WE’RE DOUBLE TOPS

ENGLAND are the best white ball team in the world.

What else do you call the side who are world champions in both ODI and T20 cricket?

They might be under new leadership in Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott, but the DNA of this group of players remains the same as it did in 2016 when they lost their first final, in 2019 when they won their first crown and again last night as they sealed their legacy.

It stems, of course, from Eoin Morgan and his leadership of the side over the previous seven years.

But it runs throughout the key players who have all made their impact: Buttler, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and above all else Ben Stokes.

Who else did England want walking out to bat at 32-2 other than Stokes? He really is a cricketing phenomenon.

Both titles were won the hard way, with Stokes the central character each time, showing that success in the big games is as much about ticker as it is about technique.

In 2019 and now they were tournament favourites. That brings an extra dimension to the challenge, and still they triumphed.

That is why England are the best white ball team in the world.