ON THIS DAY
Follow UsOn June 17, 2022, England had uncovered newer possibilities in ODI cricket by coming tantalisingly close to the 500-run mark. Batting first against the Netherlands at Amstelveen in the first of the three-match ODI series, the visitors had amassed an inconquerable total of 498 runs in 50 overs.
In the process, they broke their previous record of 481 runs against Australia. Interestingly, the third-highest ODI team score of 444 runs is also scored by England against Pakistan, thereby signalling an intent unheard of previously in ODI cricket.
Less than five months later, the England men's team would become the first side in cricket history to hold both the ODI and T20I World Cup titles - an achievement that was uncharacteristic of them even until even a decade back.
Whether it be their snobbish take on white-ball cricket or their age-old approach towards it, the Three Lions were only considered title contenders at major cricket tournaments for a while. While efforts were put to change fortune in limited-over cricket for quite some time, one of those darts hit the bulls-eye in 2015 when the ECB decided to drop Alastair Cook from the ODI side to hand over captaincy reins to Eoin Morgan.
It didn't fetch immediate results as Bangladesh ousted England in the 2015 ODI World Cup group stages, but it set the ball rolling towards a bigger picture, something that the Netherlands team witnessed on June 17, 2023.
Having limited overs specialists on the side, not taking Test team performances into account for white ball format no matter how impressive, preferring all-rounders, and an ultra-predatory approach - all these set the tone for England's white-ball dominance that is revered by one and all today.
What separates England's ODI performance from others is the temperament. Regardless of the opponent or the tournament, the English players back their approach to target 350 runs every time the pitch is batting-friendly. Amstelveen was no different, as the visitors started their onslaught early on despite losing Jason Roy for just one run in the second over itself.
Dawid Malan came to the crease to partner with Phil Salt and jointly started an assault not seen before. When Salt was dismissed for 122 runs in the 30th over, England were 223/2. Salt had struck 14 boundaries and three sixes to keep the innings steady for incoming batsman Jos Buttler to build on.
Buttler and Malan added an unbelievable 184 runs in the next 89 balls to take the score to a mammoth 407 runs in 45 overs. Malan departed after scoring 125 runs, an innings laced with nine boundaries and three sixes. But that's because the onus of spiking the run rate was taken by Buttler - the third batsman of the today to score a century. Buttler returned to the pavilion scoring 162 runs in just 70 balls, having hit seven boundaries and an astounding 14 sixes.
With Malan and Buttler dismissed on the 45th over, it seemed like a relief for the Netherland bowlers, who were psychologically defeated by then. But, to further multiply their misery, Liam Livingstone hit six boundaries and the same number of sixes to take the team total to 498 in 300 balls.
Batting second, the Netherlands ended their innings on 266 runs in 49.4 overs, which was quite impressive given their hope of a win in the first ODI had ended in the first innings itself. While Moeen Ali took three wickets, David Willey, Reece Topley and Sam Curran, all had two wickets each.
After the match, England captain Eoin Morgan said, "When the guys come in and play with the mantra we have been playing for the last six years, it's great."
Three of the top 10 highest ODI team scores in ODI cricket are scored by England, a trend that is likely to dominate the 50-over format for years to come.
