It was four summers ago, when a dead-on-the-mat English team bought into Brendon McCullum’s brand of cricket to instill some life in their 50-over game, and began a journey by out-McCulluming New Zealand in their home series. The philosophy of play prospered between MCG and Lord’s under Eoin Morgan’s leadership, and on Sunday against the same team, they await its logical conclusion.
New Zealand, on the other hand, have slowly slipped into a more dour mode under Kane Williamson. Not a scream to hear, not an expression to picture, the New Zealand skipper just jogged his way towards his teammates, shook hands and made a claim for the final berth after having beaten possibly the closest contender to the hosts for the title – India. For all the noise of ‘it’s coming home’ and how it will inject a fresh lease of life into the game in England, Williamson too stands with an equal chance – if not with the odds in his favour – to create his own legacy as a captain, underrated much but possibly to go one-up on his predecessor’s achievements
New Zealand weren’t the most impressive side through the course, with issues aplenty. In fact, with rules other than NRR, the kind that Pakistan would’ve liked, they would’ve probably not even made it to the semis. When they lost, they lost badly, and when they won, in most cases it was simply a scrape through. But when it all bottles down to that one nerve-jangling moment in that one nerve-jangling match, recent history should leave them warmer of the two.
And there’s no better place they can fancy themselves to be at against England than Lord’s. The noise is there, the cup is being demanded, and yet at the home of homes, England don’t have the best of records. More importantly, they have withered in key moments, and even with one piece missing in that perfect jigsaw – like it was seen in Jason Roy’s absence – found themselves looking bereft of their powers. Even their much-celebrated lower order has failed to pitch in and make an impact when really needed.
What England have to their favour in a match-up is the contest between their pace attack and New Zealand’s under-firing batting line-up. Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes have been deadly with the new ball, backed-up well by Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood in the middle overs. New Zealand’s batting, barring the occasional rescue acts by Colin de Grandhomme and James Neesham, has largely been shouldered by Williamson and Ross Taylor. The tournament is one game away from shutting shop, but the openers and Tom Latham are yet to find their footing, which makes England’s attack, even in the absence of a left-armer exploiting the Lord’s slope, potent.
While this remains the clear disparity going into the final, what could eventually differentiate the two sides could be what tightens the challenge: England’s top order against New Zealand’s new-ball attack. It was what held them up in their respective semifinal encounters, with both emerging triumphant and paving the way for the July 14 date, but on the day, the better of the two could be what will define their maiden world cup triumph.
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