Dutch secure famous win over England

By John Mehaffey

LONDON (Reuters) - The Netherlands scrambled an overthrow from the final ball of the match to upset hosts England by four wickets at Lord's on Friday in a spectacular start to the Twenty20 World Cup.

Victory by an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the country who invented the game was hailed by captain Jeroen Smits as the greatest in the nation's history.

The Netherlands defeated Australia in a one-day match after they had retained the Ashes in 1964 and beat a useful England second side in 1989. Smits was 12th man on the latter occasion.

Friday's win means the 500/1 outsiders will automatically go through to the second round if they can beat the unpredictable Pakistanis next Tuesday (1630GMT). England must beat Pakistan on Sunday (1630) to avoid the humiliation of a first-round exit.

"It's a huge victory, I can't wait for the Dutch papers," Smits told a news conference. "I'm really proud of the boys."

England captain Paul Collingwood, who made no attempt to hide his disappointment, said the Dutch had played "with plenty of freedom and belief."

"They surprised a lot of us with their batting," he said. "They ran better between the wickets."

Nobody could have visualised the exuberant Dutch celebrations at the start of play when Ravi Bopara eased the first ball through point for four.