
When he shot Bas de Leede straight to deep backward point, Snater blew the opportunity and he should have been out for forty. Two balls later, he hammered home the error by hitting de Leede for four over wide long.
When Malan attempted a reverse paddle off Pieter Seelaar on 25, he was given a leg before wicket call (LBW). However, a review revealed that the ball was tracking over the top of his leg even though it touched the front pad low and in line with the middle stump.
Taking the lead, Salt hit a four off Seelaar for a beautiful long-off to reach his second ODI fifty off 39 balls. He then blasted a six off van Beek over cow corner to reach 71.
Also Read: Reliving England’s Epic 2019 Cricket World Cup Win: A Triumph Against All Odds
After the powerplay, Malan was a little down, but he picked up the pace, hitting Aryan Dutt for four through the paint and Phillippe Boissevain for six from below. Unlike the six he hammered in the ninth over, which had to be fetched from the trees, his subsequent six off Seelaar hit a tree over long-on and bounced back into the ground. He shared a 222-run stand with Salt in the end, and at one point, Salt fell top-edging van Beek to Boissevain.
It made no difference for England though, as Buttler reached the crease and turned the Netherlands attack like cannon fodder. Buttler reached a 27-ball fifty with five sixes and two fours, almost trading in boundaries alone. Within four balls from Seelaar, he struck three maximums; the first came just after Vikramjit Singh had come in from long-on, and the next two, coming in closer together, were over the same region.
The next ball Buttler struck was hit down the ground, but it popped out of Musa Ahmed’s hands, worsening the situation for the Netherlands. Naturally, he reached his half-century after hitting a slower ball from Snater over long-off, which was followed by another six.
Malan dabbed a leg-side single off Boissevain to become just the third English player, after Buttler and Heather Knight, to achieve a century in each format. After hitting 125 off 109 balls and adding 184 runs with Buttler, who scored 139 of those runs, Malan’s innings came to an end when he eventually holed out to deep backward square leg off Seelaar.
Then, after being tormented by injuries this year and managing just one international half-century in eighteen months, Eoin Morgan was dismissed for a first-ball duck, lbw from Seelaar, who overturned his first not-out call.
Livingstone completed the demoralization of the Netherlands by smashing 32 runs off the next over from Boissevain after he had already claimed the hat-trick ball by nurdling a single through midwicket. Livingstone is another well-known strong hitter in the England lineup.
Livingstone reached 46 in just 13 balls, closing in on the 16-ball record held by AB de Villiers for the fastest ODI fifty. However, he could only muster two runs before being dropped by Boissevain at deep square leg off Snater and facing two dot balls. Snater’s next delivery found its way into the sightscreen for six, and he reached the milestone off 17 balls. Although he failed to beat de Villers’ mark, he still holds the record for fastest ODI fifty for England.
During the last over, England was still aiming for the elusive 500 runs, but Buttler’s six off Snater’s third delivery helped them surpass their previous record. However, the well-oiled audience let out a groan when Livingstone could only muster four points on the penultimate delivery, realizing it was now beyond their grasp. Livingstone hit the last ball over deep midwicket for six, cutting their deficit to just two runs.
It was kind of comforting to see that the Netherlands was batting at that point when the cameras cut to the throngs of students at hockey practice next door. That was prior to O’Dowd joining in, breaking the record with a straight six off Adil Rashid that crashed into the press box glass, making him the first player to do so.
O’Dowd struck out at Reece Topley, who pinged the top of off stump, despite his aggressive approach to achieve a run-a-ball fifty-five. After the Netherlands lost Singh in the third over, O’Dowd and Ahmed put up an 80-run partnership that helped stabilize the innings. Therefore, when the Netherlands batsmen got going, England’s bowlers picked them off and shared the wickets. Edwards, who scored an undefeated 72 from 56 balls, was another anomaly.
In his recuperation from a stress fracture in his back, Sam Curran showed promise by taking two wickets in his nine overs. Malan bowled the last over of the contest, his first in an ODI, after Livingstone had to leave the field twice during the Netherlands’ reply due to some calf stiffness. When Buttler, of all people, caught last man out Boissevain behind, Malan claimed his first wicket.
Morgan On Jos Buttler
Following the Dutch demolition, the England captain hailed the “best white-ball cricketer in the world”
Jos Buttler, who thought he was playing the finest cricket of his career, was called “the best white-ball cricketer in the world” by Eoin Morgan following his innings of 162 not out off 70 balls that helped England beat the Netherlands in an ODI and List A match at Amstelveen.
Following England’s brilliant start, which saw him moved to the No. 4 position, Buttler struck seven fours and fourteen sixes, a boundary every 3.33 balls. His partnerships of 184 off 90 balls with Dawid Malan and 91 not out off 32 with Liam Livingstone saw them fall two runs short of the first 500-plus score in 50-over history.
Buttler was “in a world of his own, like he has been for the last year or two,” according to England’s white-ball captain Morgan, who also described Buttler’s hitting as “incredible” to see. “It’s not something that we ever get sick of and it’s not something that we take for granted,” he stated. “It is amazing cricket, and it’s the reason he is probably the best white-ball cricketer in the world at the moment.”
Buttler entered this series after taking a brief family vacation after an incredible IPL season for the Rajasthan Royals, during which he amassed four hundreds, won the orange hat, and was named MVP. Prior to this three-match ODI series, he said he was “in good touch” and that, following a poor Ashes tour, he had concentrated on “getting back to enjoying cricket”.
“The IPL couldn’t have gone better for me,” he stated. I thought it was fantastic, and that gives you a lot of courage. I felt fantastic when I arrived since, in my opinion, it’s important to arrive here with a lot of motivation and freshness.
“Obviously, it’s great anytime you can play that well together as a team. As I’ve mentioned numerous times, this is the most enjoyable setting I’ve ever performed in, so it’s wonderful to be back, to be on a regular tour, and to not have to worry about bubbles and other such issues.”
In keeping with a recurring theme of England pushing players up the order to capitalize on strong starts in recent years, Buttler’s promotion to No. 4, a position mastered by his idol AB de Villiers, also suggested their desire to give their most valuable asset the best chance to impact the game.
“Over the years, when we’ve got off to good starts, I’ve sometimes been pushed up to No. 4 and today we got off to a fantastic start with [Phil] Salt and Malan,” he stated. As a group, we’re quite accommodating if that’s what they’d like to do that particular day. I’m content with my job since I like playing middle-order in one-day cricket.” Though they were only two runs short of reaching 500 as a team, Buttler dismissed any potential disappointment, pointing instead to the fact that their near miss demonstrated England’s offensive drive.
“We never stop pushing the envelope and attempting to advance and challenge the game. We definitely stuck to that, everyone who came out to play today. We’ll have to keep trying since it’s a difficult task to do and requires playing on a small field with a booming wicket. Nevertheless, the most important thing is the team mindset we’re displaying, and we’re working to improve it by being bold and aggressive when we play.”
“We don’t take days like this for granted at all,” Morgan responded when asked if the club will ever hit the 500 mark. “We have the right to gently prod it. We’ve put in a ton of effort to deserve days like today.”
England’s historic victory against Netherlands will be etched in cricketing folklore, symbolizing their unparalleled dominance in ODI cricket. With record-breaking performances from Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, and Phil Salt, England’s triumph highlights their formidable batting lineup and relentless pursuit of excellence on the cricket field.
