YES, WE REALLY ARE IN THE WORLD CUP FINAL!
As ‘Roy of the Overs’ destroys Aussie cricketers...
FIREWORKS exploded over Edgbaston yesterday and fans danced jigs of delight as England swept into the cricket World Cup final.
The team knocked out the old enemy Australia and are now favourites to beat New Zealand at Lord’s on Sunday.
It is the fourth time England’s men have reached the final – and fans will be hoping that this time, it will be a winning performance. After all, the England women managed the feat two years ago against India, their fourth world cup title.
In another possible portent, Joe Root wears 66 on his shirt, giving fans the hope that the cricketers might emulate England’s World Cup winning footballers of 1966.
The winning runs in a thrilling but one-sided encounter yesterday were scored by captain Eoin Morgan, 32, coming just in time for England as light rain began to fall at the ground just minutes afterwards. England had not beaten Australia in a World Cup game since 1992.
Fans joined in with renditions of Sweet Caroline and a reworking of the football song Three Lions, singing ‘cricket’s coming home’ to Morgan and his men.
And the whole country will be able to cheer England on by watching Sunday’s game on Channel 4 and More 4 – available on free-to-air TV rather than the satellite channel which has so far shown the tournament.
England’s last final on home soil, in any major sport, was in 1991 during the rugby World Cup, when they went down to an all-conquering Australia side. The women’s football team suffered heartbreak in this summer’s World Cup in France, with defeat at the semifinal stage mirroring the men’s efforts during the Russia 2018 tournament. The cricket final on Sunday is now likely to be watched by a global audience of one billion – and last night black-market tickets for the game were being offered for £8,000 a seat, more than 20 times their face value.
England will face New Zealand in the showpiece game at 30,000capacity Lord’s, the home of cricket. England have already beaten New Zealand in the group stage of this tournament, defeating them by 119 runs.
While the tournament rights were originally bought by Sky TV, the broadcaster announced it is