England vs New Zealand: The fairytale final

England take on New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup final this Sunday.

With two matches to go in the group stages, it seemed all but over for England in their home World Cup.

Losses to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia put Eoin Morgan’s men in trouble. They had to beat a formidable India and a clever New Zealand to scrape their way into the top four and the semi-finals.

England thrashed India, with the returning Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow starring in a wonderful partnership, showcasing the talent the opening unit has when it’s together and not ripped apart through the medium of injury.

And it was a similar story against the Kiwis. With Roy again smashing 60 and Bairstow a considered hundred, the Black Caps were cleaned up by a rampant Mark Wood and a destructive Jofra Archer.

In the semi-final today, Australia were again outclassed. We wax lyrical about Bairstow and Roy (who yet again smashed a hundred partnership) but the opening bowlers, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer, simply blew the Aussies out of the water. 14-3, eventually leading to 223 all out and an easy chase with 17 overs to spare.

But the final is a one-off occasion. And for it to be England vs New Zealand is quite the fairytale.

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The year is 2015. The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand had come to a close, with England dismally failing in the group stage and the Kiwis suffering final agony to their joint-hosts (above).

Just a few months after that March defeat, McCullum’s men embarked on a tour of England which would change the hosts’ perspective on cricket. The professors and aggressors came to teach the English apprentices to play the New Zealand way.

After drawing the two match test series, England showed their first true performance under their new regime. A stunning 408/9, including a stunning 129 from Jos Buttler. Bowling New Zealand out for 198, the new way had gone from a concept to a reality. But one match was nothing in comparison.

The next two games were a lesson. This aggressive game is not as easy as it appeared.

Although they hit scores of 300+ in these, New Zealand coasted both and this was the standard. The fielding was exceptional, led by the brilliant Brendon McCullum.

“One of the best pieces of advice I got when I was given the captaincy was to be myself. I have played against and am very good friends with Brendon McCullum,”

“If you look at his body language at any stage of any game it’s extremely positive. He’s always on the front foot and leading from the front regardless of the scoreboard or the situation of the game.

“I like to pick his brain. As a pure leader, he’s exceptional.

“New Zealand had embodied playing fun cricket under McCullum. Playing against them, we were a little bit jealous.

“We weren’t enjoying our cricket and that was something we wanted to change. Transforming your game from an average-scoring side to one who scored 350 or 400 is extremely exciting and fun to be part of.” 

Eoin Morgan, speaking in 2016.

Since the 2015 World Cup, and thanks in part to McCullum and this New Zealand tour, England have the greatest win percentage out of any ODI Side (70.7%), the best opening partnership categorically in white-ball cricket and enjoyed simply exciting and fun cricket. Back to basics, yet excelling in all complication.

Thank you, Brendon McCullum, for all that you have done for Cricket in the past few weeks !
A knighthood please…

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) June 23, 2015

Even an endorsement from the great Fawlty Towers and Monty Python actor John Cleese followed for McCullum, and four years later, even after retirement, his legacy in cricket still lives on.

McCullum’s successor, Kane Williamson, has done nothing but usurp the way McCullum set the tone. A premier batsman in world cricket, he hasn’t had the greatest CWC in comparison to the rest of the ‘big four’ in Kohli, Root and Smith, but his style is more pertinent to red-ball cricket.

The Kiwis shook the cricketing world with their win over India on Tuesday. After posting a seemingly gettable 239/8, the bowling intelligence of Trent Boult and the dynamic fielding brilliance of Martin Guptill and Jimmy Neesham saw the Indians collapse to 221 all out. An 18-run defeat.

England are the favourites. New Zealand have always been the underdogs. But the final is a one-off game, and what’s said on paper is nothing but conceptual.

Whatever happens on Sunday, we’ve enjoyed a fantastic World Cup. Amazing catches, wonderful bowling, and destructive batting has been on show from match one. Hopefully, unlike football, cricket can come home.