Feature

Bukhari's late bounty

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day on a another famous occasion for Netherlands as they thrash England

Andrew McGlashan
Andrew McGlashan
31-Mar-2014
Mudassar Bukhari broke his wicket drought for the tournament ... and in some style  •  AFP

Mudassar Bukhari broke his wicket drought for the tournament ... and in some style  •  AFP

The Mr Cool moment
England's fielding has been woeful for large parts of this tournament, but they managed to produce one gem shortly before flying home. With overs running out Tom Cooper tried to clear the off side but the ball came off the toe of the bat. Still, it looked to be clearing mid-off as Chris Jordan tracked back then stuck out his left hand to cling on. Just to cap the moment he also managed to catch his sunglasses as they fell from his head.
Drop
There were, however, reminders of England's woes. Stephen Parry's first ball - his first ball of the tournament - was dragged down short and Wesley Barresi's eyes lit up. He pulled it towards deep midwicket when Michael Lumb misjudged the catch which he would have taken comfortably if stood on the boundary edge. Instead, he leapt one-handed but could only palm the ball over the rope for six.
Drought ending
It had not been a profitable tournament for Mudassar Bukhari who had gone five matches without taking a wicket. He won't be remembered for that now, though. He started England's problems in the chase when he had Michael Lumb taken at cover then trimmed Alex Hales' bails to remove England's top-scorer in the tournament. He later returned to add Stuart Broad to his tally: 3.4-0-12-3 will be an analysis he recalls for the rest of his life
Attacking reward
Since being dismantled for 39, Netherlands have left nothing in the shed. Peter Borren kept the pressure on England at the start of their chase and a smart piece of captaincy brought a handsome reward when, the ball after clipping a boundary through midwicket, Eoin Morgan sent a think edge straight to Borren stationed at around third slip. With Morgan and Hales removed, Netherlands sensed their chance.
Final nail
Ravi Bopara has been designated England's finisher, but on this occasion he just joined the list of England batsmen unable to overcome the slow, cunning Netherlands bowling. Having eked to 18 off 19 balls he then knew he had to find the boundary so heaved Logan van Beek towards deep midwicket but the shot did not have the legs. Pieter Seelaar judged the catch superbly near the boundary and, on holding the chance, made sure he stayed inside the rope.
Fitting finish
Given Netherlands' stunning fielding and England's woeful display, it was apt that the game finished with a shambolic run out. James Tredwell chipped the ball over cover, it landed short of the fielder running in then Tredwell and Stephen Parry ended up in mid-pitch trying for a second run. Netherlands were celebrating almost before the stumps were broken: after that the party could really start.

Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo