The 2019 Cricket World Cup – the 12th edition of one-day cricket’s flagship event – was one that will live long in the memory for England fans, after their team prevailed over New Zealand by the slimmest of margins in a dramatic and emotionally-charged final at Lord’s on Sunday, July 14.
Despite what was predicted before the campaign, the World Cup was not a high-scoring tournament – a departure from what has been the norm in one-day cricket in England over the past four years. The tournament was a throwback to older times, with scores of over 250 falling into a competitive bracket, and over 300 often proving to be match-winning.
But even with the grind that batsmen were up against, there were some spectacular individual performances with the bat. Below, we look at the best of them.
Rohit Sharma (India) – 140 v Pakistan
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Ben Stokes played the innings of his life to rescue a flagging England chase and turn it around into the greatest final of all time. England were on the rocks, crumbling to 86-4 in the face of some world-class bowling by New Zealand. But Stokes kept English hopes alive, joining hands with Jos Buttler to resurrect the innings with a 110-run fifth-wicket stand. After Buttler’s dismissal, he continued to stand between New Zealand and victory.
Under immense pressure, Stokes produced timely boundaries to take the game into a super over, after a dramatic 50th from Trent Boult, before going on to strike more lusty blows in the super over. On a day when literally nothing separated the two teams, Stokes stood tall, with his grit, courage and tenacity to hand England their maiden World Cup trophy.
