Roy revels as England clinch one-day series
JASON Roy toasted his 100th one-day international with 73 off 60 balls as England repelled a fightback from the Netherlands to move into an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
Roy was one of the few England batters to miss out in their world record 498 for four 48 hours earlier but, in a contest reduced to 41 overs per side, he hit top form to hasten their pursuit of 236.
Five of his first nine balls were dispatched for four and while he was unable to mark his landmark appearance with a century, his acceleration at the start proved crucial in a sixwicket win.
Phil Salt followed up his century in Friday’s series opener with 77 off 54 balls although there was a second successive duck for captain Eoin Morgan as England endured a mid-innings wobble, with the Dutch showing some admirable resilience after suffering their heaviest ODI defeat by runs on Friday.
It was ultimately in vain as Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali knocked off the remaining 59 runs required to help England overhaul their opponents’ 235 for seven with 29 balls to spare in Amstelveen, where the start of play had been delayed for nearly three hours because of a wet outfield.
David Willey and Adil Rashid each collected two wickets while Brydon Carse showcased his impressive pace in his one for 36 after Netherlands captain Scott Edwards had opted to bat.
That decision may have been influenced by England’s sensational innings on Friday and though Roy was dismissed for just one then, he rose to the occasion here.
As has been customary throughout his time with England, Roy began with purpose and three cover drives in the opening over beat the infield.
Salt was initially content to defer to his senior opening partner but got into the groove by driving slow left-armer Tim Pringle, who had been introduced in the fifth over in an attempt to stymie England’s scoring.
Roy got to his fifty in the 12th over and looked to take down Aryan Dutt, hammering him for six before, in the next over, taking four fours in the first five balls. The last just cleared midoff before he sliced the next delivery to short third man, visibly furious with himself. The breakthrough ended a 139-run partnership in 17 overs, leaving Salt. However, he came down the track to Dutt and misjudged the length, bowled between bat and pad.
Morgan’s lean trot continued when a hack was caught at backward point and Liam Livingstone came and went with England losing three wickets in 19 deliveries.
Malan was given out lbw on 19, only to overturn the decision, and despite a few nervy moments, Roy’s early onslaught meant England had time on their hands. Malan (36 not out) released some pressure when Teja Nidamanuru dragged down, thrashing him over midwicket, while Moeen (42 not out) took three fours in four balls off Tom Cooper before finishing proceedings off 36.1 overs with a pull for four off seamer Shane Snater.
Earlier, an initially sluggish outfield meant the Dutch openers found scoring tricky and they both perished with cross-batted shots, Vikramjit Singh surprised by Willey’s short ball and miscuing a pull while Malan sprung to take a fine catch at square leg after Max O’dowd had swept hard at Rashid.
Carse accounted for Cooper, who was trapped on the crease and wisely elected against a review despite the hosts slipping to 36 for three.
But Edwards who anchored the innings. He was initially troubled by Carse’s speed but milked Moeen’s off-spin before growing gradually in confidence, as he reached his second fifty of the series in style.