England Clinch Maiden World Cup

England Clinch Maiden World Cup

England Win First World Cup Courtesy Of Dramatic Super-Over.

England win World Cup at Lords

Lords was the setting for the most eagerly anticipated matches of the cricket season. England and New Zealand knew that they were just one victory away from rewriting history to become the seventh different na

tion to lift the ICC Cricket World Cup.

It was Eoin Morgan’s side who managed to sneak over the line in the end.

Before the tournament started, England were big favourites to win cricket’s greatest prize. This was based  on their superior form in One-Day International Cricket, post 2015.

The  journey began after Eion Morgan’s side were knocked out of the Group Stages by Bangladesh. Former England Captain Andrew Strauss replaced Paul Downton as the director of England Cricket. His aim was to change the way England approached white ball Cricket.    

Strauss’s first job was to build a squad of players who like to play fearless cricket. So, he started to recruit some young, dynamic players such as Jason Roy and Jofra archer who had been qualified to play for England during April and made his debut in against Ireland in May.  

Archer’s inclusion in the squad added some fire power to the bowling attack as he had the ability to consistently bowl at 140kmph. In terms of his skillset, he had the ability to surprise the batsman with his pace, be it yorkers or bouncers. 

In terms of batting. England approach was to  go hard at the top and make use of the first powerplay. This is where Johnny Bairstow and Roy came to the party. The  two openers were outstanding in terms of getting the team of to a solid start and Bairstow was the second highest run scorer for England with 532 runs behind Test skipper Joe Root who made 556 and was the glue in England’s batting line-up.

What was also crucial for England in this World Cup was the form of all-rounder Ben Stokes. Apart from the controversial boundary in which came via a deflection off his bat, you couldn’t say he did anything wrong throughout the whole tournament.

Let us not forget the insane catch he took near the boundary to dismiss Andile Phelukwayo in the opening game against South Africa in the opening match of the World Cup. This was one of the greatest catches of all time. Only Stokes and nobody else would be able to pull this off.  

The thing about Stokes Is that he has the ability to make a to change a game from any position, be it with the bat, ball or in the field.  If England were going to stand a chance  of winning this tournament, they needed  their talented all-rounder firing on or cylinders and he did not disappoint.

In terms of the spin bowling department, Morgan had a tough decision to go with the attacking option of wrist spin from Adil Rashid, the slow left-arm of Liam Dawson or the experienced off spinner in Moeen Ali.

Morgan decided to stick with Ali and Rashid as the had been England most successful spinners in the past few years.  Ali played in five of England’s eleven matches in this tournament, Rashid played all eleven. Despite being the most expensive bowler for England in the tournament, the Yorkshire wrist spinner picked up three important wickets in the semi-final victory against Australia, including the dangerous Glen Maxwell, to keep Aaron Finch’s side to a chase-able target of 224. 

What is even more special for England based on this victory is that not only was it their first World Cup victory, but also the fact that they were top of the ODI rankings before the tournament begun added more pressure on Morgan’s side to be able to deal with the high expectations of winning it and that too on home soil as like India and Australia.  But the most important thing that Morgan’s side have shown in these past four years is the pride and passion to deliver a series of match winning performances and carry that kind of form into a World Cup when it all matters is just phenomenal and reflects on the hard work that the ECB have put in terms of reviving ODI cricket in England.

This also was their fourth World Cup Final inside 40 years, which sums up England’s abysmal record in World Cups over the years.  

Looking ahead to India 2023, it would be interesting to see what England’s approach will be in the four years leading up to that tournament. Will Eoin Morgan still be in charge?  Can England win back-to back World Cups?

Feature Image: World Cup Trophy found on flickr.com

Tiger Rules Augusta Once Again

Tiger Rules Augusta Once Again

Tiger Celebrates fifth US Masters Title

Tiger Woods ended a 14-year wait to claim his fifth green jacket and 15^th major following a one-shot lead over fellow American Dustin Johnson.

At the start of the final round at one of golf’s most iconic courses, Woods was -11 just two shots behind 2018 Open Champion Francesco Molinari on -13.

