England put an end to their five-match losing streak in the ICC World Cup 2023 on Wednesday, thanks to a century by Ben Stokes, which established the foundation for a convincing 160-run victory over the Netherlands. This win has kept England's hopes alive for qualifying in the Champions Trophy.
The Netherlands had a slow start in their pursuit of the 340-run target. England managed to reduce them to 104-5 in the middle of the innings, and they eventually folded for 179 in 37.2 overs.
Wesley Barresi (37), Sybrand Engelbrecht (33), skipper Scott Edwards (38), and Teja Nidamanuru (41 not out) all made promising starts, but the Dutch couldn't maintain the momentum in the face of some exceptional spin bowling.
Adil Rashid took 3-54, while Moeen Ali, his spin partner, claimed 3-42, and seamer David Willey contributed with 2-19.
This victory elevated England from the bottom to seventh place in the 10-team standings with four points, surpassing Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Dutch on net run rate. All teams now have one more game to play.
Stokes earlier scored 108 runs off 84 balls, marking his first century in a World Cup, while Dawid Malan (87) and Chris Woakes (51) both achieved half-centuries. England's batting finally found its form, helping them reach a total of 339-9 in 50 overs at Pune's MCA Stadium.
"I'm more pleased for us to get a victory, to be honest," said man-of-the-match Stokes. "Tough World Cup and it's nice to get back on winning terms today.
"It was (a typical Pune pitch). It was a nice wicket to bat on. The only thing was just on back of a length a bit of tennis-ball bounce. I tried to take it deep as I possibly could and cash in at the end."
The departing champions, who are striving for a top-eight finish to secure a place in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan, swiftly reached a score of 70-1 during the powerplay, marking their highest powerplay total in the tournament. This feat came about as Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bat.
Malan was responsible for a significant portion of the early damage, smashing 10 fours and two sixes. He appeared to be on track for a substantial score before getting run out due to a mix-up with Stokes. Shortly after, Joe Root (28) was bowled out in a comical manner while attempting a reverse scoop.
The Dutch managed to slow down the run rate by taking wickets, dismissing Harry Brook and the struggling Buttler. However, Stokes had a stroke of luck when he was dropped by Aryan Dutt on 41. He went on to hit six fours and six sixes during a seventh-wicket partnership of 129 with Woakes.
In the final 10 overs, England added 124 runs to finish strongly.
"We were absolutely desperate for the win. Malan got us off to a bit of a flier. We hit a speed bump in the middle but, the partnership from Stokes and Woakes was fantastic," said Buttler.
"We needed someone to stand up and take charge and Stokes seemed to be the guy to do that. We're delighted to have him in the team and out there in that situation. Smart cricket between him and Woakes to get us to a good score."
Edwards said they had let England off the hook.
"It's obviously disappointing. We didn't start well with the ball and we let them get away from us," Edwards said. "I thought the bowlers did really well to drag it back and again they got away from us at the end to settle with just above par."
The Netherlands slipped to 10th place but are still vying for a Champions Trophy spot. They will face the undefeated India in Bengaluru next, a match that Edwards expressed they were eagerly anticipating.
"It's going to be an amazing atmosphere. The boys are looking forward to it," he said.
