Two days after smashing a world-record score, England wasn’t so comfortable in a six-wicket victory over the Netherlands in a rain-affected second one-day international on Sunday that clinched the three-match series with a game to spare.
Set 236 to win off 41 overs, England reached the target with 29 balls to spare — but only after a midinnings wobble that saw captain Eoin Morgan depart for a seven-ball duck to go with his golden duck from the first match.
On that occasion, England hit the highest-ever score in a one-day international — 498-4 — after being put into bat, with three batters scoring centuries to set up a victory by 232 runs.
The Dutch opted to bat first this time and made a competitive 235-7 at Amstelveen outside Amsterdam, with Scott Edwards — filling in as captain in the absence of Pieter Seelaar — top-scoring with 78.
Jason Roy marked his 100th ODI for England by hitting 73 off 60 balls before being the first batter dismissed after an opening stand of 139 with Phil Salt.
Salt was England’s leading scorer with 77 and his departure was the first of three wickets to fall in the space of 19 balls.
Morgan was next to go, quickly followed by Liam Livingstone for 4, and the pressure on the captain might ramp up with England having an abundance of batting options at the moment. The likes of Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow weren’t available for this series because they are playing for England’s test team.
Dawid Malan (36 not out) and Moeen Ali (42 not out) wound up seeing England to its target amid a party atmosphere in the crowd. England finished on 239-4 in 36.1 overs.
The second ODI was reduced to 41 overs per side because of overnight rain that led to a delayed start due to a wet outfield.
