Reliving England’s Epic 2019 Cricket World Cup Win: A Triumph Against All Odds
England’s remarkable victory in the 2019 Cricket World Cup final against New Zealand at Lord’s remains etched in memory.
Despite early setbacks, England’s triumph showcased resilience and determination throughout the tournament.
It’s hard to forget how the sea of light blue shirts burst at Lord’s in July 2019, when England defeated New Zealand in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.
However, England’s road to glory was not an easy one, as their World Cup campaign nearly ended in round-robin elimination matches against Australia and Sri Lanka.
England came back from two crucial losses to India and New Zealand to reach the semi-finals, where they defeated longtime rivals Australia before winning the World Cup in spectacular style.
There had never been a tie in a World Cup final before, and there was no better venue than the “Home of Cricket,” where the crowd was singing Sweet Caroline.
As the shadows of the players extended across Lord’s, we saw one of the most incredible scenes in British sports history.
Unlikely Group Stage
At The Oval, England defeated South Africa by 104 runs to kick off their World Cup campaign. Ben Stokes’ spectacular one-handed diving catch dismissed Andile Phehlukwayo at the age of 24.
As “one of the greatest catches of all time,” former English skipper Naseer Hussain put it.
Pakistan, however, gave England their highest-ever World Cup chase in their next match. With 349 needed to win, the hosts were defeated by a narrow margin of 14 runs.
Despite centuries from Joe Root and Jos Buttler, Pakistani seamers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir maneuvered through England’s middle and lower order at the finish at Trent Bridge.
After this match, England bounced back nicely, defeating the West Indies by eight wickets and Afghanistan by 150 runs, with their skipper, Eoin Morgan, hammering a record 17 sixes. However, they suffered two more crushing losses against Australia and Sri Lanka.
At Headingley, fast bowler Lasith Malinga gave Sri Lanka a boost, taking four wickets to help his team win by 20 runs.
As the clear favorites going into the match, England dismissed Sri Lanka’s opening pair in the first two overs.
With the bat, Stokes made 82 runs without conceding any more runs, but he was left stranded in the middle as Sri Lanka’s pacers, led by veteran Malinga, destroyed the tailenders.
Australia’s 64-run victory over England at Lord’s further dashed their ambitions of making it to the semi-finals. Ben Stokes’ (89) off-stump was destroyed by Mitchell Starc’s amazing yorker, a left-arm fast bowler, and Jason Behrendorff’s first-ever ODI five-for left the hosts’ campaign hanging in the balance.
A Deviation of Course
Before the crucial match at Edgbaston against India, England bounced back from two straight losses to resurrect their hopes of making it to the semi-finals.
With the help of 79 from Stokes and an outstanding 111 from Jonny Bairstow, England amassed a dominant 337-7 from their 50 overs.
India’s supporters were given some optimism when Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli put up a 138-run partnership for the second wicket after opener KL Rahul was out of the game for a duck in the third over. But England’s Liam Plunkett broke up the pair, claiming 3-55 to help limit India to 306-5.
That put England in a must-win match at Durham against New Zealand, where Bairstow blasted 106 off 99 balls for his second consecutive century, helping England secure a semi-final berth when the Black Caps were bowled out for 186.
Baristow also made history by becoming the first batter from England to score two tons in a World Cup.
England took against Australia in the semi-final at Edgbaston, hoping for a taste of revenge. Equipped with Chris Woakes and pacer Jofra Archer, the boys in blue crushed their longtime rivals by eight wickets to make it to the championship game.
The dangerous Aaron Finch was removed by Archer with the first delivery of his session, and the fast bowler also gave Alex Carey a hit to the chin.
England are World Champions
The national anthems were thundered by the Lord’s audience, and then the stress of the final hushed the explosive atmosphere.
Ben Stokes, basking in the scorching sun, struck an incredible 84 off 98 balls, not out, to rescue England from 86-4 and tie them with New Zealand’s 241-8.
Ben Stokes hit a six in the final over of the regular match, however Martin Guptill of New Zealand misplayed the ball from deep, ricocheting off Stokes’ bat for four overthrows. England needed to score fifteen runs.
It was Archer who bowled the infamous Super Over, having only made his ODI debut two months earlier. Jimmy Neesham rattled the nerves of the Lord’s crowd by hitting Archer’s second ball for six.
A diving Guptill was caught short of his crease by Jason Roy after he clipped the ball to deep mid-wicket, prompting Buttler to whip off the bails as the supporters screamed in celebration. Guptill needed two off the penultimate delivery.
In what is still one of the most exciting cricket finals ever, England snuggled together and Lord’s supporters pulsated from adrenaline. Commentator Ian Smith said that England had won the World Cup “by the barest of all margins.” It was pure pleasure. Archer’s right elbow stress fracture returned this year, preventing him from playing in the Ashes or the remainder of the cricketing summer.
Nevertheless, the 28-year-old will continue to hone his fitness while traveling to India for the forthcoming World Cup with the England tea as a reserve.
England hopes to add to the thrilling 50-over trophy they won last year in Australia by defeating Pakistan in the final, and they also hope to add the T20 World Cup to their collection when they travel to India.
