NAGPUR, India (CMC):

Andrew Strauss scored 88 from 83 balls, and Jonathan Trott made 62 from 65 balls to upstage a hundred from Ryan ten Doeschate, as England limped to a six-wicket victory over the Netherlands in the World Cup yesterday.

Strauss and Trott added 61 for the second wicket, as England completed the third-highest successful run chase in a World Cup of 293 with eight balls remaining in the Group-B match at the VCA Stadium.

Kevin Pietersen supported with 39, Ian Bell gathered 33, while Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara were both not out on 30, as the English made a less than stellar entry into the competition.

"We've got to take it on the chin, learn from it very quickly because we can't afford to do this too often," the England captain, Strauss, said.

"We were very disappointed with ourselves in the field and thankfully the batters got us out of jail.

successful Dutch bowler

"We knew if we kept wickets in hand, we'd have a good chance of chasing it down. It was a little bit nervy there at the end, maybe a little more nervy than we would have liked."

Allrounder ten Doeschate, who plays for Essex in the English County Championship, was the most successful Dutch bowler with two for 47 from 10 overs to follow his 119 from 110 balls that lifted the Netherlands to a challenging 292 for six from their 50 overs.

England then got a solid, if not spectacular start from their new one-day International opening pair of Strauss and Pietersen. They added 105.

Pietersen was caught at cover in the 18th over off left-arm spinner Pieter Seelar, leaving Strauss to consolidate with Trott before he was caught inside the square leg boundary in the 30th over.

Trott then found Warwickshire teammate Ian Bell a stable ally, and added 58 for the third wicket before being stumped off ten Doeschate in the 41st over.

Two overs later, ten Doeschate bowled Bell but Collingwood and Bopara ushered England to their target with an unfinished fifth-wicket stand of 55.

Earlier, the Netherlands struggled through the opening stages, and were 58 for two in the 12th over, when ten Doeschate arrived.

The all-rounder stroked nine fours and three sixes to put the England bowling in perspective, and lead the Dutch to their highest total in a World Cup match.

Tom Cooper got 47, Peter Borren was not out on 35, Wesley Barresi added 29, and Tom de Grooth contributed 28 to the Dutch effort, which feature three half-century stands revolving around ten Doeschate.