Champions Trophy

While the 2019 champions have endured a miserable World Cup, sitting rock bottom in 10th place after seven games, the only associate nation at the competition have exceeded expectations with victory over Bangladesh and a famous upset of South Africa.

They meet in Pune on Wednesday with qualification for the next global 50-over tournament potentially on the line – something England would have taken for granted just weeks ago before their campaign crumbled.

Breaking into the Champions Trophy would be a striking achievement for the Dutch and one De Leede, who plays for Durham, believes is within their grasp if England succumb to the tension of their situation.

“As a title-defending team there is a huge pressure on you straight away, especially when you don’t get a great start, and I’m sure there is added pressure for them now on this game,” he told the PA news agency.

“For us it’s a privilege to be playing for a spot in the Champions Trophy, for them it’s an expectation to finish at least in the top eight.

“It’s a massive opportunity, 100 per cent. It’s in the back of our heads that if we do manage to win this game it would help enormously to qualify and that would be huge for Dutch cricket.

“Of course England are a dangerous side, they have such quality in the batting and bowling departments, but two wins in this campaign is pretty good for us and we feel as a group there is more out there for us.

“The proof is there in the South Africa game. To see what we have been practising come off against a team like that was great to see and gave us a lot of confidence as a team.”

De Leede, who has taken more wickets than any English bowler with 11 so far, is also embracing the chance to strike a blow against a system that frequently cuts out those who do not have full member status as ICC level.

The abandonment of the World Cup Super League format means the Netherlands no longer have mandatory games against the biggest names and will instead slip back into a structure that pits them against the likes of Namibia, Nepal, Scotland and Canada.

“Getting games against the bigger nations is very hard for us. It’s hard to get teams to play us so we’ve got to force them to, that’s the only way,” he said.

“If we did qualify for the Champions Trophy it would secure another seven games against the best teams. That how we keep progressing as a national team and it’s in our hands.

“We kind of felt like we were gate-crashing here so to come through would be massive.”

Major changes are expected at the end of the desperately-disappointing campaign for the reigning champions, with a host of big-name veterans likely to depart the ODI scene, but there is still one more job to do.

Victory over the Netherlands in Pune ended a five-game losing streak and put England back in the frame for the top-eight finish they need to book a spot at the format’s next global event in 2025.

Semi-final hopefuls Pakistan await in Kolkata on Saturday and former captain Vaughan believes England’s men in possession must do everything they can to pave the way for those who will take the team forward.

“This team needs to be reset. Younger players need to come into it and there’s many of old guys, the 2019 World Cup winners that will probably get moved on,” he told BBC Sport’s Test Match Special.

“It’s their duty as a set of players in this World Cup, they’ve got to give the next generation a Champions Trophy in 2025.

“That four-year cycle is so important. When you’re resetting and developing a team, you need that tournament mentality to test your skills, test players within it, test the different roles.

“It’s so important this team wins on Saturday, gets to six points and gets into the Champions Trophy. It’s pivotal.”

The renewal of the side will begin in haste, with a white-ball tour of the West Indies in December and a fresh roster of faces set to get the call.

Vaughan picked out a handful of names he expects to be in that group and wants England to keep them together for an extended period with a view to the next World Cup in 2027.

“We’re not going to see a complete overhaul but many players are going to come in, Ben Duckett, Rehan Ahmed, Jamie Smith, Will Jacks, Phil Salt….they deserve the chance that the team had in 2015.

“There was a four-year cycle where they stuck with a load of aggressive players and they played together for pretty much 80-odd games. They arrived in 2019 with fully defined roles and that’s what the next set needs.”