ten Doeschate dazzles as England plumb the depths

Ryan ten Doeschate's prowess in limited-overs cricket is hardly a secret - he averaged 54 in the CB40 last season, and weighed in with nine wickets, as Essex advanced to the semi-finals - but at Nagpur on Tuesday he produced the performance of his life, as the Netherlands came agonisingly close to producing one of the biggest upsets in the history of World Cup cricket.

All told he made 119 from 110 balls, his fourth and highest ODI century, and then chimed in with 2 for 47 in ten immaculate overs. But it was his batting that stole the plaudits. England had no answers to his watertight technique and a shot selection that started out composed before exploding in the closing overs with 52 runs coming from his last 26 deliveries. He came to the crease in the 12th over and though he took 12 balls to get off the mark, the value in gauging the pace of the wicket paid off handsomely.

All told, ten Doeschate struck nine fours and three sixes in a 110-ball stay, the first of which came off a gentle full-toss from Kevin Pietersen, whose two overs were dispatched for 19 and highlighted England's folly in omitting the second spinner, Michael Yardy. After calling for the Powerplay in the 43rd over, he picked off consecutive boundaries from Tim Bresnan to move through the nineties, before reaching his first World Cup hundred from 98 balls and in remarkable fashion, as a sharp single to short fine leg turned into five overthrows when Jonathan Trott's shy ricocheted off the stumps and away to the ropes.

In the latter stages of his innings, ten Doeschate seemed hampered with cramp, and it was not certain that he would be fit to take the field, let alone bowl. But with the opportunity of a lifetime awaiting him and his team-mates, he fronted up and produced a perfect spell of nagging medium-pace. Jonathan Trott was brilliantly stumped off a leg-side wide, before Ian Bell was bowled middle-stump by the final ball of his spell. And at that stage, the Netherlands truly believed.