It’s fascinating how single elements of a tournament as vast and complex as the Cricket World Cup become etched into folklore.
They define the way that year’s tournament is spoken about as a whole.
1992 was the year of colour clothing, ’96 the Sri Lankan victory that no-one saw coming, ’99 will forever be earmarked by a stock image of Adam Glichrist, arms stretched wide, pouncing toward the Aussie pack, with Lance Klusener dejectedly removing his helmet while striding off Edgbaston after the second greatest ODI of them all.
2003 was political turmoil, 2007 was so long that nobody really cared by the end, 2011 was the MS Dhoni show and 2015 was the year that 400 became the new 300.
2019 will inevitably be summed up in the still of New Zealand’s Martin Guptil’s tear-streaked face, being consoled by team-mate Jimmy Neesham, the two emerging as unlucky protagonists from the undisputed greatest ODI that there ever was.
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
However, while a picture paints a thousand words, it can never sum up the drama played out across England and Wales over those seven weeks in the northern summer – a tournament that should be defined by a far more promising moment for world cricket: the return of the ball’s relevance to the game.
The effect of the T20 evolution on ODI bowling is obvious. This new climate has produced a cut-throat demand for consistency, requirements that produced some of the great spells in the 2019 tournament.
Sri Lanka being skittled by Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry for a mere 136 was just the beginning of an array of exciting performances. Jasprit Bumrah took hold of his potential and showed that he is among the most unplayable in the world, taking India to the semi-finals. Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Afridi proved lethal at the death, and gifted viewers with some incredible swing spells, particularly in the back end of the tournament.
Sheldon Cottrell may have irritated the masses with his salute celebration, but that was perhaps due to the frequency with which it was used, such was his effectiveness with the new ball. Mitchell Starc’s delivery to Ben Stokes to remove the all-rounder in a gripping tussle in the group stages will be a permanent fixture of YouTube top tens.
And Lasith Malinga, despite posing the physical stature of a park cricket D-grader, wound back the clock with some bullets that ultimately broke the tournament wide open with England’s stunning capitulation in the group stages, giving Bangladesh and Pakistan a sniff at top-four honours.
Indeed, the final itself was dominated by clinical bowling, although ultimately defined by the tiebreaker that couldn’t separate the two teams. Notably, Colin de Grandhomme’s suffocating ten overs on the trot applied a mountain of pressure to the usually explosive English middle order.
In a competition where no team surpassed the 400 mark despite smaller grounds and the effect of T20 being felt more sharply than ever before, the bowlers would have been the talk of 2019.
English cricket was tasked with bringing the game back into the public conscience of their country. They not only achieved that, but they’ve inspired all manner of young boys and girls to replay that final over – so masterfully bowled by Jofra Archer – that sent ODI cricket back into the sphere of relevance for cricket-lovers and casual consumers alike.
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