Throwback to a Historic Day of Sport!

"England have won the World Cup by the barest of margins, by the barest of all margins. Absolute ecstasy for England. Agony, agony for New Zealand." - Ian Smith, 14/07/2019.

A year after a high octane thriller which ended with England clinching their first World Cup victory, the debate still goes on. Did they really deserve the World Cup? Did any of the other teams deserve it more? Let us look at why all the teams that qualified to the semis deserved the World Cup and why they did not.

England

England emerged World Champions after they tied the Super Over. They were declared winners because of the Boundary Count Rule, i.e., the team which hit more boundaries will win, in case of a tie. This rule was the basis for a lot of debate and the ICC have now scrapped this rule as it does not make a lot of sense. So it only seems fair that England had shared the cup with New Zealand. But there is always a twist in the tale. In the 4th ball of the 49th over, Martin Guptill tried to hit the stumps on the keeper's end from deep midwicket. Instead of hitting the stumps, the ball hit Stokes' bat right outside the crease and raced away for four. The umpire raised both his hands and six runs are awarded to England. This, right here, was an umpiring error. Since the ball hit Stokes bat before the crease, the second run should not have been counted. In a game of such tight margins, it had a huge impact in steering the game in England's favor. One less run would have meant that the Kiwis had lifted the World Cup. But that doesn't mean England don't entirely deserve the World Cup. They were firm favorites going into the tournament and were playing on home soil. They beat every team at least once excepting a close call against Pakistan and a freak result against Sri Lanka. If one were not aware of the fine details, one wouldn't have a problem with the No.1 ODI team winning the World Cup.

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New Zealand

The other team in the final, the runners up, the Kiwis went through a rather hard year. They definitely deserved the World Cup, at least a shared victory. Their conduct after that unlucky day was remarkable. Once light was thrown upon the umpiring error, their ill fortune was vastly pitied. But did they deserve a place in that final? New Zealand started their campaign with a bang, one of the only two teams to not lose their first three matches. But they barely scraped through to the top 4 on the basis of net run rate despite the fact that they lost to their competitor, Pakistan. The semi final victory was not conventional either as rain played spoilsport and the match spanned for two days. But credit is due where credit is deserved, for their bowling department and the icy cool demeanor of their captain, Kane Williamson, who steered them through their highs and lows with steely determination (and won the Man of the Tournament Award for the same). Overall, the  men from down under did give their best but couldn't make it past the finish line.

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India

The No.2 ODI team in the world were nothing less than favourites when they entered the tournament. India was the other team which did not lose their first three matches. They fought hard and won every game except the one against England and finished at the top of the table. Alas, all their efforts were reduced to dust in the first semi final. Rain played spoilsport and India batted on the second day on a pitch that definitely favoured bowlers. The Indian top order returned to the pavilion having scored one run each. The middle order did try their best but fell 19 runs short. Despite outstanding new ball bowling from the opposition, the Indian batsmen should have stood their ground. They should have played Shami who had a great record against the Black Caps. And India should have found a solution to the No.4 problem way before the tournament started. Nevertheless, the Men in Blue had an extremely memorable campaign, dotted with amazing moments although it did end with heartbreak.

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Australia

The first team to qualify to the semis and the one which had won four out of the last five World Cups, Australia were under constant spotlight throughout their run. With Warner and Smith coming back from their one year ban, fans across the globe were eager to watch the Aussies play. Excepting the loss to India and South Africa, they were exceptional in all departments, especially their bowling and fielding. While Warner amassed runs, Starc took wickets aplenty. Having already beaten England in the league stage it seemed extremely plausible that the final was going to be Australia vs New Zealand for the second year running. But England had upped their game tremendously having got back their star opener, Jason Roy. Despite best efforts from the Men in Yellow throughout the league stages, their batsmen failed when it mattered most and they couldn't get through to the final or clinch another World Cup victory.

Now, if you had a chance to re-write the World Cup, what would you change?