Brad Hodge scored his first ODI hundred on Sunday to steer Australia to 358 for five against the Netherlands in their Group A match.Hodge reached 123 in a timely 89-ball innings, blasting 7 sixes and 8 boundaries and shared in a 204-run stand with Michael Clarke, after Australia had lost two wickets for no runs to be 116-3. Clarke hit 93 not out off 85 balls.Adam Gilchrist (57) and Matthew Hayden (29) put on a 73-run opening stand inside 12 overs, before Hayden top-edged a catch. Gilchrist kept the momentum going with Ponting (23), but both batsmen fell in successive overs.Hodge looked scratchy early and was fortunate to survive a lbw shout from De Leede, but soon reached his fifty. That was his cue to smash two sixes in consecutive balls to take 21 off Raja’s eighth over. He was dropped by Van Bunge on 71 at long-on. Next over, Hodge cracked two more sixes off Reeker, the second of which was caught by Zuiderent as he fell over the rope. Hodge was bowled by Borren in the 48th over.
