Throwback to the Netherlands 2009 T20 World Cup win over England

If one team has become the cynosure of this World Cup with their spirited performances, it has to be the Netherlands. When they come up against England in the 2023 World Cup on Wednesday, November 8, it may not be a one-sided affair as many would be anticipating.

A lot was expected from Jos Buttler led England coming into the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup, but the defending champions seem to have dropped the ball coming into the tournament, both mentally and tactically.

The Three Lions have been brushed aside by almost all teams comprehensively and are in a spot of bother considering their participation in the 2025 Champions Trophy, with only the top seven teams along with hosts Pakistan making the cut.

Currently placed at 9th and 10th, both Netherlands and England would also want to avoid the embarrassment of getting the wooden spoon.

But it's not going to be an easy task for England, as the Netherlands has not only stunned South Africa early in this tournament, but the Orange Brigade also defeated England in 2009, their first ever T20 World Cup encounter.

Not much was expected from the game in 2009, as many believed that it would be a one-sided affair, with England winning the match comfortably and earning a huge lead in their NRR.

However, the Netherlands caused a massive upset as they outplayed the English side in a last-ball thriller by four wickets.

In this article, we will take you back to 2009 World Cup, when, defying everyone's expectations, the Netherlands stunned England in a thriller.

When Netherlands stunned England in 2009 T20 World Cup

The great English collapse

Netherlands skipper Jeroen Smits won the toss and put England into bat on a surface that had some initial moisture in it, aiding the new ball bowlers.

English openers Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright, after surviving initial overs, set upon the bowlers and scripted a century stand of 102 runs within just 11.2 overs. And it looked like it was going to be a long field day for the Dutch, as expected.

But the Netherlands weren't giving up without fighting. After Ryan ten Doeschate nipped up Bopara with a lovely slow delivery, the Dutch started to stitch dot balls, bowling some tidy lines.

Their efforts resulted in a collapse, as apart from Bopara and Wright, no other batter took on the responsibility of scoring runs. Thus, the hosts failed to capitalize on the start and could manage just 162 runs in their 20 overs.

Never-say-never attitude from the Netherlands

The Dutch had the momentum, restricting England to what was a gettable target. All they needed to do was bat sensibly and target their bowlers and overs to register a famous win in their very first World Cup appearance against a test-playing nation.

Chasing 163, the Netherlands got off to a torrid start as they found themselves in a bit of trouble early on, getting reduced to 23/2 in the 4th over.

Tom de Grooth and Peter Borren soaked up the pressure and decided to rotate the strike, save wickets for later, and concentrate more on running singles and doubles.

Once set, Grooth in particular started plundering English bowlers, which consist of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Adil Rashid.

The English bowlers kept chipping in with timely wickets, but the Dutch batsmen were not in the mood to stop throwing their bat at any loose deliveries.

Broad once again with "That Over"

With the Dutch needing only seven runs in the last over, English skipper Paul Collingwood handed the responsibility to the then-young Stuart Broad.

Broad decided to bowl wide outside off line to Ryan ten Doeschate and was pretty successful in landing it perfectly. But how can you imagine winning by dropping a dolly of a catch in follow-through and missing out on as many as three run-out chances?

Broad once again finds himself at the receiving end at the 2023 ODI World Cup, with everything that could have gone wrong going wrong for him once again.