Cricket World Cup: England v Netherlands predictions and cricket betting tips

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Cricket World Cup: England v Netherlands predictions and cricket betting tips

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England v Netherlands predictions

England's time at the top of 50-over cricket is officially over after the outgoing world champions were put out of their misery by Ashes rivals Australia on Saturday.

Jos Buttler and his team would be forgiven for wanting to get on the first plane out of India now their exit has been rubber-stamped, but there is potential for even further humiliation with two group fixtures, against the Netherlands and Pakistan, still to fulfil.

And England will be wary of further embarrassment on Wednesday against the Netherlands, who have twice previously beaten them on the global stage at the World T20, in 2009 and 2014, and have already beaten South Africa at this World Cup.

Even at their current low ebb, another Dutch disaster would be an even greater humiliation than those 20-over debacles.

England thumped the Dutch in three ODIs in the Netherlands in June 2022, racking up a world record 498-4 in the first match in Amstelveen. And while the swagger they displayed on that occasion, and for four years since winning the World Cup in 2019, has mystifyingly evaporated in India, man for man England are clearly a much stronger side than the Dutch.

Few England players have emerged with much credit from their disastrous title defence but Dawid Malan has been easily their best batter, albeit in a very weak heat.

Malan has scored 98 runs more than England's next best, Joe Root, and is his side's sole centurion at the World Cup, having hit an excellent 140 in England's only success over Bangladesh. 

The opener, who played well for his 50 against Australia at the weekend, was one of three players to make a hundred when England posted their world record total in Amstelveen and could cement his position at the head of England's batting charts with a healthy contribution against the Dutch.