On This Day In 2019: England Beat New Zealand In A Dramatic Thriller To Lift Their Maiden World Cup

Perhaps no other World Cup final let alone any ICC final did not witness the drama that the tournament in 2019 had. It went two steps ahead of the tension and theatrics of the semi-final clash at Edgbaston in 1999 between Australia and South Africa. Only if the likes of Bill Lawry and Mark Nicholas were present at the commentary box, it would have added to the glory. Apparently, Ian Smith’s final words reverberate as equally as England and New Zealand battled hammer and tongs to lift their first World Cup.

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England and New Zealand both entered with slightly contrasting prospects to their chances of lifting the World Cup. For the first time, England walked into the World Cup as firm favourites – playing in home conditions and bulldozing all the teams following their remarkable turnaround from the 2015 edition of fortunes in the format built that reputation.

Yet the hosts’ campaign was far from smooth; at one stage staying on the brink of getting eliminated. On the other hand, New Zealand remained inconsistent leading up to the competition but peaked at the correct time as most often do. It was evident when they stunned India in the semi-final in a low-scoring match.

At Lord’s, the encounter was between England’s dynamism and New Zealand’s self-belief. It was also between Eoin Morgan and Kane Williamson, two of the bravest and calmest captains apart from being shrewd tacticians. New Zealand won the toss in their second consecutive 50-over World Cup final after rain delayed it by 15 minutes and batted. Chris Woakes seemed to have chalked out a breakthrough in the third over by bringing the ball in sharply against Nicholls only for it to have it challenged and overturned.

Liam Plunkett’s magic arm cripples New Zealand in the World Cup final:

Martin Guptill freed his arms a couple of times against Jofra Archer in the next over, but four overs later Woakes got his scalp with the same delivery that he bowled to Nicholls. At number three, Kane Williamson added 74 with Nicholls; however, middle-overs specialist Liam Plunkett had him edge one to Buttler behind the stumps. Morgan challenged Kumar Dharmasena’s decision to good effect as the captain got a healthy edge off his bat.

Nicholls, who raised his bat for a gruelling and focussed 50 in the 26th over, became the second victim of Plunkett in the 27th, four overs after Williamson departed. Plunkett’s cross-seam deliveries gave England a mighty edge in the grandest stage while pushing the Kiwis drastically on the backfoot. Adil Rashid and Plunkett kept operating from both ends to deny Ross Taylor and James Neesham any leeway.

England’s third pacer Mark Wood was yet to strike and he did to give the hosts a massive tilt. Wood fired a length ball angling from wide of the crease to trap Taylor on the front leg. While ball-tracking unequivocally missed the stumps, Guptill had burned the available one review as Taylor departed for 15. Tom Latham and Neesham counterattacked with a stand of 32 off 29 deliveries before Morgan’s most reliable bowler returned to remove Neesham. The dangerous-looking Neesham was to loft it over mid-off instead got its toe end to give Joe Root catching practice in the circle for 19 in the 39th over.

Colin de Grandhomme and Latham scraped through to a partnership of 46 off 48 balls during which the target for England looked to have hovering nearly 250. The final three pairs could add only add 21 runs as the Kiwis got through to a fighting total of 241 as Nicholls top-scored with 55. New Zealand gave the responsibility to England an encore of how comfortably Sri Lanka chased 242 in the 1996 World Cup final, thanks to Arvinda de Silva’s masterclass. And like De Silva batted at number four that game to give his nation the first World, Morgan had to play that role. The stage was set.

England top-order succumbs to the pressure before Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler come to the rescue:

Matt Henry and Trent Boult found significant movement off the pitch like Mitchell Starc and Jason Behrendorff did against England at Lord’s. Jason Roy, who bludgeoned 85 in the semi-final, nicked to Latham behind the stumps for 17. It was delivery that marginally moved after pitching on the off-stump. England’s highest run-getter in the tournament, Root chased a wide delivery off de Grandhomme and gave another catch to Latham for 7.

