England defeated New Zealand in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final in what will be remembered as one of the greatest matches in cricket history.

Ben Stokes’ heroics took the match into a super over, where he and Buttler combined to post 15 runs from Trent Boult’s six deliveries. In reply, New Zealand required two off the final ball of Jofra Archer’s super over, but Martin Guptill was run out attempting the second run.

Even though the scores were once again tied after the super over, England, who have been runners up on three occasions, claimed their inaugural World Cup trophy after hitting more boundaries in the match.

In the match proper, England matched New Zealand’s 241 from their 50 overs, with Stokes finishing on 84 not out, levelling New Zealand’s score on the final ball. The drama was revved up in the final over, with England requiring 15 for victory; when Guptill threw the ball from the deep towards a diving Stokes, who was attempted to complete the two, the ball ricocheted off the Durham powerhouse’s bat and flew to the boundary, with England claiming six runs in freak fashion.

When the second innings commenced, with England chasing 241 for victory, Trent Boult bowled some menacing lines with Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow (36) never truly settling, but it was Matt Henry who struck first when Roy nicked behind. Joe Root made just seven from 30 balls before edging economical, medium-pacer Colin de Grandhomme.

It took a spectacular catch running in from the deep by Ferguson to remove Eoin Morgan, to make it 86-4, shortly after the speedster bowled Bairstow.

Stokes and Buttler (59) began to consolidate, edging England closer to the total in gentle fashion, with both reaching a half-century, before Buttler started to execute his full repertoire, until sub Tim Southee took a sharp catch in the deep. Woakes skyed one trying to take the pressure off Stokes, but the taslimanic all-rounder dug deep to set-up an unprecedented super over finale.

Earlier, after a delayed start due to morning downpour, excellent bowling by Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes restricted New Zealand to 241-8 – a total that former England captain Andrew Strauss opined that current skipper Eoin Morgan “would have bitten your hand off” for that score at the start, having lost the toss.

Guptill showed his intent on ball one, dancing down the deck to go big only to see it sail wide of his bat. Though Guptill struck some early blows off Jofra Archer, the experienced Woakes continued his fine form, trapping Guptill lbw in the seventh over.

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Kane Williamson’s 28 balls yielded just five runs but he soon found his feet on a slow surface, rebuilding the innings alongside Nicholls. Plunkett then produced a potentially game-changing spell, enticing Williamson to nick off before bowling Nicholls (55) to make it 118-3. Ross Taylor struggled for momentum before Mark Wood trapped him in-front, though replays suggested it was going over the stumps.

James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme provided cameos, though Archer was now causing havoc with a mixture of yorkers, bouncers and slower balls, but Tom Lathan’s 47 off 56 ensured New Zealand reached a par score.

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