The scorers and the statisticians were the busiest during England vs Netherlands first ODI at Amstelveen on Friday. Batting first, England rewrote the record books by smashing the highest-ever total in the history of 50-overs cricket. The visitors fell agonisingly short of the unthinkable 500-run mark and finished with a world record 498 for 4. England bettered their own record for the ODI score in men’s cricket, which they had achieved against Australia by smashing 481 for 6 in 2018.
Player of the match Jos Buttler, who finished on 162 not out, plundered his ton off just 47 balls — missing his own record for the fastest England century by just one ball — while Phil Salt and Dawid Malan also made three figures.
Liam Livingstone, batting at number six, made the fastest half-century in England’s ODI history off just 17 balls — the joint second-fastest of all-time.
In reply, the Dutch were all out for 266 with Scott Edwards top-scoring with an unbeaten 72.
Watch Video: England smash world record 498/4 against the Netherlands, full highlights
England made their intentions clear early in their innings when Salt smacked Dutch right-arm medium pacer Shane Snater for six — the first in slugfest of 26 sixes and 36 fours to follow — in near-perfect batting conditions.
England’s 26 sixes are also the most by any side in an innings in the history of ODI cricket. Of those 26, Buttler alone hit 14 while Livingstone, Salt and Malan contributed with six, and three sixes each.
England also became the first side to score more than 300 runs in boundaries in an ODI.
England lost an early wicket when Jason Roy inside-edged a pitching delivery from Snater, and had to walk for a single.
Together with a stylish Malan, Salt put on a partnership of 222 before being caught on 122, slicing at a slower short ball by Logan van Beek.
Malan and Buttler then drove England with an even bigger partnership of 184 before Malan fell on 125 to a full delivery from Dutch skipper Pieter Seelaar, which Malan steered into the waiting hands of Bas de Leede at deep midwicket.
Malan looked trapped lbw on 25 off the bowling of the Dutch skipper earlier in his innings, but he got a reprieve after an initial out decision was overturned by the third umpire.
The left-hander smashed three sixes and nine fours, becoming only the third England player after Buttler and Heather Knight to score a ton in all three formats of the game.
But in the end it was Buttler who gave the young players in the Dutch team a masterclass batting lesson, hitting seven sixes and 14 fours in a magnificent innings on a day of records.
