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England a modern-day cricketing Lazarus

Eoin Morgan is set to lead England to New Zealand (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Roar Guru
31st March, 2016
21

England’s walloping of New Zealand to reach the World T20 final is one of modern sports most remarkable comebacks. How does it compare with other amazing sporting turnarounds?

It was almost cringeworthy to see Australia and New Zealand taking turns feasting on a team that had as much steel as a polystyrene castle in the 50-over World Cup last year. Well, I felt that way.

Eoin Morgan’s team reached their lowest point. As Aaron Finch blasted a century and Tim Southee rattled British minds and stumps, the English were reduced to nothing. The world was laughing.

But Morgan would lick his bloodied wounds. His team, while raw and young, watched as the Australians and the New Zealanders backed themselves to win, with courage, tenacity and power.

He was an unashamed fan of their methods. Fast-forward a year, and after managing to reach the semi-finals of their first world tournament since 2010 – the English are now a possibility of winning it. The shy pussycat has turned into a full-grown wild beast.

Could this be the greatest transformation in modern sporting times? Here’s a look at some others.

Australia winning the 50 over World Cup
After the homework-saga of 2013, getting smashed in England and David Warner doing his best boxing impression, things were looking decidedly off for the Australian cricketers.

Darren Lehmann took the reigns with Mickey Arthur moving on, Michael Clarke leading Australia to a home World Cup triumph last year and Steven Smith taking his team to the top of the world Test rankings.

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Australian cricket had rare break from domination – and now a new wave of talent can cement their standing as top for a time to come.

The Reds and Highlanders winning Super Rugby titles
Both were perennial underachievers in their early incarnations. The Reds managed to reach the semi-finals in 1999, but then spent the next decade around the bottom of the competition ladder.

Their fortunes changed in 2010. Quade Cooper and Will Genia had superb seasons, both individually and as a partnership, with Cooper being awarded Australian Super Rugby Player of the Year.

The Reds finished in fifth place and with Ewen McKenzie’s second term at the helm, they discovered their attacking spark the following year that produced a maiden title.

Over the in the deep south of New Zealand, the Highlanders showed early promise (propped up by leadership from the likes of Taine Randall, Tony Brown, Byron Kelleher and Jeff Wilson) but faded into being an average team who played boring rugby, managing to consistently finish between sixth and 12th for most of the 2000s.

The arrival of Lima Sopoaga, with Malakai Fekitoa and Waisake Naholo taking their attack to new dimensions, along with Ben Smith directing at fullback unlocked something special in 2015, when they claimed their first championship.

New Zealand winning the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
Demolished in 2007 and with years of being the almost-guys, New Zealand’s rugby league team rose to prominence to overcome all odds, winning the 2008 World Cup over a seemingly invincible Kangaroo team.

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Remember the raw Aussies and the Brits put in four straight pummellings against a young Kiwi side both home and away. The scorelines of 58-0 and 44-0 were record thrashings.

However, it took Stephen Kearney to plot and Wayne Bennett to inspire and New Zealand managed to do the unthinkable – beat Australia, at home, and win their first World Cup.

Sri Lanka winning the 1996 World Cup
The biggest of all recent sporting fairy-tales. Only granted Test status in 1981, the Sri Lankans stunned everyone to win the 1996 World Cup.

Sanath Jayasuria and Ramesh Kaluwitharana pinch-hit their way in the first fifteen overs, Aravinda de Silva saved his best until the finals and Arjuna Ranatunga made his side believe. It shaped the next two decades of ODIs and short-form cricket.

So Roarers, where do these rate with your favourite sporting transformations?

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