England: Whoever wins the final of ICC World Cup 2019 at The Lord’s in England, history is certain to be scripted. The two finalists – England and New Zealand – have never lifted the World Cup trophy in the past and they are sure to leave no stone unturned in their efforts during the finale of the cricketing extravaganza.
While England have made it to the finals of ICC World Cup after a gap of 27 years, it is the second consecutive final for the Black Caps, who had played the ICC World Cup 2015 final.
This is for the third time that England have made it to the final of an ICC World Cup tournament. They had made it to the final for the first time in 1987 and for the second time in 1992. In 1987, they went down fighting against Australia while it was Imran Khan-led Pakistan that beat them to lift the trophy in 1992.
In the semi-finals of the current edition of World Cup, England have already scripted history by defeating Australia, who had never lost in the semis of any previous edition of the tournament.
Australia had featured in seven world cup semi-finals since 1975, out of which they won six while one ended in a tie. A semi-final match between Australia and South Africa 20 years ago had ended in a tie. Australia have lifted the world cup trophy on five occasions.
England had finished the league stage of ICC World Cup 2019 at the third spot on the points table. They started the journey with a comfortable victory against South Africa. In the other matches, England faced defeat against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia, while they registered victory against Bangladesh, West Indies, Afghanistan, India and New Zealand.
The Black Caps’ journey to the final has been a roller coaster ride of sorts. After starting on a winning note against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, South Africa and West Indies, they faced three consecutive defeats against Pakistan, Australia and England. Their match against India Trent Bridge in Nottingham was washed out by rain.
Bureau Report
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