England were playing against a European team for the first time in Twenty20 Internatonals. What should have been a routine victory for them, both on paper and after a major portion of the first innings, ended up being the start of a nightmarish run that continues even today.

England have now gone four games without registering a win over another European team in men’s T20Is, the last of which came was a DLS-induced five-run loss against Ireland in the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Fielding first after winning the toss, the Dutch were treated to a leather hunt by the English opening pair of Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright. The first wicket fell at 102 in the 12th over, and England looked set for a total close to 200 given the platform they had.

However, the Netherlands pulled things back smartly. Conceding just 62-5 in the last nine overs, they restricted the hosts to 162-5 from their 20 overs.

Yet, they did not get off to a good start with the bat themselves, losing two quick wickets. But England were neither able to keep a lid on the scoring, nor pick regular wickets after that.

The third and fourth wicket partnerships were both in excess of forty, and two of the last three partnerships were in excess of fifteen. Seven runs were required off the last over with Stuart Broad to bowl.

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He conceded five off the first five balls. With two to get off the last ball, Broad delivered one of the most iconic moments in T20 World Cup history.

To be fair, he bowled a near-perfect yorker that Edgar Schiferli dug out. The ball went straight back, and Broad dived to his right to stop it. The batters obviously ran, but Broad had all the time in the world to aim at the non-striker’s stumps.

Yet, he not only missed but also conceded an overthrow to allow the Dutch batters to come back for two, and their teammates to rush on to the ground to celebrate.

The Netherlands had just completed a major heist.

Watch: Netherlands shock England in the 2009 T20 World Cup opener