"Adil Rashid Said Allah Was With Us": Eoin Morgan After England's World Cup Glory

England won their maiden World Cup title with a win over New Zealand in the final at Lord's on Sunday. The World Cup-winning England team comprises players belonging to Pakistan, South Africa and Barbados. Captain Eoin Morgan, who is from Ireland, believes that both Irish luck and Allah were with the team during their nail-biting final against New Zealand. "I spoke to Adil (England leg-spinner Adil Rashid), he said Allah was definitely with us," Dublin-born Morgan said, when asked if England had enjoyed the famed luck of the Irish.

"It actually epitomises our team, quite diverse backgrounds and cultures," he added.

Morgan hopes his side's "incredible journey" to World Cup glory will inspire a new generation of fans in the sport's birthplace.

There have long been concerns about declining player numbers in English cricket, with the sport hidden behind a television paywall in Britain since England's iconic 2005 Ashes series triumph. 

But Sunday's match at Lord's -- the first of the 12 World Cup finals to end in a tie and to be settled by a Super Over contest -- was on free-to-air television.

"I certainly hope participation levels go up or continue to rise," said Morgan, who has overseen England's climb from the depths of a miserable first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup.

Morgan, asked if the final would have resonated far beyond cricket's core audience, replied: "I hope so. Obviously today is a big day of sport with Wimbledon and the Silverstone GP going on.

"But with Sunday evening, people normally settle in for a bit of (naturalist) David Attenborough or some random film that's on, so I hope they were tuned into the cricket."

England, set 242 to win, were dismissed for 241, with Ben Stokes stranded on 84 not out after Mark Wood was run out off the last ball of regulation play.

They then made 15 in their additional Super Over, bowled by Trent Boult, before New Zealand matched that in their own Super Over, bowled by Jofra Archer.

But with Martin Guptill run out off the last ball of the match going for the winning run, England triumphed on boundary count during the match -- 26 to 17.

England had a moment of astonishing good fortune with a bonus four runs during their main innings when a Guptill throw deflected off the bat of Stokes, who was diving to make his ground.

(With AFP inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

England Cricket Team Eoin Morgan World Cup 2019 Cricket New Zealand vs England, Final