The clouds over Lords this evening did their best to dampen the mood, but the men from Holland clearly had other ideas.
The first match of the World Twenty20 competition had been previewed by many to be a bit of a farce in one way or another. The general feeling was that the opening match should have been played against Pakistan, not a fledgling team like Holland. Could people have been more wrong......?
England have been in such mighty form recently that the dutch shouldn't have had a hope of getting any where near a win. It is true to say that the English batting did slow down as wickets started to fall, and no one can fault the Wright/Bopara combination at the top of the order, but 162 did seem enough.
With the fire in their bellies echoed by the colour on their shirts, the Dutchmen set about dismantling the English attack, seen as one of the best in he tournament. Tom de Grooth played an outstanding innings, and helped by some lack luster fielding and at times shoddy bowling, Holland won on the last ball of the innings, with four wickets in hand.
We English are all worrying about the threat the Aussies carry, and true to say this is a different form of the game, but the fact of the matter is England have been utterly humiliated by a side who wore their heart on their sleeve and got the victory they so justly deserved.
The first match of the World Twenty20 competition had been previewed by many to be a bit of a farce in one way or another. The general feeling was that the opening match should have been played against Pakistan, not a fledgling team like Holland. Could people have been more wrong......?
England have been in such mighty form recently that the dutch shouldn't have had a hope of getting any where near a win. It is true to say that the English batting did slow down as wickets started to fall, and no one can fault the Wright/Bopara combination at the top of the order, but 162 did seem enough.
With the fire in their bellies echoed by the colour on their shirts, the Dutchmen set about dismantling the English attack, seen as one of the best in he tournament. Tom de Grooth played an outstanding innings, and helped by some lack luster fielding and at times shoddy bowling, Holland won on the last ball of the innings, with four wickets in hand.
We English are all worrying about the threat the Aussies carry, and true to say this is a different form of the game, but the fact of the matter is England have been utterly humiliated by a side who wore their heart on their sleeve and got the victory they so justly deserved.
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