This was a jaw-gripping contest between both players with neither player willing to give up their aspirations of wearing the green jacket.

Heartbreak for Molinari as he let slip a 2-shot lead on final day
at Augusta 

The turning point came at the 12^th hole, where Molinari’s T-shot unfortunately landed in the water. Woods’s T-shot however, landed safely on the green.

It was from this point, where the momentum shifted towards the 15-time major champion.      

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Woods birdied three of the next four holes to take a two-shot lead at the top of the leader-board.

It was from there that the five-time champion drove home the advantage and cliched his fifth green jacket and 15^th major to move within three of Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major victories.

"We're creating new memories for them and it's just very special, "I was very lucky to be given another chance to do something that I love to do. I had serious doubts after what transpired a couple of years ago.”
"To come back here and play as well as I did has meant so much to me and my family - this tournament, and to have everyone here is something I'll never forget."It's overwhelming because of what has transpired.'
'Last year I was just lucky to be playing again, the previous dinner I was really struggling, missed a couple of years of this great tournament and to now be the champion... it's unreal for me to experience this.”

TigerWoods Masters 2019 Image  courtesy of flickr.com 

Francesco Molinari Masters 2019 Image courtesy of flickr.com  

AP's Russia 2018 report

AP's Russia 2018 Report

The 2018 World Cup has reached the end of its journey and what a tournament it has been from start to finish. 

Congratulations to France who won their second World cup in 20 years, they truly deserve it.  

Before the tournament began, people were wondering if we were still going to have an exciting World Cup and they got their reward as most of the matches were entertaining, particularly the 3-3 draw between Portugal and Spain where Cristiano Ronaldo produced a magical free-kick in the 88th minute to rescue a point for his country. 

Coming back to France, Kylian Mbappe has been an absolute star and is now up there with the likes of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. If you have watched all of France's games including the final, his pace caused nightmares for the opponent’s defence. He has been the talisman of France's success and deserves the Fifa Ballon d'Or. 

However, you must feel a bit of sympathy to Croatia as they had fought incredibly hard to reach the final, especially having won two penalty shootouts against Denmark in the round of 16 and Russia in the quarter-finals. They also played an extra 30 minutes against England in the semis, so you could clearly see that the final was one step fo far for them as France had spent less time on the pitch than Croatia did and that may have had an impact on the outcome of Sunday's final as they could not cope with the speed of France's style of play.         

Let's talk about England. Despite the loss to the Croatians in the semis, Southgate and his boys have a lot of positives to take from their first World Cup. Yes, you could say that they were helped a little by finishing second in their group, which made the draw slightly easier for them, but what stood out for me was their character, especially in the game against Columbia in the round of 16 where England won a penalty shootout for the first time ever. 

Jordan Pickford was sensational in that game as well as the quarter final against Sweden. Those saves he made in both of those matches kept our World Cup hopes alive. Therefore, I am a little surprised that Thibuat Courtois was awarded the 'Golden Glove' as I thought Pickford was the busier of the two and made more saves which were ultimately game changers especially against Sweden and Columbia. Courtois is still a world- class keeper make no mistake about that, but I thought it was a bit harsh to not give to Pickford as it was his first ever tournament. Perhaps if England had been in the final or won the third-place play-off match, he may have got it ahead of Courtois.   

I also like the way Southgate was brave enough to change the style of the way England played which was to have three at the back. if I was to be extra critical, I thought he could have used players such as he Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jamie Vardy a lot more than he did but on the other hand the team he picked through much of the tournament were a success so why change a winning team? I don't like the fact the he was a bit too reliant on Raheem Sterling who has not really performed to his potential in ant of the last three tournaments in which England were in, that's why I think he is overrated. He may go on to have a really good season for Manchester City, but that does not change my opinion about him.      

As for Belgium, for me they were the team of the tournament. it's such a shame that they had to play France in the semis rather than the final, it would have been a great way to end the World Cup as both team are packed with class and talent on and off the pitch, especially the Belgians who had Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard this would have been a cracker of a final. 

It would be interesting to see what happens in Euro 2020, will France make it a double World Cup and European title? Will it be Belgium's year? Will England ever overcome the ghost of '66?