Morgan’s men have the golden touch
Eoin Morgan, England’s World Cup-winning cricket captain, lets young fans touch the trophy during celebrations yesterday at The Oval. The England team, who had toasted their victory long into the night, went on to a reception at No 10 hosted by Theresa May, who was in the crowd at Lord’s as Morgan’s men beat New Zealand on Sunday
IBy Eleanor Steafel at The Oval
t isn’t necessarily what you would choose to do after a night where the champagne was still flowing at 4am. When England’s cricketers emerged bleary-eyed from the Landmark Hotel yesterday morning, it wasn’t to continue the party on an open-top bus, as their Ashes-winning predecessors had done in 2005, but rather to go to The Oval to take a bow in front of hundreds of adoring children.
As the players descended the steps on to the field, each with a medal around their neck, they were met with cheers of delight from a crowd made up of young fans, all hoping to get their heroes’ names scrawled on miniature bats and powder-blue England caps.
Jofra Archer nursed a cup of coffee. James Vince’s sunglasses were never removed. Ben Stokes held a bottle of water as if his life depended on it and mumbled that he had “felt better”. Jonny Bairstow said time had “lost all meaning” during Sunday night’s celebrations. “I don’t know what time I went to bed.”
But even lack of sleep and sore heads could not wipe the smiles from their faces. Their delicate dispositions were a reminder of the 2005 Ashes celebrations, when the team earned a reputation as much for their efforts at the bar as on the field.
Then, Matthew Hoggard managed to insult Tony Blair, then the prime minister, while the captain, Michael Vaughan, tried to get Mr Blair’s eldest son, Euan, to pop out and buy them some alcohol when it emerged there would only be soft drinks on offer at the Downing Street reception.
After winning by the barest of margins and claiming the most dramatic victory in the sport’s history, no one could have begrudged Eoin Morgan’s team a little celebrating, but there were no such antics yesterday.
They were here to greet the next generation of England cricketers, and they were determined to give them a morning to remember, mingling with the crowds of children and strolling through a tunnel of flag-wavers, high-fiving as many as they could.
When Morgan appeared last, with the trophy, he was engulfed by youngsters wanting to touch the cup.
As camera crews closed in, the players split off to address groups of children individually.
Seven-year-old Jack Nagioff proudly showed off his cap, bat and shirt with signatures scrawled all over them. “I got all of them. It was really exciting. I
was about to burst at one point.” For many, it was man of the match Stokes they had come to see. Twins Ralph and Millie Gorrod, seven, had taken the day off school, and after patiently waiting their turn, they were rewarded. “Stokes signed our shirts and we said congratulations!” they said breathlessly. Many of the assembled children, like the twins, had parents who spontaneously decided to pull them out of school for the day to come down to The Oval, with admission granted to any children who were members of the England Cricket Board’s All Stars training programme.
“We emailed the school this morning and just said, ‘Look, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance,’” said Sam Byford Scott, who brought his eight-year-old son Finn along for the day. As more gathered, jostling for position, looking for a selfie or a signature, the decision was taken to send the players to the dressing room.
As the players finally left the field it was to cries of anguish from a group in the stands who hadn’t had their turn.
Such is the brilliantly levelling nature of sport, at times it was difficult to tell who was more distraught – the parents or the children. “Some of these kids are in tears,” one father called out to the organisers, concerned that the children (and, one imagines, their parents) should have the chance to get close to the cup.
“I’m really happy that England have won, it was amazing, it was one of the best days of my life – but these kids haven’t seen the players.”
He was soon vindicated. The players re-emerged, strolling the outfield on a mini lap of honour. Liam Plunkett clapped his hands and asked for noise, Stokes stopped others from heading back to the dressing room, and Bairstow vaulted the rail to shake the hands of the waiting children.
“Come on Jonny! Yes!” they cried, snapping selfies and reaching out to touch the cup.
“I’ve never seen passion like this,” said James Russell Jones, a coach for the All Stars. “It’s just been so great for the kids. They’ll never forget this.”