ODI World Cup.

[K]

39 needed from 24 balls.

A wicket!! Latham catches the skied ball from Woakes!

It was a shaky catch from Latham. Good thing he has the gloves.

England 6/203 (46.1). Plunkett in.
Ferguson has 3 wickets.

They have one good end and one bad end!

M. Taylor: "Stokes has to do most of the damage from here on in."

Ferguson is bowling well!
Stokes gets a single. NZ are okay with that!

The slower ball from Ferguson beats the new batsman.
And another dot ball. Every ball matters now.
But a boundary from Plunkett!

34 needed from 19.

Another slower ball. Another play and miss.

England 6/208 (47).

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I. Smith: "You cannot script it better."

Nasser says it's got to help NZ that they've been in exactly this position in the SF.

Boult to Stokes.

First ball goes for 4.

30 from 17.

Nasser: "He missed his length."
Smith: "It was a half-volley."

Second ball: just a single.

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Third ball : he gets it away for 2. Santner fields.

27 needed from 15.

Ross Taylor is unhappy about something.

Fourth ball: play and miss.
Nasser: "That was Ross Taylor."

Fifth ball: full toss, straight for another 2.

Sixth ball: Single. Santner keeps them to that.

24 needed from 12. But Stokes is not on strike.

[K]

Odds: England 38%, NZ 62%.

Neesham has the ball.

First ball: Single. Stokes is on strike!

23 needed from 11 balls.

Second ball: Single of a very full ball. NZ breathe sighs of relief.

Third ball: Plunkett holes out!!

Nasser: "Not just the wicket, but a dot."

England 7/220 (48.3). Archer in.

This is nerve-tingling stuff!

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Fourth ball: Stokes hits a 6! Boult caught it but stepped on the rope before he tossed the ball to Guptill. :shock

16 needed from 8.

Fifth ball: Single.

Sixth ball: Archer is bowled!

The wicket probably doesn't matter (tail-enders are all the same), but it's a dot ball.

England 8/227 (49).

15 needed from the last over.

[K]

Will Stokes take singles or just keep the strike?

Nasser thinks he'll keep the strike.

Boult to bowl.

First ball: hits it, refuses the single!!

Second ball: again, a dot!!

Third ball: Stokes slog sweeps a 73m 6!

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Fourth ball: inadvertently goes off Stokes's bat for 4 overthrows and 6 total...

Tragedy for NZ...

3 needed from 2.

Fifth ball: Single. They go for 2 and Rashid is run out at the non-striker's end.

2 needed from 1 ball.

A superover??!!

Sixth ball: Run out!!! Going for the second!!
They check but Boult pulled it off fine.

Unbelievable!!

A Superover!!

[K]

3 batsmen & 1 bowler.

2 wickets end the superover.

England have the advantage of having hit more boundaries, if the scores are tied.

[K]

England have chosen Stokes and Buttler.

Odds: England 70%, NZ 30%.

First ball: Stokes hits 3.

Second ball: Buttler hits a single!

Third ball: Stokes hits 4! Same shot as the 6 he hit.

Archer is warming up to bowl...

Fourth ball: Single.

Fifth ball: They get 2. Nicholls lost it in the sun.

Sixth ball. 4!

15 off the Superover.

NZ's target is 16.

[K]

Odds: England 76%, NZ 24%.

Neesham is running, so they think he is one of the batsmen.
Archer will bowl.

A tie gives the WC to England.
......................

It's Guptill & Neesham.

[K]

Neesham takes strike.

Archer to bowl.

First ball: Wide!!!

First ball rebowled: hit down the ground for 2.

Second ball: Neesham hits it for 6!!

This game is not over! New Zealand refuse to die!!!

Third ball: They take 2. The misfield makes the second easy.

5 needed from 3. (4 will not do.)

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Fourth ball: They take 2 more.

3 needed from 2.

Nasser thinks he needs to go into the pitch.

Dharmasena is telling NZ the requirements.

Fifth ball: Single.

2 needed from 1.

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The batsmen are talking. Archer & Morgan are speaking.

Long on and long off are hedging their bets.

Guptill to take strike.

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Guptill is run out going for the second run.

He dived but is way out.

England win the WC, with scores level not once but twice.


New Zealand were incredibly unlucky. The 4 overthrows deflected off the diving Stokes's bat were in the end the difference. There was nothing anyone could do at that stage. Stokes immediately held up his hands in apology. So 2 became 6.

And it was a matter of inches and milliseconds on the boundary rope that turned Boult's catch into 6 runs.


cricinfo says the final boundary count, which was used to split teams level after the Superover, was England 26-17 NZ. Not ideal, but these rules must have been established ages ago.

[K]

Stokes is given Player of the Match.

Some humour from Ben, when Nasser asks him about batting in the Superover:
"Well, I certainly wasn't going to bowl after what happened last time"
(referencing Brathwaite's four 6s in a row to win the T20 final).


Kane Williamson is given Player of the Tournament.

May not have been the best player from batting and bowling, but his captaincy almost got his side the WC.