PUNE: The Netherlands have prepared for the “best England possible”, Dutch assistant coach Ryan van Niekerk said of their World Cup clash against the demoralised defending champions.

England have lost six of their seven matches in a disastrous title defence and play the giant-killing Dutch in Pune on Wednesday.

It’s the penultimate match for both teams and the Netherlands, who stunned South Africa and Bangladesh in the tournament, still rate their opponents with respect.

“England are world champions. So, I think they would do what’s necessary. They’ve prepared just as much,” Van Niekerk told reporters.

“In South Africa, where I’m from, there’s a famous saying of never underestimate a woun­ded buffalo. So, I think we sit in a position where England’s one of the best teams in the world.”

Van Niekerk added: “Irrespective of how they’re playing, they can produce incredible performances at any moment. So that’s what we’re preparing for, the best England possible.”

The Netherlands, led by Scott Edwards and coached by Ryan Cook, made an early impact in the tournament when they took down high-flying South Africa.

But they lacked consistency and have won only two matches in their seven outings to stay ninth above bottom-place England.

Despite their World Cup campaigns winding down, there is still something to play for with qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy at stake.

The top seven teams from this World Cup will gain entry into the tournament where hosts Pakistan will have automatic qualification.

“I think if you look at it when we started the tournament the Champions Trophy wasn’t even an option,” said Van Niekerk.

“I think the team has grown immensely over the last two years and coming into the environment, you almost feel like every game means a lot, irrespective of whether it’s playing for Champions Trophy or playing for getting into a semi-final.”

Meanwhile, Hopkinson said his team have not been able to execute their plans under pressure at the World Cup.

Their star-studded batting lineup, which includes the likes of captain Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Joe Root, has managed just a single 200-plus total in the last four outings.

“I think cricket can be a game of — It’s about executing under pressure, isn’t it? Everybody knows that, and I think this team has been well known for doing that really, really well,” Hopkinson said.

“It’s an incredibly skilful team, a very talented team, but at key moments in certain situations, we haven’t executed under pressure like we normally do.

“I think that’s something that we can always look to improve on in practice and everything you go about doing.

“It’s not to say that lads aren’t trying to do that in practice, they obviously are, but we haven’t got that right in key moments and I think that’s something that we can definitely improve on.”

England, who face the Netherlands and Pakistan in their remaining matches, are now fighting for a top-eight finish to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

When asked what the four-year plan from here is to put things right, Hopkinson said: “I think first and foremost we have to think about what’s coming tomorrow. I think anything that comes after that is what comes after that.

“We need to be thinking about tomorrow, we need to be thinking about Pakistan because we’ve got two very important games in which we need to win and win well to qualify for the Champions Trophy, which is what we need to do.”

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2023