Wild finish seals England’s first World Cup title
England won the Cricket World Cup for the first time in extraordinary circumstances on Sunday, beating New Zealand by a tiebreaker of boundaries scored after the final was tied after regulation play and again following the first Super Over in the tournament’s 44-year history.
England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler ran out Martin Guptill off the last ball of the Super Over as the New Zealand opener scrambled back for a second run that would have earned the Black Caps their first world title.
Both teams scored 241 after the regulation 50 overs per side, with England hitting 14 off the last over — including a six made up of two runs followed by an accidental four deflected off the bat of the diving Ben Stokes — to tie New Zealand’s 241-8.
That meant the World Cup’s first ever Super Over, which fans watched with hands around their heads and with a rule explainer required on the big screens inside the home of cricket.
“The most ridiculous game of cricket to have ever been played,” Buttler said, almost lost for words.
While New Zealand has lost two straight finals, the country that invented cricket has finally become its world champion. England had previously lost three finals, including one at Lord’s.
After Buttler collected Jason Roy’s throw from deep midwicket and removed the bails with his left hand, England’s players erupted in celebration — but still had an agonizing wait before the decision was confirmed by the TV umpire.
“OUT,” read the message on the big screen after Guptill was shown to be a yard (meter) out of the crease. Buttler threw his glove into the sky and was soon mobbed by some teammates. Roy was carried on another’s shoulders.
Golf
FRITTELLI CAPTURES BRITISH OPEN BERTH >> Dylan Frittelli secured the final spot in the British Open field when he won the John Deere Classic by two strokes in Silvis, Illinois.
Frittelli clinched his first PGA Tour victory in style with a seven-birdie, sevenunder-par 64 at TPC Deere Run, after starting the day two strokes off the pace.
He finished at 21-under 263, while Russell Henley shot a sizzling 61 to vault into second place on 19 under.
“Hopefully I can be calm by the time I get there but I’m sure it’s going to be a fun flight,” the bespectacled 29-year-old told CBS television.
Johannesburg-born Frittelli attended the University of Texas in Austin before turning pro in 2012. He won twice on the European Tour in 2017 but this is his first full season on the PGA Tour. Frittelli started the week ranked 153rd on the tour’s points ranking. BIRDIES POWER KIM TO LPGA WIN >> Sei Young Kim won the Marathon Classic for her second LPGA Tour victory of the season, making five straight birdies in a mid-round burst and shooting a 6-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over Lexi Thompson in Sylvania, Ohio.
Kim finished at a tournament-record 22-under 262 at Highland Meadows Golf Club. The 26-year-old South Korean player has nine tour titles.
Stacy Lewis was third at 16 under after a 66 and U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 had a 69 to finish fourth. GOOSEN WINS FIRST CHAMPIONS TITLE >> Retief Goosen birdied the final two holes to win the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
“It’s been 10 years since I last won a tournament,” the 50-year-old Goosen said. “The nerves were there, and to have those nerves a little bit again in the last few weeks, you know, you’ve just got to put yourself in a position all the time to get used to it again and that’s what I’ve done and it finally paid off this week.”
Motorsports
HAMILTON WINS SIXTH BRITISH GRAND PRIX >> Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton won a record sixth British Grand Prix after jumping ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by taking advantage of the safety car being deployed.
In front of his home fans in Silverstone, England, Hamilton made the decisive move to the front in the 20th of the 52 laps by pitting to get new tires. With the safety car still out after Antonio Giovinazzi spun off in his Alfa Romeo, Hamilton rejoined ahead of polesitter Bottas.
By beating Bottas by almost 25 seconds, Hamilton extended his championship lead over the Finn to 39 points and moved ahead of Jim Clark and Alain Prost to take the record for British GP victories.
Simon Pagenaud won his third race of the season and Alexander Rossi tightened the championship race with Josef Newgarden in IndyCar’s race through the streets of Toronto.
The win is the first for Pagenaud this year away from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Frenchman won the Indy 500 and the road course race at the speedway to save his job with Team Penske.
Scott Dixon was second and Rossi finished third, one spot ahead of IndyCar points leader Newgarden.