Unfamiliar as it still sounds, the pre-match anthem said it all. God Save The King indeed. A new reign is upon us.
With this victory, which was more heart-in-mouth than the scorecard suggests, England become simultaneous world champions in both short forms. They beat New Zealand for the 50-over title at Lord’s in the most memorable final of all three years ago, but it will give them pleasure to have landed this one on the MCG with Australia watching on helplessly.
They enjoy putting one over us as much as we like putting one over them.
Ben Stokes celebrates hitting the winning runs against Pakistan. Credit:Brendon Ratnayake, AP
In Test cricket, England lie fourth in the rankings. But that is largely the legacy of a dismally long run of defeats under a previous management, culminating in last summer’s Ashes thrashing here and its nadir on this ground.
With Brendon McCullum as coach, playing his so-called Bazball, England won six of seven Tests at home last summer, against New Zealand, South Africa and India. Soon enough, that earlier log of defeats will drop off the calculus. It won’t be soon enough to play into consideration for next year’s Test championship final, but it will add a layer of intrigue to next year’s Ashes series. In all forms, England are a team in form.
England’s reinvigoration has been carefully thought out. Their Test turnaround began with a change of captains, from Joe Root to Ben Stokes. This title proceeded from another change, Eoin Morgan giving way to Jos Buttler.
Specialists have been trained for roles. Only two of this night’s winning XI played in England’s most recent Test match, Stokes and Harry Brooks. Stokes has been at the heart of all that England have achieved in his time, and was the pivotal player again when the pinch was on this night. What a mighty cricketer he has become.
In a tournament characterised by mercurial highs and lows, England were the acme of consistency. Their only loss was to Ireland when rain put an abrupt end to their clash at the MCG, and it is reasonable to conjecture that with a bit more notice, they would have won that, too. Morally, they were unbeaten.
Their batting ran fathoms deep. If needed, they had at No.11 a man with 10 first-class centuries, Adil Rashid. It is the sort reinforcement that gives strength to the arm of the top order. It meant that the psychological pressure on Stokes and Moeen Ali when this final fell into the balance did not bind them up as it might have another team.
Their attack had men for all seasons and contingencies. Their keys this night were Rashid, a leg-spinner, and Sam Curran, a left-arm seamer. Between them, they took 5-34. Moeen’s accomplished off-spin went unused.
Across the tournament, England made thorough plans and realised them professionally. Enough. Pakistan depended more on strokes of individual inspiration, their own and the Netherlands. This has characterised their cricket over the years. Thirty years ago, it delivered them a famous win over England on this very ground.
It nearly did again. It’s pleasing to report that sport is not altogether susceptible to technocracy. Pakistan batted recklessly, crying for a middle order player with the composure of Stokes and Moeen. But their electrifying seamers lit up the MCG and almost dragged their team back into the contest.
Indeed, the last turning point was the injury that meant Shaheen Shah Afridi could not complete his last over. It was a very Pakistan sort of denouement.
Shaheen Shah Afridi leaves the field after being injured. Credit:Cameron Spencer, Getty
Australia can take a scrap of consolation from the night. Once forebodings about the weather could be put to the back of all minds, the MCG with 80,00 in was again resplendent.
We have the stage, we can put on the show. If only FIFA would take note. But the only show that interests them is the show of money.
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