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More breaking news: the toss has been delayed by a quarter of an hour (to 10.15am), and so has the start (to 10.45). There was a sharp downpour this morning, and the groundstaff need a bit more time to dry the coin. Only in England.
If you’re on Instagram, there’s a memorable post by Brendon McCullum. He’s put the photo of the two captains up – the one currently sitting at the top of this page, with Kane Williamson looking suddenly camp. And he’s captioned it: “Two very fine gentlemen. Much love for them both.”
This is, in a small way, a lovely piece of writing. The first sentence expresses cricket’s traditional values, and could have been written at any time in the past century. The second could only have been written in the past decade or so, as men have belatedly got a bit better at showing their feelings. The two sentences together are strikingly even-handed, which reflects the fact that McCullum’s influence lies behind both captains. He was Williamson’s predecessor and mentor – though Williamson is his own man, with his own style, less gung-ho and more pragmatic. And he has also been Eoin Morgan’s inspiration. Morgan’s England, with their buccaneering irreverence, are more like McCullum’s New Zealand than Williamson’s New Zealand are. McCullum is the daddy – of both sides.
Written by Tim de Lisle (now) and Rob Smyth (later)
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2019/jul/14/new-zealand-v-england-cricket-world-cup-final-2019-live under the title “New Zealand v England: Cricket World Cup final 2019 – live!”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
