England were crowned the 2019 Cricket World Cup champions in stunning fashion as they beat New Zealand by virtue of having scored more boundaries than them.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat first in an overcast London and a visibly green pitch at Lords.
Martin Guptill continued his poor form with the bat as he was dismissed for 19 off 18 balls to notch another poor display despite a promising start.
Williamson and Henry Nicholls did well to steady the ship before Williamson was dismissed for 30.
Nicholls made his way to 55 off 77 while Ross Taylor was controversially given out LBW for 15 with the veteran unable to go upstairs after Guptill used up the reviews which was especially frustrating for the New Zealanders as replays showed the ball missing leg stump.
New Zealand eventually managed to get to 241 thanks to a handy knock from Tom Latham who scored 47 off 56 deliveries.
In reply, England struggled upfront as the New Zealand bowling attack found their line and length early and dismissed Roy for 17 in the sixth over.
England struggled to form partnerships as wickets fell at regular intervals with Jonny Bairstow (36 off 55b), Joe Root (7 off 30b) and Eoin Morgan (9 off 22) all falling within the space of 10 overs.
It was then Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler who steadied the ship as they put together a 110 partnership which looked set to take them over the line before Buttler was caught in the deep by Southee (reserve fielder) off Ferguson’s bowling.
The wicket sparked a mini-collapse by England with Woakes, Plunkett and Archer all going cheaply to create a brilliant final over showdown where England needing 15 in the last.
After two dot balls, Stokes hit a six to stay in the contest before arguably the most controversial moment of the entire tournament unfolded.
With nine still to get, Stokes hit the ball out towards mid-wicket and in coming back for the second, hit the ball unknowingly with his bat which then proceeded to find it’s way to the boundary with the umpire eventually signalling six runs.
The final two balls saw two run-outs on the second attempted run which meant that England ended on 241, tied with New Zealand which called for a Super Over.
With England to bat first, it was Stokes and Buttler who strode to the crease and six balls later, they had set a daunting one-over total of 15 with new Zealand needing 16 to win.
Neesham and Guptill were the ones tasked with chasing this target down with Archer the man to take the ball.
After a wide and a two, Neesham picked up a full delivery perfectly to clear the boundary. Him and Guptill then ran another four runs before a single meant that Guptill had the strike with two to get.
The experienced opener managed to get one to the deep but despite a desperate dive, was run out trying to come back for the winning run which meant that England were celebrating their first-ever World Cup title.
