England broke its own world record for the highest score in one-day international cricket by hitting 498-4 against the Netherlands, with Jos Buttler leading the way Friday with an unbeaten 162 off only 70 balls.
The total achieved in Amstelveen, outside Amsterdam, surpassed the 481-6 made by England against Australia at Trent Bridge in June 2018.
While Dawid Malan and Phil Salt also compiled centuries, it was Buttler’s that took the breath away. He reached three figures in 47 balls for the second-fastest hundred for England and his crowd-pleasing knock contained 14 of the team’s 26 sixes.
Buttler now has the three quickest ODI centuries for the national team — off 46 balls, 47 balls and 50 balls.
Liam Livingstone weighed in with a 22-ball 66 not out after joining Buttler for the final 5.2 overs. He brought up England’s fastest ODI fifty, from 17 balls, to beat the one in 21 deliveries set in a partnership between Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow.
Livingstone had the chance to take England to 500 — a total that would have seemed unrealistic only 20 years ago — by taking strike with two balls left, with his team on 488.
Off the next-to-last ball of the innings, his slog toward the midwicket boundary landed a couple of meters short of the rope and bounced for four. He smashed a six in the same area off the next ball.
The Netherlands — playing an ODI against England for the first time outside a Cricket World Cup — had only a few moments to savor amid a barrage of big-hitting from the tourists, which led to a number of balls being lost outside the stadium.
Shane Snater bowled his cousin, Jason Roy, to leave England 1-1 and Pieter Seelaar took two wickets off successive balls — including Morgan for a golden duck.
Malan’s century was his first in ODIs and came off 90 balls. He now has hundreds in all three formats — the second England player to achieve that feat after Buttler.
England — the defending 50-over world champion — has the top three ODI scores of all time, all of them being recorded since 2016. Dropping to No. 3 in the all-time list is its 444-3 against Pakistan in August 2016, also made at the traditionally fast track at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
England’s latest huge total was the highest made in either internationals or at first-class level. The previous best was 496-4 by English county team Surrey against Gloucestershire at The Oval in 2007.
Source: United News of Bangladesh