England scrape past http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Netherlands-c753 in ICC World Cup 2011 match
England were given a good run for their money by un-fancied minnows of the ICC World Cup 2011, the Netherlands. The T20 Champions came into the game looking to get two easy points, but it was not that easy for them.
The Netherlands showed great passion and commitment and took it down to the wire. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c749’s superiority in batting prevailed in the end, but it was a wakeup call for the English bowling line-up. The Netherlands surprised everyone by putting on a splendid
display while batting first. However, their bowling did not match the batting performance and was below par at best. The bowlers could not defend the big total that the batsmen had put up and England got home with six wickets in the end.
The Netherlands had opted to bat first after winning the toss and took off to a decent start by Alexie Kervezee and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wesley-Barresi-c96487. The Dutch middle order worked wonders, with Tom Cooper and Ryan ten Doeschate putting on a brilliant stand for the third wicket
to give the Netherlands a solid platform. Ten Doeschate went on to become the first Dutch player to score a century in a World Cup. The right-handed all-rounder showed immense skill and class in his maiden hundred and played shots all around the wicket, making
England’s world-class bowling attack look ordinary. The Netherlands posted a total of 292 which must have given England some worries.
For their part, England started the chase valiantly. Kevin Pietersen’s experiment of opening the batting continues to do well. Pietersen and captain Andrew Strauss put on an opening stand of 105 runs in just 17 overs. Pietersen scored 39 runs with 5 boundaries
before he was he was caught off a ball by Pieter Seelaar. Jonathan Trott walked in next, knowing that he would have to continue his good form to save England from an embarrassing defeat. Trott did not disappoint and added 61 runs alongside Strauss. The captain
was dismissed after scoring 88 runs that included nine boundaries. He was caught by Cooper off the bowling of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mudassar-Bukhari-c2031.
Ian Bell and Trott carried on the chase. There was no flurry of boundaries in the partnership, but the two kept rotating the striker and kept the required run rate in check.
The two added 58 runs for the 3rd wicket, before Jonathan Trott was out for 62 from 65 balls with four boundaries. He was stumped off the bowling of ten Doeschate.
Paul Collingwood, the man who finally found form in the warm up game against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, came in next. Bell was dismissed soon afterward when the score was at 241. Even at this stage, England were still the favourites with their extended batting line-up yet
to come. Collingwood and Ravi Bopara knew they could get their team home by just keeping their heads. There was immense excitement at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. As the neutrals, in the ground could sense the possibility of a big upset.
However, the English batsmen managed to keep their cool, Collingwood and wicketkeeper Matt Prior guided England home with eight balls still to go.
The Dutch were heartbroken, but they certainly did earn a lot of respect all around after putting on such a brave display against one of the most formidable teams in the tournament. Dutch batsman Ryan ten Doeschate was named man of the match for his splendid
hundred, despite being on the losing side.
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