Jonny Bairstow played some powerful and gorgeous drives before Lockie Ferguson’s pace urged him to inside-edge one to the stumps. James Neesham struck with his first ball, removing Morgan for single-digits as Ferguson grabbed a stunner while running in from deep point. So far, England’s highest score amongst the top four was 36 while two batsmen perished without reaching double figures.

At 86-4, it looked like a repetition of the 1979 and 1992 edition. Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler restored stability, playing the role of Neil Fairbrother and Allan Lamb from Melbourne. Stokes and Buttler looked fairly comfortable in the middle, using the crease to good effect while attempting innovative shots too to break the shackles. Ferguson often became the go-to man for Williamson and he again did, accounting for Buttler for 59. The partnership that began in the 24th over ended 20 overs later, combining for 110 runs.

New Zealand rumble back into the game, chipping away:

While Stokes stayed in the middle, New Zealand thundered back into contention as all of England’s bowling all-rounders kept perishing cheaply. From a comfortable 76 from 61 with six wickets remaining at one stage, the equation came down to 15 off six with two batsmen left in the hut. Trent Boult, who had not yet picked a wicket, found himself bowling to Stokes as Lord’s kept his hopes on the Kiwi to pull off a heist for England.

Boult pitched the first two deliveries a near yorker for nought before Stokes got underneath a full-pitched delivery to hammer it for six over mid-wicket. With nine needed off three, Stokes carted away to mid-wicket for which the southpaw ran hard to complete the second run to take the strike. The match’s turning point occurred here when Guptill’s throw at the striker’s end deflected off Stokes’ bat, who outstretched it to complete the run.

The mother of all super overs:

The hosts’ most productive batting pair of Buttler and Stokes strode out to face perhaps the most essential over of their life. After an unbeaten 84, Stokes sprinted as hard as he could to complete three runs off the first delivery from Boult. Buttler took a single off the next delivery to hand the strike to Stokes, who found the gap at mid-wicket for a boundary. England managed three runs off the next two balls before Boult’s low full-toss as the final ball becomes easy for Buttler to find the fence at deep square leg.

Jofra Archer’s, England’s newest member, was handed the responsibility of guiding them to World Cup glory. For the Kiwis, Neesham walked out and Guptill, who got a second crack at the World Cup. And the Barbadian had a disastrous start, giving a wide off his first delivery. He managed to get the ball that Neesham drilled to long-off that fetched New Zealand a couple. Neesham treated Archer’s full delivery with disdain, dispatching it over mid-wicket for a six.

A misfield by Roy in the deep mid-wicket allowed the pair to get an easy couple, getting the equation down to five needing off three. The throw from mid-wicket in the third-last delivery was sharp; however, the pair ran another couple. On the penultimate ball, all Neesham could do was get an edge off his body for which they got a single. From over the wicket, Archer threw the ball into Guptill’s pads, who could merely clip to mid-wicket.

Roy, who fumbled earlier gets the throw right to Buttler, who stretches to break the stumps while Guptill does not even find himself in the frame. New Zealand fell one run short as England are declared winners, based on the superior number of boundaries. Eoin Morgan’s men compiled 26 of them against the Kiwis’ 17. Buttler took off his gloves ran unstoppably while Guptill sat there, trying to recollect what transpired. Ian Smith’s words echoed “England have won the World Cup from the barest of margins!!!!!! From the barest of all margins, absolute ecstasy for England, agony for New Zealand”

The Aftermath:

For his knock of 84, Stokes not only gets the man of the match award but also gets nominated for the “New Zealander of the year”. On being nominated, he turned it down, saying Williamson deserves it. Umpire Dharmasena, who signalled six runs for the deflection of Stokes’ bat in the last over, asserted he would never regret the decision.

He also said that the call was made while consulting with other match officials. Black Caps’ captain Williamson’s behaviour truly reflected gentleman nature, congratulating England for their win and the campaign. Plunkett, who took three wickets in the World Cup final, did not play another game for the national team and is presently contemplating to play for USA.