World Cup in hand, Eoin Morgan reflects on the completion of a long journey: It means everything

SAM MORSHEAD AT LORD'S: As Morgan sat down to answer questions, he did so with his typical cool - the occasional sarcastic comment, the dry humour which has defined his captaincy - but he admitted that not long before he had been emotional

Eoin Morgan held the World Cup trophy tight to his chest as he arrived at his post-match press conference.

As he sat down to answer questions, he did so with his typical cool - the occasional sarcastic comment, the dry humour which has defined his captaincy - but he admitted that not long before he had been emotional.

And why not. This was the culmination of four years of work for Morgan, his players and their backroom staff - an adventure that began in the depths of despair in 2015 and reached its high point at Lord’s this weekend.

There had been tears of joy on the pitch when Jos Buttler ran out Martin Guptill off the final ball of a super over to ensure England of victory over New Zealand by virtue of having scored more boundaries on the day. Morgan had mopped up before he presented himself to the world’s TV camera, but his words twanged with feeling.

“It means absolutely everything - the planning, the hard work, the dedication, the commitment and the little bit of luck today really did get us over the line,” he said.

“It’s been an absolutely incredible journey.

^{Eoin Morgan celebrates with the World Cup}

“To everybody around the country and around the world who has followed us and supported us, thank you so much. It has been phenomenal, right the way through the tournament, regardless of our performance. 

“People believed because we believed and I’m very thankful for that.

“To get over the line reaffirms everything we’ve done over the last four years.”

When Morgan sat down with England senior management in 2015 to plot the team’s road back from World Cup embarrassment, the plan was to become a force in time for the next tournament.

Objective achieved.

But in making their own dreams come true, this galiant and diverse group - so representative of the country on the front of their shirts - might have done so much more.

Cricket has entered the national conversation these past six weeks in ways it has not done since the dizzy summer of 2005. On Sunday, Trafalgar Square was packed with men, women and children, congregating to watch bat take on ball. Channel 4 carried Sky Sports’ excellent coverage to as broad an audience as the game could possibly imagine.

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And, to top it all off, the players took the opportunity to show not only how good they are but how good the sport is to thousands upon thousands of potential new recruits.

“I certainly hope participation levels go up or continue to rise,” Morgan said,

“Today is a big day of sport, with Wimbledon and a Silverstone Grand Prix.

“On Sunday evening people usually settle in for some David Attenborough or a random film, so I hope they’ve seen a bit of cricket.”

Those who did tune in - and it will be fascinating to see the viewer numbers for Channel 4’s broadcast over the coming days - witnessed one of the best cricket matches in living memory.

England looked cooked in pursuit of 242 before Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler rescued the cause, Trent Boult trod on the boundary rope with Stokes on 63 - a gamechanging moment, and then the host nation received a huge slice of luck when a throw from the deep caught the allrounder’s bat and ricocheted for four overthrows in the final over.

The game was tied after 50 overs apiece, before England set New Zealand 16 to win the super over.

^{England beat New Zealand at Lord's}

“I can’t quite believe we’ve got over the line. It’s been an extraordinary day, the most incredible game of cricket with nothing between the sides,” Morgan said. 

“Sport sometimes is very, very fine margins and it was the finest of margins today. It could have gone either way. I’m thankful it went ours.”

New Zealand have played such a fundamental role in the development of this England side. It was the Kiwis who dished out the thrashing four years ago, that sparked the renaissance under Morgan. It was the former Blackcaps captain, Brendon McCullum, on whom Morgan leaned on so heavily for advice and inspiration. It was New Zealand who provided the first opponents for England’s new order in 2015, and now it was they who stood in the way of a first World Cup triumph.

No wonder the mutual respect is still so strong.

“The nature in which the game was played today was absolutely outstanding. I commend the Blackcaps and Kane,” Morgan said.

“They’ve been absolutely incredible. The way they play, the fight they’ve shown and the fact they’ve done it for an extremely long time. We’re only newcomers to this and we want to be as consistent as them.”

Our coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is brought to you in association with Cricket 19, the official video game of the Ashes. Order your copy now at Amazon.co.uk