England vs New Zealand for the big game
There was a time when cricketing humour, both in good and bad taste, was targeted largely at England and New Zealand, especially when it came to the big stage of ODI crickeNo longer so. No longer a Kiwi in the knockout stages of the World Cup can only be a referee or, for that matter, an English cricketer good with the bat, a vet. Both teams have grown in stature and acceptability, making it to the Final of the World Cup, so much so that the billion-dollar live telecast major Sky TV has decided to beam down history in the making free to air.
While England has shown its intent throughout the tournament with just three bad outings, New Zealand have shown the consistency to make it to the second successive Final despite not still having shed the underdogs tag. When the two teams meet at the Mecca of cricket on English cricket’s biggest Sunday, history will be made either way, a new champion of champions will emerge and cricket will have its first changeover in a long, long time.
The stakes are dizzyingly high and the heart in the mouth moments will be equally divided, with England having the edge of home and the muscle of the way they smothered defending champions Australia in the semi-final, winning the game by eight wickets and 18 overs to spare.
For New Zealand, on the other hand, it will be all about seizing the moment and issuing a statement of intent in the face of an English wave in the stands, just like they did against India in the semi-final.
The ability to soak pressure and how it is done, will make all the difference in the Lord’s bull ring when the sun will be out to pay ovation as will be the greats of English and New Zealand cricket, royalty though will be at Wimbledon where neither of the players is an Englishman.
With the pitch reflecting more green than usual for a World Cup seeking 300 plus scores, Morgan’s armsters would be twisting and turning the night away with anticipation unless, of course, the sun dries up the 22 yards before 10.30 am match day.
English skipper Eoin Morgan comes into the game with some good old Irish humour saying the only weakness around his counterpart Kane Williamson is, well, his ability to pack up. What he does not say, and the Kiwis will surely be looking at, is their over-reliance on their skipper and the failure of Michael Guptill to repeat his 2015 exploits with the bat.
The English squad of 2019 is diverse and the best it ever had in the three disciplines of the game. Batsmen who can beat the daylights out of the opposition, bowlers who can swing into action as never before and no fielders that need to be hidden in the field.
It is like a never before English team in the limited over format. It is their Cup to win and if England can’t now, they can't ever. That speaks of momentum and pressure in equal measure and the mental conditioning coach of the team would be busy brainwashing the boys in the latter direction.
The Black Caps, known to be the good guys of cricket, cool to the hilt and easy to be with, have shown how they can cloak their aggression on the field with Gandhian non-violence but the way they soaked in the pressure against India will give them lessons for the Big Day. Both have the armoury and both have the intent. How the pressure plays out and which one will hold it to ransom will be the one to lift the Cup in a match that Morgan says is surely going to be a low scoring thriller.
squads
England: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Tom Blundell, Colin de Grandhomme, Jimmy Neesham, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Mitchell Samtner, Henry Nicholls, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi.
