England and New Zealand are facing each other for the final match of the ICC World Cup 2019 as both teams aim to clinch their first ever World Cup trophy at the Lord’s on Sunday.
Neither England nor New Zealand has won the World Cup before and Sunday’s winner would create cricketing history. England and New Zealand enter in the World Cup final knowing years of planning come down to a single day at Lord’s.
The challenge for England is to embrace the hype surrounding Sunday’s fixture without letting it inhibit them from playing their brand of “fearless” cricket. The host England won six out of their nine group matches to end up third in the list while New Zealand won five out of nine matches with one rained-off match and ended up fourth but both team thrashed the top two contenders India and Australia magnificently to reach the final.
All tournament long, the same comment has been made about New Zealand — they boast a well-balanced attack led by left-arm quick Trent Boult but are over-reliant on captain Kane Williamson and fellow senior batsman Ross Taylor for their runs.
The polite Kiwis have responded by continuing to “scrap”, in the phrase of fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, their way to wins as demonstrated by their dramatic 18-run semi-final victory over India.
It is perhaps appropriate that England and New Zealand are playing against each other in a final, a mega-event between two sides who have yet to win the World Cup.
By reaching the final, England have guaranteed an international match will be shown live on free-to-air television in Britain for the first time since the iconic 2005 Ashes series — a chance to inspire a new generation.
For it was the Black Caps who showed England how to play the modern one-day game at the 2015 edition in Wellington four years ago. They shot out England for just 123 and then overhauled that total in a mere 12.2 overs.
England gained a measure of revenge with a 119-run thrashing of New Zealand in a group-stage match earlier in this World Cup.
While many members of the home side were not even born when England made the last of three losing appearances in a World Cup final in 1992, the Black Caps have the experience of their heavy defeat by co-hosts Australia in the climax of the 2015 edition in Melbourne to call on.
