When I wrote the post the other day supporting the participation of minnows, I just hoped that some of them would put up some spirited performances. If the Zimbabwe bowling was spirited, the Netherlands overall show was simply fantastic. The Dutchmen were very good as they managed to give a strong England side a scare or two at Nagpur.
When Peter Borren, the Dutch captain won the toss and chose to bat, one would have expected England to restrict them to a small score without any problems. However, right from ball one the openers looked at ease against the England bowling. In my preview of the Netherlands team I had said that the performance of the county cricketers would be really crucial if they are to impress and who better than Ryan ten Doeschate to prove my point. It was really good to see the way he paced his innings. He took the singles and ensured that the score kept ticking. His strike rate was right up there despite not getting too many boundaries initially. I think Tom Cooper played a very crucial innings to support ten Doeschate. They lost their openers in quick succession and somebody was required to stay there and ensure wickets do not fall. His knock actually set the tone for the innings to go big later on. He was unlucky to get out the way he did but will have to make sure he doesn’t make the same mistake in the matches to come. Zuiderent didnt get a significant score and in the coming matches he has to ensure that he contributes as he is their mainstay. Peter Borren and Tom de Grooth were very good as they played brisk knocks to push the tempo.
With around 188 for 4 at the end of 40 overs, I expected England to restrict them to less than 250 but the Dutch batting in the last ten overs was brilliant. They took the batting powerplay at the right time and Borren and ten Doeschate made very good use of it. To score more than 10 runs an over against a top team is really noteworthy. They picked the gaps well and also played some very crafty strokes. Ryan ten Doeschate had his fair share of luck as England dropped a few chances but what matters is that he made it count.
The Dutch bowled with spirit but i think their batting is much stronger than their bowling. Their fast bowlers bowl in the mid 120's which doesnt really worry batsmen at the international level. The left arm spinner Seelar was very good today and maybe in the coming games they can play the off spinner Raja along with him. Dutch can impress further only if they bat well and improve their bowling.
The thing that surprised me the most was England’s fielding. Usually a very sharp unit on the field, they were ordinary today. There were a few misfields and few shocking moments. Two of their errors were simply unforgivable. When Peter Borren was bowled in the penultimate over of the Dutch innings, it was ruled a no ball as only three men were in the inner circle. This is something we don’t see from teams playing at that level. The worst part was that they almost did it again. They were lucky that James Anderson realized and stopped just prior to delivering the ball. The second error was the dropped chance off Swann. Swann did all the hard work and invited ten Doeschate to play an aggressive shot. It went miles up and the fielders at long on and long off just stood there looking at each other. There wasn’t much crowd today that the fielders couldn’t hear each others call. Andy Flower would have put that in his notebook and would remind the players not to do this again. Their next game is against India at Bangalore and the noise there would be deafening so they have to make sure that they call loud and clear.
The England batting was good though there were a few scares towards the end. They would be happy that all their batsmen who batted got significant scores on the board and spent valuable time in the middle. Pietersen opened today and looked in good touch. Somehow he played too many shots straight to the fielders and 39 from 61 balls doesn’t show the quality of shots he played. Andrew Strauss was really good today. Whenever he gets runs it doesn’t look like he is getting them quicky but he usually does. Viv Richards said in an interview that there are a few players in World Cricket who play all the orthodox shots and don’t make it look as if they are scoring fast. However, when you look at their strike rates they are really high. Strauss and Trott are batsmen who fall in that category. They would keep the score ticking and get the occasional boundary. When these guys get in it is very difficult to get one past them. The England batting looks really good and they have nothing to worry on that front.
The problem that England have had off late is their bowling. Broad, Swann and Bresnan have all come out of injuries and are yet to get their rhythm back. Broad was good in the warm up games but he is yet to get back to his best. England would hope he can get there before the India game. Swann looked really good today but he will perform much better as the tournament progresses. He mixed it up very well, varied his pace, gave it flight and picked up two important wickets. He would have had three had that catch been taken. The major problem for England has been the form of Jimmy Anderson. He wasn’t getting his line right today as he bowled too many full tosses trying for the Yorkers. He was good in the ashes but has looked off colour in the shorter version. This bowling attack is really strong and it is a matter of time before they come into form. If they do come into form soon, England would be really hard to beat.
The Dutch may have lost but they have certainly won accolades. In the final overs one could just see their inexperience in international cricket as they leaked too many singles and twos. Collingwood and Bopara made it look all too easy then. The Dutch can take pride in the fact that they fought and have presented a very strong case for the minnows.
Pakistan start their campaign tomorrow against Kenya. It should be an easy win for them in Colombo. As a fan I just hope Kenya performs better and for that to happen Tikolo, Ouma and Odoyo have to put in good performances. Lots more to follow…..
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