England played too safe - Nannes

The Netherlands players celebrate victory over England

Netherlands fast bowler Dirk Nannes believes England's batsmen were more concerned with staying at the crease than scoring runs against the Dutch.

England were humbled at Lord's in the opening game of the ICC World Twenty20, losing by four wickets.

The 33-year-old left-armer told BBC London 94.9: "I think it showed in the last 10 overs of their innings.

"It was like they didn't want to play a big shot and get out against the Dutch and I think that probably cost them."

Nannes, who failed to take any of the five England wickets that fell on the way to making 162, added: "Had England had 10, 15 runs more on the board then the game was pretty much done and dusted, I would've thought.

"It's a bit of a strange result to score 160-odd without a six. It doesn't really happen in Twenty20 cricket."

Nannes believes the Netherlands made the most of the luck that came their way but said their determination to win eventually saw them through to a momentous victory.

"We were very fortunate. All our nicks went to ground, all the tough catches were dropped, they didn't hit the stumps when they had run out chances and obvious cards fell in our favour," he added.

"But hats off to our guys. They just kept going and going and got us over the line."

Australia-born Nannes, who has previously played county cricket for Middlesex, qualifies for the Netherlands courtesy of his parents, who were born in the country before settling Down Under.

But he knows enough about his adopted country to be sceptical about the galvanising effect the win over England will have in the Netherlands.

He said: "I certainly hope this will have a positive effect on the game there but I'm not going to make outlandish calls and say that cricket is going to be a massive sport in Holland.

"At the moment it's the 25th most popular sport in the country and there's only 5,000 people who play it over there. Hopefully the numbers will swell up but, lets be realistic, we're not going to become a powerhouse overnight."

While the Dutch public may not be dancing in the streets after this particular victory over the English, the players themselves have been celebrating a great achievement and a job well done. For Nannes, it is a memory he will cherish above all others.

He added: "Everyone loves an underdog and we were the classic underdogs in this game. We've done something you would never even dream of and that's definitely the highlight of my sporting career."