July 14, 2019.The overnight rain at the home of cricket couldn’t dampen the spirits of millions tuning in to this super Sunday of sport. Alongside the Wimbledon final and the British GP at Silverstone , cricket was competing on terrestrial TV since the Ashes in 2005.England and New Zealand had different paths toward the world cup finale but they were competing for Cricket’s top prize.
New Zealand had shocked a billion people in a rain interrupted 2 day semifinal at Manchester.After a slowish start, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor were the pillars behind their 239. Kane with a calculated 67 and Taylor a measured 74. At the first day’s close , they were being scrutinised for their scoring rate, but what eventually transpired laid truth to the fact it wasn’t an easy pitch at all.
Matt Henry took the Indian top order apart and 5/3, were reeling. M S Dhoni and Ravendra Jadeja put an almost match winning stand of 116 until Jadeja had one top edged to the kiwi skipper. Dhoni’s run out ended Indian hopes in this cup. They had finished top of the group table in standings. Rohit Sharma top scored in the cup with 648 runs.Kiwis now were Lord’s bound.
England ,the pre tournament favourites, had their cup fortunes dwindling once they had lost back to back to Sri Lanka at Headingley and Aussies at Lord’s. Now they had a chance at payback against the old enemy playing at their fortress Edgbaston. Aussies had never lost a semi till then but hadn’t won in Birmingham since 2001. Something had to give. England had a great start with Aussies losing their skipper, Aaron Finch early.Steven Smith ‘s 85 and Alex Carey ,who is one of the finds of the tourney,with a 46 put some resistance to the Aussie total of 225 .Chris Woakes was the leading bowler with 3 wickets.
It never looked enough. England’s rejuvenation in the cup was mirrored with Jason Roy’s comeback. At Edgbaston, he killed off the contest with his 85. England blistered through the target with Morgan and root hitting the winning runs.An 8 wicket crushing to sail through the final.Lord’s awaited the hosts after 40 years in one day world cup final.
Lord’s was an equally challenging pitch and tested Kiwi batting again.Henry Nicholls with a 55 and Tom Latham with a 47 led the way as Kiwis posted a 241. Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes snared three each.242 on the conditions given looked a good total even with the glorious sunshine in the second half.At 86/4, New Zealand were in the ascendency. Ben Stokes and Jos Butler restored the hosts’ hopes with a 110 run stand.Stokes would run out of partners in a thrilling final few overs in an unbeaten 84, as England were all out on the final ball at 241.The match was tied and headed to a Super Over. A first for a final.Amongst the pandemonium,the final over saw a high drama with 4 overthrow runs given following a ricochet from Ben’s bat on the throw for the deep.One could have never predicted that.
The Super Over was equally befitting of a thriller. England started first with Stokes and Butler putting a 15.Martin Guptill who had a poor world cup and Jimmy Neesham took to the task.Whilst Guptill was run out on the final throw from Jason Roy with scores again tied at 15, the rules had England declared winners on the number of boundaries hit during the game.What a law.The Trophy had the hosts name for the third cup running. Stokes was undoubtedly the man of the match and seals redemption for that night in Mumbai in 2016.Finally it comes home.A big salute to the Kiwis who fought valiantly.Kane Williamson took the man of the series, deservedly.
So what will this World Cup be remembered for, other than the dramatic world cup finale ? Could it be Rohit’s five centuries ? Would it be Mitchell Starc’s 27 victims ? Would it be the all round display of Shakib ul Hassan with 606 runs and 11 wickets ? Would it be the issues regarding run rate and boundaries deciding standings in group as well as the final ?
It will be for all of the above and much more. The 50 over game was livened up the ICC with some really good pitches set up and allowed the challenge between the bat and ball to thrive.No 400 run belters or dust bowls were allowed.There was some great colour displayed by a lot of fans who travelled from around the world to paint the passion for their respective teams. Whilst there was a huge viewing for the final, the fact Sky allowed Channel 4’s coverage was great boost for the public support of the game in UK.
Could it have been better? Yes. Umpiring standards definitely need to improve particularly some of Kumara Dharmasena’s decisions in the semi and final.Secondly there needs to be a better resolution of the rain issues that troubled the earlier games.The Super Over rules need also be tightened up for a match that is worthy of final verdict like a second super over.Double Over times are common in Hockey and Basketball so why not cricket ? The 15 man roster for a seven week tournament also looks thin as an extensive run requires more bench strength.
Overall, this World Cup was well hosted and attended in good numbers and had some great thrillers in some fantastic venues. Whether the 50 over game continues or not in the future, the World Cup definitely has a place to stay as it has enriched the sport once again.
Sportsfan Says 
Great analysis 👍👍
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