England defeated the Netherlands By 232 runs (498 for 4; Buttler 162*, Malan 125, Salt 122, Livingstone 66*) (Moeen Ali taking 3-57).
Jos Buttler and his buddies marched in, set the records spinning, tore the place up, and left their hosts wondering what on earth had just occurred here if the Netherlands needed to strengthen its long-held status as a top party destination.
After winning the toss on a fantastic surface, the Netherlands were faced with an improbable target of 498 for 4, built on Buttler’s savage 162 not out and further centuries from Dawid Malan and Phil Salt before Liam Livingstone hammered 66 from only 22 balls.
It surpassed England’s own record of 481 for 6 against Australia in 2018, and despite strong knocks from Max O’Dowd and Scott Edwards, who enabled them come within two balls of finishing their 50 overs, the Netherlands were defeated by 232 runs.
Buttler plundered his score off just 70 deliveries, with no part of the VRA ground or its environs safe as he launched the ball into trees, onto the Pavillion roof, over the commentary tent, and onto the neighbouring hockey fields, following Jonny Bairstow’s jaw-dropping example to win the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.
Buttler smashed his way to England’s second-fastest ODI century, doing so in just 47 balls. His 46-ball effort in 2015 and 50-ball knock in 2019, both against Pakistan, put him in the top three fastest bowlers for his team. He was responsible for 14 of England’s world-record-breaking 26 sixes in the innings.
The hosts got off to a good start when Jason Roy was bowled by his cousin, Shane Snater, on the seventh ball he faced, blasted through the gate by a fuller delivery that hooked the inside edge before rattling the stumps, and England were 1 for 1.
Salt, who was playing in his fourth One-Day International, smashed his maiden international century with a composed innings that saw him reach 122 from just 93 balls. He made his intentions clear with a stunning boundary cover drive from Logan van Beek, then blasted him for six over midwicket.
When he struck Bas de Leede straight to deep backward point, where Snater shelled the opportunity, he should have been out for 40, and he slammed home the point by smashing de Leede for four over wide long-on two balls later.
Malan survived a lbw judgement on 25 when he attempted a reverse-paddle against Pieter Seelaar, with the ball striking the front pad low and in line with the middle stump, but moving over the top of the leg, according to the review.
Salt grabbed command, scoring his second ODI fifty off 39 balls with a four off Seelaar fine of long-off, and he went on to score 71 with a six off van Beek over cow corner.
After the powerplay, Malan was a little deflated, but he picked up the pace by hitting Aryan Dutt for four through point and Phillippe Boissevain for six down the line. Unlike the six he hit in the ninth over, which had to be retrieved from the woods, his succeeding six off Seelaar hit a tree over long-on and bounced back into the ground. He and Salt shared a 222-run partnership before Salt was top-edging van Beek to Boissevain at point.
But it was no problem for England, as Buttler arrived at the crease and quickly reduced the Netherlands’ attack to cannon fodder.
Buttler hit a 27-ball fifty, which included five sixes and two fours, almost all on boundaries. Three of his maximums came inside four balls of Seelaar, with the first just clearing the rope when Vikramjit Singh pushed in from long-on, and two more – increasing in distance – over the same area.
To make matters worse for the Netherlands, Buttler hit the next ball down the ground, only for it to bounce out of Musa Ahmed’s grasp. And, of course, his half-century came after he muscled a Snater slower ball over long-off for another six.
When Malan hit a leg-side single against Boissevain, he became only the third English player to achieve a century in each format, behind Buttler and Heather Knight. Malan’s innings came to an end when he holed out to deep backward square leg off Seelaar after scoring 125 runs off 109 balls and adding 184 runs with Buttler, who scored 139 of them.
