The final of the World Cup was played on 14 July 2019 at Lord’s between England and New Zealand. Earlier, captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat. Little did anyone know at the time that this World Cup final was the most exciting final in history. Thanks to Henry Nichols’ 55 and Tom Latham’s 47, New Zealand were all out for 241 for 8 in 50 overs. The top four batsmen collapsed while England were in the pavilion for 96 runs, chasing a target. But all-rounder Ben Stokes, along with wicketkeeper Jose Butler, brought England back into the game.
After the dismissal of Butler, Stokes received no support from the other end. He played 84 innings. Immediately after Mark Wood’s run out on the last ball, the first final of World Cup history went to a super over. The excitement of cricket was at its peak, and in Super Over, both teams scored just 15 runs. England, who hit the most boundaries, became the winner. Ben Stokes received ‘Man of the Match’ for his amazing performance.
Today marks 2 years since that victory. On this occasion the ICC shared a 3:08 minute video which tells the story of the England victory. England had never conceded the ICC World Cup before, but this time Eoin Morgan had different plans for England. In this video, you can also find hints of all previous World Cup England defeats. Prior to that, England had traveled to the final in the 1979, 1987, 1992 World Cup. He traveled to the semifinals in 1975 and 1983, the quarterfinals in 1996 and 2011.
After the match, the ICC’s rule of declaring winners based on higher boundaries was strongly criticized. But Kane Williamson accepted the defeat with a smile. That laugh is still fresh in the minds of every cricket fan in the world. After the controversy, the ICC changed that rule. According to the new rules, if the match is tied, the super over will continue until the result is obtained.
