England’s world record crushes Netherlands
AMSTELVEEN: England broke their own world record for the highest total in One-day International cricket by smashing 498/4 to set up a 232-run win over the Netherlands on Friday. Jos Buttler led the barrage with a typically extravagant 162 not out off only 70 balls. The total achieved in Amstelveen, outside Amsterdam, surpassed the 481/6 made by England against Australia at Trent Bridge in June 2018.
While Dawid Malan (125) and Phil Salt (122) also compiled centuries for England, it was Buttler’s that took the breath away. He reached three figures in 47 balls for the second fastest hundred for England, and his brutal, crowd-pleasing knock under a blue sky contained 14 of the team’s 26 sixes along with seven fours. Buttler has the three quickest ODI centuries for the national team—off 46, 47 and 50 balls. Liam Livingstone weighed in with a 22-ball 66 not out after joining Buttler for the final 5.2 overs. He brought up England’s fastest ODI fifty, from 17 balls, to beat the one in 21 deliveries set in a stand between Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow, and struck six fours and six sixes.
Livingstone had the chance to take England to 500—an almost mythical figure in limited-overs cricket that would have seemed unfeasible only 20 years ago—by taking strike with two balls left, with his team on 488. Off the next-to-last ball of the innings, his slog toward the midwicket boundary landed a couple of metres short of the rope and bounced for four. He smashed a six in the same area off the next ball.
Brief scores: England 498/4 in 50 overs (J Buttler 162*, D Malan 125, P Salt 122) beat
266 in 49.4 overs (S Edwards 72*; M Ali 3/57) by 232 runs.