On this day: England won the World Cup 'by the barest of all margins'
England won the World Cup because they hit more boundaries, a bizarre rule that created a stir. It was one of the greatest cricket matches ever played and 102 overs of high octane cricket couldn’t separate the two sides.
Ben Stokes, England's last recognized batter, was on strike. Trent Boult was ready to run in with the ball to bowl the 100th over of the match. England were 15 runs away from ending a 44-year long wait.
Two dot balls meant New Zealand had the upper hand. Stokes cracked the ball over the midwicket boundary to bring the equation down to nine off three. Still it was difficult to achieve against a peak Trent Boult.
What happened the next ball was either magical or heartbreaking, depending on which way you see it.
Stokes dived at full stretch to complete the second run but Guptill's throw was diverted off Stokes' bat and instead of two, England scored six off that ball because the ball went past the boundary. Stokes immediately apologized to the New Zealanders but the damage was done.
Two needed off the last ball for England to win but Mark Wood fell short of his ground and for the first time in the history of ODIs, a super over was to decide the winner. Stokes was left stranded on 84 off 98.
A few minutes later, it was New Zealand who needed two off the last ball of the super over to win. Like Wood, Martin Guptill, one of the fastest runners in cricket, couldn't make his ground.
England won the World Cup because they hit more boundaries, a bizarre rule that created a stir. It was one of the greatest cricket matches ever played and 102 overs of high octane cricket couldn't separate the two sides.
England's hero was Ben Stokes who interestingly hails from Christchurch, New Zealand. Few days later, the England superstar was nominated for the 'New Zealander of the Year' award'.
Exactly two years later, Stokes won his first ODI series as captain. He has definitely left behind the bad memories of the 2016 ICC World T20 when he was struck for four consecutive sixes by Carlos Brathwaite.
And who can forget Ian Smith? The New Zealand cricketer turned commentator watched his country miss out on the World Cup despite being agonizingly close. Yet he delivered one of the most famous lines while on commentary:
"He's got it. England have won the World Cup. By the barest of margins. By the barest of all margins.'
On this day two years ago, England won the 2019 World Cup final in the most dramatic way possible and lifted their first-ever ODI World Cup.
