Netherlands qualify for ICC Men's Cricket World Cup after four-wicket win over Scotland
Bas de Leede took five wickets and registered a superb 123 with the bat in a magnificent performance as the Netherlands chased down 278 in under 44 overs to defeat Scotland and claim the final 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup place in India; Dutch reached the target off 42.5 overs
Thursday 6 July 2023 17:22, UK
Netherlands have qualified for the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, after dramatically defeating Scotland in a pivotal qualifying clash in Zimbabwe.
Netherlands won the toss and chose to field, but were left needing to chase down 278 in 44 overs to qualify for the World Cup in India due to the difference in run-rate, with Scotland's Brandon McMullen to the fore with a knock of 106.
Dutchman Bas de Leede took five wickets and registered a superb 123 with the bat, however, as they did so in superb fashion.
The sides headed into the clash knowing either could take the last qualification spot, with Zimbabwe knocked out of contention. A win for Scotland would take them through, while a loss would have also done had the margin of defeat been relatively small, but in the end Netherlands did enough by reaching the target off 42.5 overs with four wickets in hand.
The number of overs bowled was significant as, to climb above Scotland in the qualifying table, the Dutch needed not only to win but to do so with at least six overs to spare.
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De Leede produced a stunning late flurry to carry his side to victory, completely eclipsing McMullen's century for Scotland earlier in the match.
Indeed, it was De Leede's first One-Day International century as he finished with 123 from 92 balls, run out with his team two runs short of their target.
The Netherlands now go through to this autumn's showpiece in India alongside qualifying tournament winners Sri Lanka.
It is a highly impressive achievement, with West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland among those to have fallen short in the qualifying series.
"We had a look at the targets, where we wanted to be at the halfway point," De Leede said at the post-match presentation.
"The rate was 10 to 11 runs per over, so we had to go into T20 mode and try and score as many runs as we could and see where it would take us.
"It's amazing, I can't describe the feeling, it's going to be one big party tonight!"
