During Wednesday’s ‘Captain’s Day’ panel event in Ahmedabad, one of the reporters in attendance directed a question towards Indian skipper Rohit Sharma.
He queried; should England and New Zealand have been declared joint winners in the previous edition of the World Cup?
Sharma, diplomatically, threw his hands up in protest.
“That‘s not my job, sir,” he responded, evoking some laughs around the room.
England captain Jos Buttler, a central figure in the unforgettable 2019 final at Lord’s, didn’t speak the language, but Pakistan’s Babar Azam provided a translation.
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It’s been over four years since the 2019 World Cup final ended as a tie, yet England’s dramatic triumph seemingly remains a point of contention.
The ICC has since removed the boundary count rule from its Playing Conditions; if a Super Over ends as a tie during this year’s tournament, they’ll simply contend another one until an outright winner is crowned.
The rectification will be of scant solace to the Black Caps, who were left heartbroken after missing out on a maiden title by “the barest of margins”.
England were deserving champions in 2019. Morgan and head coach Trevor Bayliss had revolutionised the white-ball team after the disastrous campaign in Australia four years earlier.
The ECB had prioritised ODI cricket throughout the preceding four-year cycle, a decision that paid dividends when Morgan lifted the coveted trophy.
However, their World Cup triumph came with an asterisk. England’s name is on the trophy, but they didn’t win the 2019 final; and New Zealand didn’t lose it either.
“I’m not sure you can call England’s last victory a win,” Australian cricket Usman Khawaja told Fox Cricket, with tongue firmly in cheek.
“What, did they win on boundaries or something? I don’t know.
“I’m not sure you can count that.”
Anyone who witnessed the 2019 final would agree the boundary count controversy didn’t mar one of cricket’s most memorable spectacles.
The 102-over affair was a constant arm wrestle. England quicks Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett restricted the Black Caps to 8-241, before the hosts collapsed to 4-86 in the run chase.
Ben Stokes and Buttler combined for a 110-run partnership for the fifth wicket to put England within touching distance of the target. Trent Boult misjudged a catch on the boundary rope in the penultimate over, making the equation 15 runs required from the final six balls.
A ‘six’ that ricocheted off Stokes’ bat put England in the box seat, with three runs needed from the last two deliveries, but back-to-back run outs meant the final would be decided by a Super Over.
England mustered 15 runs from their six balls, and paceman Jofra Archer was tasked with defending the 16-run target. Jimmy Neesham’s clutch six was followed by a pair of twos and a single, putting Martin Guptill on strike for the decisive delivery.
What took place on the last ball is perhaps the most documented delivery in the sport’s history. Days out from the 2023 tournament, Neesham is still being asked about those final moments.
“You can drive yourself insane going through the last half-hour of that game,” Neesham told The Guardian this week.
“I naively thought that after a few years people might just get over it, but it’s almost the opposite.
“I’ll still be asked about it in 50 years, I reckon.”
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The opening match of this year’s World Cup in India is, fittingly, a rematch of the previous tournament’s final. On Thursday evening, England and New Zealand will face off at Ahmedabad’s 130,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest cricket ground in the world.
The Black Caps will be without captain Kane Williamson, who ruptured his ACL earlier this year, while veteran bowler Tim Southee is still recovering from a fractured finger he sustained last month.
Meanwhile, England superstar Ben Stokes, who came out of ODI retirement for this tournament, is under an injury cloud of his own ahead of Thursday’s highly-anticipated contest.
Bookmakers have understandably touted India as the tournament favourites, but England has an opportunity to cement its legacy as the greatest white-ball team in a generation. Thirteen members of England’s 15-player World Cup squad have won an ICC trophy, but don’t refer to them as ‘defending champions’ in front of Buttler.
“We‘re not trying to defend anything,” Buttler declared on Wednesday.
“We‘re trying to go there and win a World Cup. We’re in exactly the same position as every other team.
“For me, the past is in the past.
“You can‘t recreate something, or hold onto it forever. It’s all about something new. It’s fantastic to be champions and the reigning champions, and I won’t say we’ve left that behind completely because it’s a nice place to be. But I do feel like you’ve given that trophy back now. It’s done. It’s about trying to create something new.
“We must be hungry to try to do it again and try to be focused on something different.”
The World Cup opener between England and New Zealand gets underway on Thursday evening at 7.30pm AEDT.
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