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World Cup: England return to work with a prosaic victory

England won by 49 runs

England duly swallowed the last of the minnows in their group here yesterday and now prepare for the deeper waters and the bigger fish ahead.

Holland were less easily digested than the United Arab Emirates and the 49-run margin of victory might be taken as evidence that the gap between these two European sides is not much wider than the North Sea.

But England did a professional job of beating the Dutch part- timers and if the manner was prosaic rather than spectacular, that is their style: no flamboyance, a lot of hard work.

Michael Atherton said he never had the slightest qualm. ``Holland played well within their limitations. But I wasn't worried: they were never going to win.''

All the same, important areas need polishing before England meet South Africa in Rawalpindi on Sunday. On the positive side, the ground fielding was tighter, the two chances put down (now eight in total) were both very difficult and the running between wick- ets, on which the side worked hard in practice the previous day, was largely commendable.

Graeme Hick's second one-day international hundred came on the type of flat, low pitch that suits him. Yet in his 143 partner- ship with Graham Thorpe, Hick was uncharacteristically outscored, collecting only 53 of those runs. He ran with care rather than pushing for the extra single and Atherton thought that was due to his recent hamstring trouble.

Darren Gough never found his length

The bowling gave cause for greater concern. Dominic Cork made the crucial breakthrough in his second over when he trapped the dangerous veteran, Noel Clarke, leg before. Then Cork lost his line, conceding five boundaries in his first spell, and later his rhythm, bowling four wides and three no-balls.

Darren Gough never found his length and only sent down three overs, which went for 23, and Peter Martin, after a very tidy opening spell, was mauled at the end, particularly by Klaus van Noortwijk, who hit him for a big six over long-on, the ball end- ing some 20 yards back in the crowd.

Phillip DeFreitas, however, enjoyed a skidding pitch and bowled out his 10 overs at the start. He removed Peter Cantrell, the former Queensland batsman, who had punished Cork severely, and Tim de Leede, both lbw.

Then Jack Russell, whose enthusiasm continues to astound, sig- nalled to DeFreitas to bowl outside off to the Dutch captain, Steve Lubbers. DeFreitas obliged and Lubbers immediately attacked fatally, edging to Russell just as the wicketkeeper had predict- ed.

Russell's glovework was outstanding and, when standing up to Mar- tin, three times had the bails off. He is presently a tonic to the side.

Thorpe, bowling what Ray Illingworth called his ``dobbers'', sent down six overs. ``Sometimes they are more useful than the quicks,'' said the manager. ``The batsmen have got to go and hit them.''

England again sent Neil Smith to partner Alec Stewart at the start and for the second time the Warwickshire player fulfilled his role, hitting five boundaries in the 33 balls he faced.

Stewart, on the other hand, was again guilty of loose driving and was out as early as the third over. Smith was eventually picked up at short midwicket and it was left to the Hick-Thorpe combina- tion to smooth furrowed brows.

Thorpe's timing was excellent and many of his runs came from finely angled dabs behind the stumps. His 89 took 82 deliveries before he tried to whip Glamorgan's Roland Lefebvre through the on side.

The England captain says he is not worried about lack of form

Hick, more static, gave two half-chances in his unbeaten 104, which took 133 balls and included two sixes and six boundaries.

Atherton, again batting down the order to break up England's left-handers, failed when, on 10, he tried to steer Lubbers' off-break on the line of off stump. In three innings so far, he has faced 53 balls and scored 31 runs.

But the England captain says he is not worried about lack of form. ``My turn will come,'' he said with a grin.

The early loss of Clarke and Cantrell meant the Dutch never had a realistic hope of matching England's total. But the fifth-wicket partnership of 114 from 25 overs between van Noortwijk, a univer- sity student, and Bas Zuiderent, an 18-year-old schoolboy, won the hearts of the 8,000 crowd and gave England's fielders a lot of chasing.

Eventually, after scoring half-centuries, both were caught in the deep. The stadium rose to van Noortwijk and rather took against Gough for catching him, raining down plastic bottles and cups, ice cubes and a stick.

For Holland, the small margin of defeat was almost a moral victory. Lubbers said: ``We are very satisfied. There has been a lot of talk about the small countries like us, whether we should be al- lowed in the cup.

``Today we showed what we can do once we are given a fair chance. And there are others - Bangladesh, Bermuda. In five or 10 years, who knows how far we can all advance if offered the carrot by the major countries.''