Jos Buttler’s outstanding ODI record162 helped England defeat the Netherlands by 232 runs and set a new record for their biggest total in a one-day international.
Buttler pounded out 14 sixes and seven fours in a particularly eye-catching debut for Matthew Mott as their new white-ball coach as the optimism from England’s Test side spread to the Continent of Europe on a day of team and personal achievements.
The Netherlands bowlers were pounded to all parts of the pitch before England dismissed them for 266. Dawid Malan (125) and Phil Salt (122) both struck their first ODI hundreds, off 90 and 82 balls, respectively.
Total England achieved topped both the List A record of 496-4 set by Surrey in 2007 and the 481-6 England made against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2018.
Fans helped the Dutch players find the ball whenever it disappeared into the surrounding woodland as a result of the 26 sixes that were thrown into the open stands in Amstelveen.
With nine balls going missing during Buttler’s savage attack at a cost to the Dutch federation of 130 euros each, not all of them were eventually discovered.
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Fittingly, Buttler scored the runs for England to reach the highest ODI total with a six off Shane Snater that he sent over deep mid-wicket on a bad day for Dutch bowlers who gave up 108 runs in 10 wicketless overs from leg-spinner Philippe Boissevain.
Just two balls separated Liam Livingstone’s cameo at the end of the innings from the fastest ODI half-century as he slammed his fifty off just 17 deliveries before finishing with 66 off 22.
The traveling supporters mockingly chanted, “Boring, boring England,” after Livingstone only got a four off the penultimate ball of their innings, preventing them from reaching 500 runs. However, they quickly started cheering again when he hit the final ball for yet another six.
The Netherlands’ response was much more subdued, with wicketkeeper Scott Edwards scoring an unbeaten 72 in a defiant manner, and Moeen Ali capping off the best attack with 3-57.
History makers
It was a very different feeling than the previous time an England XI took the field here because this was the first time an ODI between the two teams had been played on Dutch soil.
At the same venue in 1989, a team that included future stars Alec Stewart and Nasser Hussain was humiliated by the Netherlands after laboring to bowl in the wet on a slick coconut matting surface while wearing training shoes with bumpy soles.
Over thirty years later, Benno van Nierop meticulously prepared the straw-colored grass pitch at the VRA Cricket Ground. On a day when the temperature topped 30C, the pitch was hard, true, and ideal for run-scoring.
In retrospect, Dutch captain Pieter Seelar’s decision to bowl may have been questionable, but England’s Eoin Morgan said he too would have bowled first, and the early dismissal of Jason Roy for one did offer some early justification.
Brilliant Buttler explodes
Buttler’s hitting was astounding even by his own lofty standards; he seemed to be playing a different game from everyone else since he struck the ball so cleanly.
The Indian Premier League has just ended, and the 31-year-old is currently the best white-ball batsman in all of cricket, playing at the top of his game.
Given that England was playing an Associate nation, the bowling strength must be a qualification for this knock. In fact, the Dutch were without a frontal attack for what was perhaps their best summer series.
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great batting depth in England
This was an opportunity for England’s other white-ball players to shine and demonstrated the breadth of alternatives new coach Mott has in the batting department without multi-format stalwarts Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes.
Malan, who joined Salt in playing with terrific speed and combining subtlety with aggressive strokeplay to set the stage for such a staggering total, became the third England batter, after Buttler and Heather Knight, to score a century across all three formats.
In addition, Livingstone’s stand-and-deliver approach, which included five fours and sixes in his fifty, would no likely have impressed Mott, despite the knowledge that tougher opponents than the squad currently ranked 14th in the ICC ODI rankings await.
Even though England’s bowlers were mainly ineffective, they maintained their composure; Sam Curran’s 2-46 on his comeback was rather encouraging.
With the goal of transforming England’s limited-overs team from a good one to a great one, Mott has been labeled a “legacy coach.” This was not a bad start on a frantic, disorienting day of batting in a small village outside of Amsterdam.
