PUNE, India (AP) — England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat first against Netherlands on Wednesday as his 2019 champions tried to salvage something from its failed title defense at the Cricket World Cup.
England is out of semifinal contention and started the game in last place with only one win in seven games, including a 33-run loss to Australia last weekend.
Qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy is at stake for England, though, and it must win its remaining two games in a bid to finish in the top eight. England's last game is against Pakistan on Nov. 11.
England made two changes to its starting lineup with batter Harry Brook and pace bowler Gus Atkinson recalled at the expense of Liam Livingstone and Mark Wood.
Netherlands lost to Afghanistan last Friday by seven wickets to slip to ninth place with a 2-5 record. Those wins included an historic upset over South Africa.
Netherlands made one change to its starting lineup with batter Teja Nidamanuru coming in for bowling all-rounder Saqib Zulfiqar.
While mathematically still in contention, the Dutch need to beat England and India and rely on other results going in their favor to have any chance of reaching the semifinals. India, South Africa and Australia have already qualified.
The pitch at the MCA Stadium is batter-friendly and dewy conditions under lights have aided chasing teams at this ground. The teams batting second have won here in the last three games. There was also a chance of afternoon rain.
Lineups:
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid
Netherlands: Wesley Barresi, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (captain), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
