Well what a finish! I was at the famous 1999 world cup semi final at Edgbaston when Allan Donald got run out. That was the best game I had ever seen, It ebbed and flowed all game and as I didn’t really care who won it was just an amazing feeling to witness such a game.
Then we had this one.
I didn’t even think about going until a mate of mine on Thursday said he was taking an Indian friend who suddenly lost interest in cricket and so had a free ticket. Snapped his hand off !
So on the drive to Lord’s it started raining by the M25, then got harder and when I got to Marylebone its was heaving down. Perhaps I should have checked the forecast before I left sunny Bucks.
Anyway, the radar said it would stop by 8.30 so after a quick coffee stop mid cloudburst I thought I would go and join the queue to get into Middlesex CC’s rented ground.
Good old rain kept people away so I walked straight in, no queue, marvellous.
Sat top tier under the media centre. Great view.
So after a slightly delayed start New Zealand took the brave decision to bat first. Personally I think it was a toss you would be happy to lose.
Slightly green pitch, overcast but most wins in cup finals by batting first.
These black caps are brave soles and were playing aggressive cricket while we were still prodding and nurdling in one dayers.
So we started, we didn’t bowl as well as we had previously and the only person who looked in form was umpire Dharmaseena who carried on his form by giving yet another incorrect decision early on. How he still umpires anything higher than Headington Quarry CC I will never know.
The game went on, nobody really looked in great nick and nobody really bowled as well as they should. The black caps carried on working it about but nobody got in. Plunkett changed ends and he started to bowl better, getting the valuable wicket of Richardson (after Dharmaseena gave him not out !).
No real late charge, no fireworks but probably 20-30 more runs than England would have liked.
Now its our turn, with our batting line up and the way we DEMOLISHED Australia lots of people thought this would be a stroll. And now the sun was coming out too.
Roy, first ball , PLUM LBW. Not given, 49% of the ball was hitting leg stump and not 50%. Ball travelling at 90 mph, fair chance even the lead bails they were using in the tournament would have wobbled off. (this was not Dharmaseenas decision amazingly).
So blah blah blah the top few came in, all struggling with the pressure, playing a few rash shots, nobody looking likely to score any runs.
Then what looked like a new pitch was laid as Jos came out. From the first ball he stroked it through the covers and sanity was restored.
The nervous crowd were now getting loud. Then they started popping champagne corks as if we had achieved a great Brexit deal.
Remember the saying, add 2 wickets to your score??. The brexiteers had forgotten this saying.
So there was Jos playing like he was Viv in the 1979 world cup final (another game I was at) and Ben Stokes still never looking in, and the crowd pulling the party poppers.
Then Jos wants to make a game of it, charges, skews it to 12thers who takes an amazing running, diving catch. Its all gone a bit quiet. Still lots of batting to come, but alas not today.
Woakes, Plunkett, Archer all go, run rate increasing, black caps well on top now, getting quieter and quieter here.
21 off 9 balls, no chance, Stokes clubs one to long on, he’s caught, but wait, Boult in the process of catching it lost his glasses off his cap, so instead of concentrating on the ball/rope he looks to see where his sunnies are falling, forgets about the ball/rope and treads on the rope. That’s 6!!
Still need 14 off the last with only Adil and Wood with Stokes.
Too much to do surely. Stokes whacks it straight to a fielder and doesnt run, then he does it again,then he swings one over mid wicket for 6, too late surely.
Next Stokes whacks a six off the back of his bat to fine leg (well via mid wicket, a flat fast throw, a full length dive, and a desperate chase via the fine leg fielder, and an incorrect call of 6 not 5 apparently).
3 off 2. Stokes hits it to long off, falls over, Adil runs, going for 2, ball comes in and hes out. Luckily the throw went to the wrong end so Stokes there for the last ball.
Atmosphere is amazing.
1 ball 2 runs to win.
Bat on ball and leg it. Stokes gets a knee high full toss and instead of whacking it into south London he pats it to long on. Woody legs it,one, back for 2, big dive and hes OUT.
Great finish and how great that we both share the cup as joint winners.
Hang on, super over, you’re joking, past my bed time.
The rest is history, the black caps lose the final by about 2 meters , poor old Marty 2 toes Guptill. He had a poor tournament, the black caps backed him and he fell agonisingly close.
The most amazing 2 finishes to 1 game of cricket.
Personally on the day the Black Caps were a better team and I felt really sorry for them. The trophy I think should have been shared.
But rules is rules. Everyone knew them . If it had been done on wickets we wouldn’t have had 2 run outs at the end and Stokes probably would have hit the last ball for 6. Who knows.
We have been the best team at 50 overs during the last few years so probably overall deserve to be 50 over champions.
The ECB celebrate by downgrading next year’s 50 over county tournament so apart from internationals our world champs won’t play much/any 50 over cricket again.
But weve got the 100 to look forward too and become world champions at.
Anyway well done Owen, Ewan, You Un, Ewen, Captain Morgan and your team from me and no doubt the rest of the Mighty Addis Army.
Ps my World Cup highlight? Absolutely dicking the Aussies in the semi.
Cheers
Tremers