The Cricket World Cup comes home at last

England stun New Zealand to win the greatest final ever played

Cricket World Cup Final 2019 – Lord’s: New Zealand: 241 for 8, England 214 all out, match tied.

Super Over: England 15-0, New Zealand 15-1. England win on boundary count, 26-17

Wow….just wow. How on earth to quantify and find the reasoning behind this one. Has there ever been a cricket match with a more exciting, manic, gut-wrenching finish? Let the record books show that England are the new Cricket World Cup champions for 2019. To all England supporters, how good does that sound?

England ultimately defeated New Zealand by virtue of scoring more boundaries during the contest, 24 to 17. Incredibly, both sides were tied on 241 off their allotted 50 overs. Cue the Super Over. Not that most people had much idea about how that worked, including some of the England players, according to Mark Wood when interviewed afterwards.

Before musing further on the Super Over right now, (nicely named the Champagne Super Over by some of the national press), the end of England’s innings was as crazy – and controversial – as anything you’re likely to see, although little did we know that was merely the hors d’oeuvres with a Super Over still to be feasted upon.

New Zealand’s total of 241 for 8 perhaps didn’t look enough, but the warning signs were there for England with a pitch that was proving resistant to free-scoring. Henry Nicholls top scored with 55, Tom Latham hit 47, and skipper Kane Williamson contributed 30 – a total that some Kiwi followers may have been disappointed with, but as the game wore on, it was clear that this wasn’t going to be a run-fest by any means.

Opener Martin Guptill, a savage hitter of the ball when on song, once again looked bereft of confidence scoring just 19 runs. England bowled well, no question. Liam Plunkett, once again peerless in the middle overs, took 3 for 42, and the Wizard, aka Chris Woakes, took 3 for 37 – including Williamson. Jofra Archer also impressed, and whilst only taking one wicket, he looked full of pace and confidence. All of England’s bowlers with the exception of Ben Stokes finished with an economy rate below 5.00.

Once England’s innings had got under way, it was clear that we were in for a close contest. The slow, sticky track was hampering England’s batsmen just as it had New Zealand’s. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow found it hard to get going and went cheaply, for 17 and 36 respectively. Runs were being ground out. Neither Joe Root or Eoin Morgan could manage double figures…it wasn’t going well.

Thankfully though, in came Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, and things started to change. They upped the pace and a partnership was forming – it started to look a lot better for England. But after hitting a priceless 59 in just 60 balls, Buttler fell to Lockie Ferguson who had him caught by substitute fielder Tim Southee. Stokes pressed on, keeping England’s hopes alive.

In the penultimate over, we had a classic moment for the “you couldn’t make it up” reel, when Trent Boult appeared to catch Stokes on the boundary, only to step onto the boundary rope at the crucial moment. From Stokes out, to Stokes in, and a priceless 6 runs on the board too – tiny margins indeed. At that point, England needed 22 runs off 9 balls – had Boult not got his feet slightly wrong, England were surely done for.

As the overs passed, England were trying hard to keep themselves in the game, but were they always just fractionally too far behind? The tension was becoming unbearable.

As we arrived at the final over, England still needed fifteen to win. Stokes declined a couple of singles in order to stay on strike. Fifteen still needed off four balls. The third ball was hit savagely into the Mount Stand for 6 by Stokes, a huge bonus at this point. Ball four gave everybody much to debate and will do for some time. Stokes hit the ball to mid-wicket, and ran hard for a second run. As the fielder’s throw came in, Stokes dived to make his ground, and the ball hit his bat – deflecting towards the boundary at pace, yielding four overthrows, plus the two runs Stokes had scored, six to England in all.

It was completely accidental, Stokes raising his arms in immediate apology. What a bitter pill for New Zealand to swallow. Questions have since been raised as to whether Stokes and Adil Rashid had actually crossed when the throw was released – should the six runs have been five? From TV coverage it was certainly hard to tell conclusively. This was crazy stuff. Whatever next?

Well, what came next was Stokes crashing Boult away next ball but almost falling over in the process, such was his obvious fatigue. How his head was coping with this mayhem let alone his knackered body was anyone’s guess – but it was hugely impressive. He and Rashid scampered one, then despite Rashid trying his hardest to summon his inner Usain Bolt, he was run out with ease – just a single scored.

Mark Wood was the last batsman in. Final ball. Two to win the World Cup. No pressure, Ben. He manages a clip to mid-off, but getting two runs already looks a challenge. As the throw comes in, Wood, like Rashid before him, cannot quite get the turbo up to the max and is run out, despite his frantic dive. It’s just a single…and the scores finish level on 241. Would you believe it?

Stokes’s unbeaten knock of 84 was quite brilliant in the circumstances and absolutely priceless. Without him, England would not even have got close. Eight-plus hours, 100 overs, 600 balls…but still these two sides couldn’t be separated. Rock, paper, scissors?

