Oh, how the mighty have fallen. One would have expected this fixture to be a mere stumble along the way for the defending champions as they march on towards a title defense, but alas, how the tables have turned as they are now fighting for qualification in the Champions Trophy in 2025. It is England facing off against the Netherlands, at the MCA Stadium in Pune.
The two captains assembled in the middle of the pitch for the toss. England won the toss and elected to bat first.
FOLLOW LIVE HERE: ENG vs NED LIVE SCORE
Words cannot seem to do justice to the dream-turned-nightmare, that is England’s title defense. The English have looked like a mere shell of their own self coming into the tournament, with their lack of proper preparation being thrust into the spotlight at every possible chance. In fact, 6 out of 7 chances, as the English have managed to scrape just one mere win out of all the fixtures they have played in this edition of the World Cup. They now sit dead-last in the World Cup table and have been eliminated from the race to claim the last semi-final spot. But, they will be in desperate need of two points here today in order to aid them in their now-shortened goal of merely securing qualification foe the Champions Trophy in 2025.
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
But, on the other hand, the surprise contender for a distant and far-fetched yet possible semi-final spot is the Netherlands. The Men in Orange have been the David to multiple Goliaths in the tournament, as the Dutch have eked out wins against the likes of Bangladesh and giants South Africa in order to keep their almost improbable but still possible semi-final dreams alive. The two points today will also bolster their claim for a spot in the 2025 Champions Trophy as well, and hence, one can expect both teams to fight tooth and nail for the win here in Pune today.
Captain’s Comments:
Jos Buttler (ENG): We will have a bat. Looks a good wicket, need to post a good score. Crucial matches for us, we need to win these games. Huge room for improvement. Need to play a good game of cricket. We need to trust in ourselves. Desperate to do things right. Wood and Livingstone are out, Brook and Atkinson are in.
Scott Edwards (NED): We have spoken about it as a group, need to play good cricket. Proud of the way the guys have played. Two more games for to show more improvement. We have shown good signs as a batting group. Teja Nidamanuru comes in for Zulfiqar.
Playing XIs:
England:
Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(w/c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid
Netherlands:
Wesley Barresi, Max ODowd, Colin Ackermann, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards(w/c), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren
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