AMSTELVEEN, Netherlands (AFP) — England hit a world record one-day international score of 498-4 to crush the Netherlands by 232 runs in Amstelveen on Friday, with three men scoring centuries.

Eoin Morgan’s side beat their own mark of 481-6 set against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2018, in the first match of the three-game series.

Jos Buttler, who finished on 162 not out, plundered his ton off just 47 balls — missing his own record for the fastest England century by just one ball — while Phil Salt and Dawid Malan also made three figures.

“This is a really exciting time for us,” man of the match Buttler said after the match, played under blue skies at the VRA Cricket Ground just outside Amsterdam.

“I have certainly tried to back my six-hitting more than I have done in previous years. I am going to try and hit a lot more sixes…and that was really the plan today,” said Buttler, who sent officials scurrying for the ball all across the scenic cricket ground with his seven sixes.

Liam Livingstone, batting at number six, made the fastest half-century in England’s ODI history off just 17 balls — the joint second-fastest of all-time.

In reply, the Dutch were all out for 266 with Scott Edwards top scoring with an unbeaten 72.

Dutch skipper Pieter Seelaar afterwards rued a number of dropped catches in the field, saying “you can’t drop the best batsmen in the world.”

“I’m not saying it would have been a completely different game, but you probably won’t be looking at 498,” he said.