Enter the Super Over. These things are as rare as tax rebates and a Christian Benteke goal, but this was how the Cricket World Cup would be decided. Hang on to your hats, folks…

England bat first, selecting Stokes and Buttler to front up. Trent Boult – obvs – is bowling for New Zealand. Stokes, whose engine by now must have been running on whatever is left after the fumes have expired, hits three, a good start. Boult bowls full to Buttler and he can only get a single. Stokes somehow gets Boult away for four next ball, cheered madly by the crowd. Boult then offers Stokes a full toss but only concedes a single. From the penultimate ball, Buttler scrambles two, as fielder Henry Nicholls momentarily loses the ball in the glaring sun as they chase the second. Last ball. It’s a crucial four from Buttler, as he crashes a full toss through midwicket. Fifteen runs scored – is it enough?

New Zealand’s turn, and it’s Jofra Archer who is chosen to bowl at them – what a show of confidence in the young man. Jimmy Neesham and Martin Guptill are the chosen batters. But Archer’s first ball doesn’t go well – he’s pinged for a wide. Another marginal call for sure. Second ball, Neesham gets two. Third ball, and it’s looking ominous for England, it’s in the slot and Neesham takes full advantage over the short midwicket boundary – six runs. Neesham hits the next two balls for two, aided by a Jason Roy fumbled misfield on the first, and New Zealand are already up to thirteen runs. But the next ball yields only a single as Neesham edges the ball into his own body. Drama, drama, drama…

So, Martin Guptill, imperious hitter that he is but woefully out of nick, faces the final ball. Two to win. If the scores end level, England would nick it, courtesy of their superior boundary count during the 50 overs and the Super Over, which was 26 to 17 in England’s favour at this point. Archer therefore did not have a lot of room for error, as he bowled the most important ball of his young life so far. His final ball has plenty of pace as usual, drifting down leg. Guptill makes controlled contact to midwicket but there’s not a huge amount of power in it. Jason Roy makes immediate amends for his earlier fumble with a terrific throw to Buttler, and as Guptill strains every sinew to make the second run, he’s guillotined in a flurry of broken stumps and Zing bail lights as he’s run out by a couple of yards.

Bedlam hardly describes the scenes at this point. Buttler runs, shouts and screams, with most of his team mates trying to catch up with him. The sound of the crowd is amazing as nobody can probably quite believe what they’ve just witnessed. Guptill and Neesham look like broken men, understandably. What a crazy, nerve-shredding, once-in-a-lifetime end to a World Cup Final – it was glorious madness if you support England, but the hardest kick in the teeth of your life if you follow New Zealand. And this is why love sport so much – the difference between the two can be so minuscule, but it counts for so much.

It has to be said that over the whole match, not much went New Zealand’s way. On the very first ball of England’s innings, their batting talisman Jason Roy survived a massive shout for lbw following a Boult inswinger, Boult stepping on the  boundary rope when catching Stokes, and worst of all for them, the overthrows off Stokes’s bat in the first place, then the question of whether they were in fact penalised by one run too many for it. Typical of this classy bunch of players, led by their ever-impressive skipper Williamson, they seemed to take it all on the chin and were ultra-magnanimous in defeat, especially in the circumstances. Mind you, it would be interesting to know if any of the dressing room furniture bore the brunt of their feelings, once Guptill and Neesham were back inside.

There is one other point on the rules that also went against the Kiwi’s. Some have questioned why the winner wasn’t decided on the basis of wickets taken in the 50 overs, rather than boundaries scored – in which case of course, New Zealand would now be World Champions – 241 for 8 versus 241 all out. Even England’s staunchest supporters may have some sympathy for New Zealand on this point.

But the rules were in place before the competition started, so everybody knew how the winners would be decided. It was just a day when Lady Luck gave New Zealand pretty much nothing, but showered England with benign benevolence. That should not, however, detract from the fact that England came out on top in a frenzied finale where they held their nerve, pulled off the immensely difficult T-CUP philosophy (thinking correctly under pressure) – and somehow got themselves over the line in the closest of close contests.

Brilliant for English cricket, brilliant entertainment for us all. Let’s hope it inspires youngsters to get more into cricket as result. It’s frustrating, however, that just as we finally win a 50-over World Cup, the ECB are about to marginalise this format in favour of its new brainchild, The Hundred. That discussion is probably best left for another day (although Martin Samuel’s brilliant column on this topic in yesterdays Daily Mail is certainly recommended reading) – lets enjoy this achievement long and loud.

All credit to the way England have turned themselves around in recent years, becoming so impressive in this format of the game. Probably too many individuals to name who have contributed and influenced massively, although Eoin Morgan’s leadership, one has to say, has been nigh-on faultless. The explosive batting talent of Roy, Bairstow and Buttler – who has somehow managed to include hockey and tennis strokes into his armoury with telling effect – the anchor-point that is Joe Root, and of course the all-round ability of Ben Stokes, who was truly magnificent in this final for England.

Finally, huge credit goes to the laid-back leader of this revolution, the Aussie import we have grown to appreciate so much for his contribution and influence. Trevor Bayliss has been a terrific Head Coach for England, gaining the utmost respect from his players, and together, they’ve now delivered the ultimate prize. After this achievement, I doubt there will be any sports fans left in England who will confuse him with the bloke who invented the wind-up radio.

By Chris Tribe

17th July 2019

Copyright © 2019 Chris Tribe. All Rights Reserved.

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