Skipper Andrew Strauss scored a fine 88 as England survived a major scare to beat the Netherlands by six wickets with eight balls to spare in their opening World Cup Group B match here on Tuesday.

England had to sweat it out for the win, but Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara scored an unbeaten 30 runs each to take the team home safely, chasing down a tough target of 293 runs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Jamtha.