Netherlands 278 for 6 (De Leede 123, Vikramjit 40, Zulfiqar 33*, Leask 2-42, Watt) beat Scotland 277 for 9 (McMullen 106, Berrington 64, Mackintosh 38*, De Leede 5-52, Klein 2-59) by four wickets

Bas de Leede claimed his maiden five-wicket haul and followed up with an imperious 92-ball 123 to help the Netherlands book the final berth for the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup in India by beating Scotland by four wickets in Bulawayo.

Needing to chase down a target of 278 in 44 overs to overhaul Scotland on net run rate, de Leede recorded his maiden century, and was ably supported by Saqib Zulfiqar in a stand of 113, to seal qualification and spark jubilant scenes in the Dutch dressing roomwith seven balls to spare.

The 10-team event in October will be the Netherlands’ fifth appearance at the 50-over World Cup and first since 2011. The Dutch will take on the likes of India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Australia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and England across seven cities.

Their qualification, ahead of Test-playing nations Zimbabwe, West Indies and Ireland, completed a remarkable turnaround after finishing at the bottom of the World Cup Super League, where they managed just three wins out of 24 matches.

In a must-win game for both teams, Netherlands chose to bowl first and the decision was vindicated with three early wickets including that of the Scottish vice-captain Matthew Cross, bowled by Ryan Klein, off the fourth delivery of the match.

But Brandon McMullen and captain Richie Berrington revived the innings with a 137-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The tournament’s second-highest run-scorer, McMullen struck eleven fours and three sixes to bring up his second ODI century,having scored one against Oman two weeks earlier, as Berrington raised his 18th half- century in a knock of 64.

Tough target

Just when the Scots were shaping up for a total in excess of 300, Klein accounted for McMullen (106 off 110) and Michael Leask before de Leede removed Berrington, Chris Greaves and Mark Watt to complete his five-wicket haul.

The Dutch bowlers conceded only 74 runs in the last 12 overs as Scotland slid from 201-3 to finish on 277-9, their highest ODI total against them.

In response, Max O’Dowd and Vikramjit Singh laid the platform for the chase with a 65-run opening stand but fell 13 balls apart to Leask’s off-spin.

McMullen and Greaves deepened the woes by removing Wesley Barresi and Teja Nidamanuru cheaply and later Scott Edwards missed a sweep as the Dutch were reduced to 163-5 needing 115 off 79 deliveries.

“It was 10 or 11 [runs] an over at the death, so for us it was almost like going into T20 mode,” De Leede reflected after the match. “We had to try and get as many runs as we could every over and see where we ended up.”

As the equation came down to 45 off four overs, De Leede hammered four sixes off Watt and McMullen with Zulfiqar, too, hitting three fours and a six in his 33-run cameo.

“One big party”

“We had a look at the target where we wanted to be at the halfway point and I think from there comes the point where you stop talking about it, and actually do it,” De Leede said.

“Max [O’Dowd] and Vikram [Singh] set up the platform for the rest of us to come in and finish it off.

“It is amazing. I can’t describe the feeling. It is going to be one big party tonight, I can tell you that.”

De Leede, whose father Tim featured in three World Cups, joined an elite list of all-rounders, including Viv Richards and Paul Collingwood, to have picked five wickets and scored a century in the same ODI.

The Netherlands will now contest the World Cup Qualifier trophy against Sri Lanka on Sunday, July 9.