England out of shadows World Cup victory will change 50-over game forever

ENGLAND has punched and crunched its way to the country’s first ICC World Cup final in almost 10,000 days.

Captain Eoin Morgan epitomised his “Express Yourself” mantra when he tonked a record 17 sixes against Afghanistan last month.

England has cracked 74 sixes this tournament after hitting just 69 in TOTAL at its past five World Cups.

If the fearless approach culminates in a maiden trophy in tonight’s final against New Zealand, then 50-over cricket will forever be changed.

That is, if you can watch it. England’s glorious rise has gripped the outside cricket world, but has lost a lot focus inside its own shores.

It’s been a home tournament played in the shadows. No cricket has been shown free to air in England since the Ashes in 2005.

While Aussies sat for countless summers with TV sets glued to Channel 9, a generation of Brits have grown up struggling to see a ball.

Nearly a million Australians watched their team collapse in Thursday’s semi-final, battling heavy eyes in the graveyard timeslot, while only Sky Sports watchers had access in England.

But today, that changes. Sky Sports promised that if England made the final at Lord’s it would let Channel 4 beam its broadcast to everyone, meaning there is so much more than just a trophy on the line today.

Ticketing has also bobbed up as a problem.

Indian supporters purchased 41 per cent of seats to today’s final, thinking Virat Kohli would be tossing the coin, yet the wealthy fans are now happy to leave seats empty and the wicked ones are out to scourge real supporters.

Two tickets originally valued at $600 were listed at $32,000 each, while ticket dealers were observed making dodgy sales at a luxury hotel , just metres away from the Aussie stars enjoying a drink.