Netherlands duo Engelbrecht, van Beek enters World Cup record books
Sybrand Engelbrecht and Logan van Beek slammed their respective maiden ODI fifties as the Netherlands posted a fighting 262 against Sri Lanka in Match 19 of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in Lucknow. The duo showcased remarkable character and bailed their side out with a historic record-breaking stand. Notably, Netherlands had lost their first six wickets inside 100 runs. Here are further details.
Knocks of character from Engelbrecht, van Beek
Netherlands's top-order batters surrendered against the Lankan pacers as the Dutch side was reduced to 91/6. Engelbrecht and van Beek bailed the team out of trouble with a brilliant partnership. The duo added 130 runs for the seventh wicket as the Men in Orange went past the 200-run mark. Both batters were watchful early on before unleashing the onslaught in the last 10 overs.
Maiden fifty for Engelbrecht
Engelbrecht ended up scoring 70 off 81 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six. Standing in his third ODI, Engelbrecht smoked his maiden ODI fifty. He has now raced to 118 runs at 39.33. Notably, the 35-year-old made his ODI debut in Netherlands's recent clash against New Zealand. Meanwhile, this was Engelbrecht's 11th half-century in the List A format.
A historic stand between Engelbrecht and van Beek
Engelbrecht and van Beek's 130-run stand is now the highest partnership for the seventh wicket or lower in WC history. The duo went past India's Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani, who added 126 runs against Zimbabwe in the 1983 edition. Overall, the Netherlands duo became the seventh pair to add a century stand for the seventh wicket or lower in WCs.
A valiant 59 from van Beek
Meanwhile, van Beek became the first Netherlands player to slam an ODI fifty while batting at number eight or lower in ODIs. He ended up scoring 59 off 75 balls (1 four, 1 six). Playing his 28th ODI, he has now raced to 434 runs at 24.11. With his right-arm pace, van Beek has also scalped 38 wickets in the format (ER: 5.34).
Second-highest WC partnership for Netherlands
As per ESPNcricinfo, Engelbrecht and van Beek recorded the second-highest partnership for Netherlands in ODI WCs. They are now only behind Feiko Kloppenburg and Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk, who added 228 runs for the second wicket against Namibia in the 2003 edition. Overall, they became the fifth Dutch pair to register a century stand in the global competition.
Fourth pair to get this feat
As per Cricbuzz, this is the fourth instance of two batters scoring 50 or more in a WC game while at number seven or below. They have joined South Africa's Shaun Pollock-Lance Klusener, UAE's Amjad Javed-Nasir Aziz, and India's MS Dhoni-Ravindra Jadeja. This is also the first instance of two Netherlands batters slamming half-centuries in an ODI while at number six or below.
