England beat Netherlands in One Day Series but captain Eoin Morgan keeps fighting

JASON ROY joined England’s batting side but captain Eoin Morgan was looking for his second duck in three days.

Roy’s typically aggressive innings of 73 balls from 60 helped sweep England to an easy six-wicket win.

1

Roy scored just one ball in seven in Friday’s record-breaking bonanza against Holland, but he filled his shoes in the second game of the series.

In his 100th one-day cap, the Surrey opener hit three limits in the opening of England’s pursuit of a modest 236 goal and helped himself quite a bit with the runs thereafter.

Morgan, who had the first ball in the middle of the run blitz two days earlier, went to a seven-ball duck this time.

Morgan’s racquet problems are worrying England as the Twenty20 World Cup looms in Australia in October and November.

He’s been looking out of shape for a few months and there are plenty of batsmen banging on the selection door.

Morgan won’t be sacked for managing pretty much England’s white ball teams – but it’s not out of the question that he could decide to step down.

Roy and Phil Salt bet 139 for the first wicket and ensured England’s win was little more than a formality – despite Morgan’s failure.

It wasn’t nearly as spectacular as their rise to 498-4 on Friday, but England were far too good for an overwhelmed opponent.

FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS – THE BEST OFFERS FOR NEW CUSTOMERS

England are now unbeatably leading 2-0 in the series.

The matches have attracted large and enthusiastic spectators and brought some exposure to cricket in mainland Europe. But as competitions, they were practically pointless.

Roy eventually cut to the point and was caught by his cousin Shane Snater, who bowled him on Friday.

Salt, who registered his first ODI century in the first game, again capitalized on the absence of Jonny Bairstow with 77 balls from 54 before being bowled.

After Morgan had a miss to cover, left-arm spinner Tim Pringle took his first one-day international wicket, a beauty spinning past Liam Livingstone’s defensive shot and rolling him.

England lost three wickets for nine runs, but Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali put them over the line on 29 balls.

Roy said: “To receive my 100th cap is a great honour, especially playing with this team. And it was nice to get a few runs.

“Phil Salt is great at batting, keeps it easy and hits the ball really hard. It’s always fun to bat with people like that.”

A wet outfield, caused by overnight rain, delayed the start and reduced the game to 41 overs-a-side.

The Dutch, perhaps fearing another brawl from England’s batsmen, opted to bat themselves first. But their innings never got off the ground.

Captain Shaun Edwards made his second straight half-century before being ran for 78 of 73 deliveries from David Willey’s direct hit from deep mid-wicket when the batsmen attempted a second.

There were two wickets each for Willey and Adil Rashid but England’s bowlers were not pressured.