Twenty20 World Cup / Ryan ten doeschate / 06 June 2009 /

One of Holland's heroes from their famous victory against England, Ryan ten Doeschate, tells us what exactly was going through his mind throughout that final over and what this means for Dutch cricket.

Our incredible win last night against England not only kicked off the T20 World Cup in fine style but could also prove to be crucial for the development of Dutch cricket.

Lots of people said to me afterwards that 'it really seemed like you guys belong there'. And, to me, it did not look like big shots against minnows.

We were up for the challenge and, after our last-ball victory, we certainly we feel can mix it with the big guys now.

Team spirit was fundamental to our success. At the end of England's innings, all our players ran up to the bowlers and said "great job" rather than "oh no it is 162".

They had gone quite slowly in the final 10 overs and, in the dressing room at the break, it was a case of "look boys, no messing around we can take these guys down".

Yes, we were a little surprised they did not go at it a little harder towards the end. They just seemed content to knock around the singles. But we must take some credit for bowling well too.

Going into the tournament, I thought one thing that the top international countries would not be used to was a bowling attack where all four seamers bowled at the relatively slow speed of about 120km per hour. Normally there are one or two up at 135-140 km per hour. When you do take the pace off the ball at a fairly big ground it is hard to hit sixes.

Ahead of the game it had been tough for the Dutch management to choose the team and, ahead of our reply, they also had difficult calls on the batting order. But credit to them for making bold decisions.

Tom de Grooth got 49 and took the game to England while Peter Borren, who hit 30, was up there because he's a good player of spin.

My job in the Dutch team is to 'manage' the innings home, talk the guys through and knock the ball around. I came in towards the end when we needed seven-per-over and
I thought a couple of boundaries would get us over the line. It was certainly not our plan to get the seven we needed off the last over in singles. But Stuart Broad has developed a tactic of bowling round the wicket into the tramlines making it hard to get away.

The third ball was a full toss that I could not quite get under and I was annoyed that I missed out. Meanwhile Ed Schiferli, my batting partner, was struggling a bit. He could not get his shots away but it was a case of run at all costs. And when it came down to the last ball and two runs were required, I was running whatever!

Ed actually hit it to the worst possible place - back to the bowler. Broad had full right to try to throw down the stumps and people may forget that he was on the ground which always makes it harder to do. Yes he could have kept hold of the ball and gone for the Super Over but in those circumstances you are not thinking like that. However, I could not believe that the mid-off fielder had not made up ground. When I turned I realised I could scamper home a winning overthrow and we'd pulled off an incredible victory in the most bizarre of circumstances.

After that, the jubilation set in. We had a couple of crazy hours. We gave it the big victory salute to the supporters who had travelled a long way to follow us. It was like we had won the T20 World Cup. There was champagne in the dressing room and when I switched on my phone I had received over 100 text messages of congratulations from anyone and everyone who I have crossed paths with in cricket.

We were in the dressing room until about 11pm and then the bus took us back to the hotel. It seemed that the majority of our supporters were in the bar. It was heaving in there. We enjoyed the moment and when I put my head on my pillow I was as tired as I have ever been.

But after a night like that, you can never really settle. The game plays through your head again and again and again. I woke up at 5am to get a sip of water and I just could not get to sleep after that. So we'll have some tired bodies today.

Saturday is a day off. That was always planned whatever the result last night. I am going to spend it cruising around London and I might take in some sights like the Tower of London. Then tonight the Dutch side get together for a meal with the wives and girlfriends. One of the dinner-table topics is sure to be our chances of making the Super Eights.

After last night's heroics, that is certainly in our sights.

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