NED vs ENG: Liam Livingstone slams fastest ODI half-century for England, second fastest overall

The first ODI between England and the Netherlands turned out to be a historic one for the visitors, as they smashed 498 runs in their 50-over quota, breaking all boundaries and registering the highest ODI total in the history of the game. It was a memorable outing for the bunch of batters, but a special one for Liam Livingstone who smashed the second-fastest ODI half-century, equalling Sanath Jayasuriya, Martin Guptil, and Kusal Perera’s record of a 17-ball fifty.

The all-rounder took 17 deliveries to smash a glorious half-century after he announced himself into the game in style by taking on Netherlands bowler Philippe Boissevain and smashing him for 32 runs (six boundaries) in the 46^th over that included four sixes and a couple of fours. The English batters were in terrific form as Philip Salt, Dawid Malan, and Jos Buttler had reached the three-figure mark, scoring a century each before Livingstone walked in. In fact, Buttler brought up his ton off just 48 balls, second-fastest for England in ODIs.

Malan’s dismissal brought in Eoin Morgan, but the latter’s poor form continued as he was taken on the first ball that he faced and walked back to the pavilion for a golden duck. His dismissal gave Pieter Seelaar an opportunity to bag a hat-trick, but Livingstone had some other plans for him and his team. He just not registered the second-fastest ODI fifty, but also recorded the fastest half-century by an Englishman.

Fastest half-centuries in ODIs:

While Salt and Malan walked off after scoring 122 and 125 runs, respectively, Jos Buttler remained unbeaten for a 70-ball 162* runs alongside Livingstone, who scored an undefeated 66*(22) to take England to the humungous total. The English team has now scripted their name in the history books with golden words, as they broke their own record of the highest total in an ODI match.

England broke their own record of the highest ODI total

The previous total was registered by the English batters when they hosted Australia in the year 2018. England had racked up 481 runs at the loss of six wickets in order to register a massive victory of 242 runs against the mighty Australians. Even then, they had broken their own record of 444/3, the score that they had registered against Pakistan at the same venue, Nottingham, in 2016. With the terrific first innings score against the Netherlands, England now holds the record of the top three highest team totals in the ODI format.