adminVERDICT: England are World Cup double champs after adding the T20 trophy to the 50-over one they lifted at Lord’s in 2019, with their victory the culmination of a stunning turnaround
England are the best white ball team in the world. What else do you call the side who are World Champions in both ODI and T20 cricket?
They might be under new leadership in the shape of Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott, but the DNA of this group of players remains the same as it did in 2016 when they lost their first final, in 2019 when they won their first crown and again tonight as they sealed their legacy.
It stems of course from Eoin Morgan and his leadership of the side over the previous seven years, but it runs throughout the key players who have all made their impact, Buttler, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and above all else Ben Stokes.
On a night when things were far from easy for batting thanks to a pitch that really wasn’t ideal for a T20 showpiece, who else did England want walking out to bat at 32-2 other than Stokes? He really is a cricketing phenomenon.
And don’t forget he wasn’t even picked for the 2015 World Cup, because the selectors at the time didn’t think he was good enough. They thought that the man who had scored an Ashes hundred in his second match in Perth, might not be able to add something Down Under.
It was a shocking omission, and yet it might have been the best call of the lot. Had Stokes been there, England might have actually done OK.
He might have won a game for England that they lost, like the miserable match against Bangladesh. By leaving him at home, it meant that he could return to the side afresh and help Morgan start something new.
He could use his incredible skills with the bat, ball and in the field to drive forward this new era and he became the lightning rod around whom the rest of the team could revolve. There have been other bumps in the road too, such as the final over disintegration against Carlos Brathwaite and the West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup final. -DailyMirror.
Online Reporter