World Cup: England smash 339/9 against Netherlands; Stokes leads fightback
England finally managed to cross the 300-run mark in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, scoring 339/9 against the Netherlands in Pune. The Three Lions were bolstered by top-notch knocks from Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, and Chris Woakes. Stokes's century rescued the Englishmen, who have been eliminated from the tournament. Meanwhile, pacer Bas de Leede picked up three wickets for the Dutch.
Another fifty for Malan
Openers Malan and Jonny Bairstow added a 48-run stand after England elected to bat. Although Aryan Dutt dismissed Bairstow for 15(17), Malan continued to attack the Netherlands bowlers. He touched the 50-run mark in the ninth over. Malan kept on playing his strokes, but an untimely run-out ended his bid for another century. He departed for a 74-ball 87 (10 fours and 2 sixes).
Third 50+ score for Malan in WC 2023
Malan now has three 50+ scores in World Cup 2023, with his only ton coming in England's win against Bangladesh in Dharamsala. Notably, no other England batter crossed the 100-run mark in WC 2023 before this match. Stokes later joined Malan on this list.
England's highest first-Powerplay total in WC 2023
England smashed 70/1 runs in the first 10 overs, the highest first-Powerplay total for England in World Cup 2023. These are also the highest runs conceded by the Netherlands in this phase in the ongoing tournament.
A rescuing ton from Stokes
Stokes joined opener Malan in the middle after England lost Bairstow and Joe Root for 133. However, Stokes lost Malan with an untimely run-out two overs later. Harry Brook, skipper Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali also departed before the 200-run mark (192/6). However, Stokes and Chris Woakes paired up to take England forward. The former smashed an 84-ball 108 (6 fours and 6 sixes).
Maiden century in ODI WCs
Stokes, who leads England's Test side, now has five centuries in ODI cricket. The one against the Dutch was his maiden ton in ODI World Cups. Besides his sole century, Stokes also owns six half-centuries in the tournament. He now has over 650 World Cup runs from just 16 matches at an average of more than 55.
Joint second-most sixes for England in a WC innings
Stokes hammered 6 sixes, now the joint second-most for England in a World Cup innings. Bairstow also smashed as many maximums against India in 2019 in Birmingham. Former captain Eoin Morgan tops this tally (17 vs Afghanistan, 2019, Manchester).
Woakes slams his maiden WC fifty
Woakes came to the middle after England were reduced to 192/6. Together, Woakes and Stokes took the Englishmen past 320. The former smashed a 45-ball 51, a knock laced with 5 fours and a six. It was Woakes's sixth half-century in ODI cricket and first in World Cups. He also touched the 1,500-run mark in the format.
England's highest partnership for seventh wicket or below in WCs
The 129-run partnership between Stokes and Woakes helped England evade a batting collapse against the Dutch. This is now England's highest partnership for the seventh wicket or below in ODI World Cups. The highest such stand is 202* between Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins which came in Australia's historic win against Afghanistan in the last match in Mumbai.
Other notable numbers for England
From overs 21-40, England smashed just 83 runs for the loss of five wickets. They went on to smash over 100 runs (124/3) in the last 10 overs. England's 339/9 is now their fourth-highest team total in ODI World Cups. The highest total in this regard came in the 2019 edition. They smashed 397/6 against Afghanistan in Manchester.
Bas de Leede takes three wickets
Despite being expensive, pacer Bas de Leede was the pick of the Netherlands' bowlers. He picked up three wickets for 74 runs in 10 overs. Meanwhile, Logan van Beek (2/88) and Aryan Dutt (2/67) took two wickets each. Notably, de Leede now has the joint-most wickets for the Netherlands in ODI World Cups with Tim de Leede (14).
