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England narrowly avoided embarrassment against the unfancied Netherlands in their opening World Cup game in Nagpur with a six-wicket win.

A bowling and fielding performance which descended into farce coupled with a superb century from Ryan ten Doeschate left England chasing a difficult target of 293 runs to secure victory.

Opening pair Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen put on a century partnership as they set about the total, and though wickets fell at inopportune times, England eked out a victory in the penultimate over.

The batsmen were given a task far bigger than they would have expected on a lifeless pitch after the Dutch had won the toss and elected to bowl.

A confident opening from Dutch duo Alexei Kervezee and Wesley Barresi got the Dutch off to a bright start, with Barresi crashing six boundaries in a 25-ball 29.

When the duo fell - Kervezee to a looped catch to wicketkeeper Matt Prior and Barresi to a sharp stumping as England introduced the spin of Graeme Swann - Tom Cooper and Ten Doeschate set about forming an excellent partnership.

Cooper anchored as England took pace off the ball, with none of their pacemen proving particularly effective.

Ten Doeschate, meanwhile, settled into excellent rhythm, bringing up his half-century after a getting a life when an extraordinary mix-up between Pietersen and James Anderson saw neither fielder try to catch an eminently reachable shot off Swann's bowling.

Cooper fell just short of his fifty, but Ten Doeschate persevered and plundered runs as the quicks bowled too short.

Inventive cameos from Tom de Grooth and Peter Borren gave the Netherlands innings renewed momentum as Ten Doeschate blazed his way to an impressive ton.

England's fielding meanwhile, fell apart, with the worst display for some months including simple chances dropped by the likes of Swann, and a farcical no-ball denying Stuart Broad the wicket of Borren as it transpired that England did not have three fielders in the infield, as the laws of the game required.

A total of 292 for the loss of six wickets was by some way the Netherlands' best display against an established cricketing nation at the 50-over World Cup, and made for a tricky chase.

Pietersen and Strauss made a bright reply, but Pietersen, who was tackling the role of opener in one-day internationals for the first time, found himself bogged down all of a sudden against the medium-pace attack and eventually pushed a simple catch to Borren off the bowling of left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar.

Jonathan Trott batted patiently with Strauss, and again with Ian Bell as the captain fell to a pull for an 83-ball 88.

But Trott and then Bell succumbed in the last 10 overs to Ten Doeschate - who backed up his innings with two wickets for 47 runs with the ball - to set up a tense finale.

Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara started slowly, but their class told as the game entered its final stages, and Bopara punished Bernard Loots in the penultimate over with 16 runs from four balls to take England to victory.

There was relief all-round to have avoided another upset at the hands of the side who defeated them at Lord's in the 2009 World Twenty20 at Lord's, but plenty to address after a performance which leaves them ill-prepared for facing tournament favourites India on Sunday.