Tamim headlines injury concerns

I am lost for words. I can’t believe what has happened. I can’t get my head around it. I thought it was gone needing 30 off 16. It has probably been the best day for cricket in this country. I feel like everything that has happened today is destiny.

Chris Woakes

England fast bowler.

I’m pretty lost for words,” he says. “All the hard words that’s gone in over these four years, this is where we aspired to be. To do it with such a game, I don’t think there will be another like this in the history of cricket. Jos and I knew if we’d be there close to the end, New Zealand would be under pressure. Not the way I wanted to do it, ball going off my bat like that, I apologised to Kane. We backed the new kid, Jofra Archer, the talent that he’s got, he showed the world today. The lads, in this one-day team, the Test team, my family, their support has been massive. Now I’m just looking forward to tonight, mate.

Ben Stokes

England all-rounder

We knew we would have to fire a few shots. Credit to England for the way they stuck at it. On another day the coin may have fallen our way. We’ll look back in a couple of years and say this was a pretty good experience. That’s the way we are as Kiwis, we get par scores and then scrap like hell. We don’t blast teams off the park.

Jimmy Neesham.

New Zealand all-rounder

Was pretty sure I was going to bowl it. Just had a chat with Morgs (starts chuckling) heart’s still racing, sorry. It’s probably the only tournament I’ve ever won in my life. From the beginning, the guys did so well. Would have been disappointed if we didn’t win. They’ve been a really good family to me.

Jofra Archer

England bowler

Hasn’t sunk in yet. What a finish that was. Hats off to the Kiwi boys. Over the moon.

Liam Plunkett

England bowler

I thought I’d seen everythign in cricket, and that game was just ridiculous. Hard to put it in words. We wanted to take it deep. We didn’t feel like the run rate would be an issue if we were both there in the end. A couple of good partnerships, we’ll chase this down. Trying to put pressure back on New Zealand. Don’t know what happened there in the end. Unbelievable.

Jos Buttler

England wicketkeeper-batsman

Massive commiserations to the New Zealand boys. Edges one way, edges another. The way the guys came back in the Super Over was fantastic, and Stokes was huge. To play at Lord’s is one thing, to play a World Cup final at Lord’s is something else.

Jonny Bairstow

England batsman

There’s not one person who has left the ground. This is exactly what cricket needed. In five or six years’ time, there’ll be kids in the street who were inspired by Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.

Michael Vaughan

Former England cricketer

Don’t understand how the game of such proportions, the #CWC19Final, is finally decided on who scored the most boundaries. A ridiculous rule @ICC. Should have been a tie. I want to congratulate both @BLACKCAPS & @englandcricket on playing out a nail biting Final. Both winners imo.

Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian cricketer

I don’t agree with that rule ! But rules are rules congratulations to England on finally winning the World Cup, my heart goes out for the kiwis they fought till the end. Great game an epic final!!!! #CWC19Final

Yuvraj Singh

Former Indian cricketer

This game will go down as one of the best matches in history. Congratulations to @englandcricket on your maiden @cricketworldcup title. Never be down @BLACKCAPS, you fought like champions. #CWC19Final

Sir Vivian Richards

Former West Indies cricketer

England held their nerve under pressure. New Zealand will be devastated for the rest of their careers because they had an opportunity to win the World Cup. They’ll have respect for Eoin Morgan because England play incredibly brave cricket. They were beaten by a team that, when the pressure was on, they found a way to get across the line.

Brendon McCullum

Former New Zealand captain

I’m a wreck. I don’t know what to say. It’s completely unfathomable. The commitment, the effort, the drive, the determination, the hunger those guys showed under the upmost pressure, it was just extraordinary to watch. The greatest game of cricket in history! And it was in a Lord’s World Cup final.

Andrew Strauss

Former England captain

England have been the best side through this tournament, I believe, but today I think New Zealand were the best team. The rub of the green went to England. Just think about it for a second -- everyone said it was overcast, bowl first, but Kane Williamson had the courage to bat first and trust his game plan. They got a score and defended that score to a tie -- a deflection off Stokes’s bat for four, they win the game if that doesn’t happen.

Shane Warne

Former Australia spinner

I can’t believe it. England tied the match and then they tied the Super Over and then they win on countback. You go through seven weeks and it comes down to a bloke trying to dive in to try and win the World Cup.

Nasser Hussain

Former England captain

I am lost for words. I can’t believe what has happened. I can’t get my head around it. I thought it was gone needing 30 off 16. It has probably been the best day for cricket in this country. I feel like everything that has happened today is destiny.” -- England fast bowler Chris Woakes.

“Wow! It’s hard to sum it up. What a day, what a tournament. Everyone has done everything asked of them. We have performed under pressure, it was almost written in the stars for Ben Stokes. He’s had such a tough time, I’m so proud of him and pleased for him and his family.

Joe Root

England batsman

At the business end of a tournament, skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was once more faced with an all-too-familiar hurdle. In the last two ICC 50-over tournaments, it was India that stopped Bangladesh's march -- in the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal and the 2017 Champions Trophy semifinal. After an impressive run in the ongoing World Cup, Mashrafe and Co are left having to win against India today to stay alive in the race to the semifinals.

Mashrafe was under no illusions about the size of the task at hand when speaking at the pre-match press conference in Birmingham yesterday.

"Look, every time we play, we want to win, but India were the better side in the last few World Cups," Mashrafe said when asked about his team's chances. "We go out onto the field to play at our best, and let's see. You never know. If you have a very good day, play every area, and if we are 100 percent correct, then you never know. It's a sport that on your day you can beat anybody."

All sportsmen present a veneer of confidence ahead of a contest, but Mashrafe seemed to struggle to maintain his.

"I'm not surprised," Mashrafe answered when asked whether he expected the team to last this long in the World Cup. "I think there's not too much left. We have to play at our best. If we can manage to win, that will be great, but to be honest, both sides [India and Pakistan, their next opponents] are very strong. It's not going to be easy, but we have to play hard and have to be 100 percent in every area. Good thing that we're still in the tournament, maybe, maybe not [after tomorrow], but let's see. We have to play a lot better than what we have played."

And that is the nature of the challenge facing Bangladesh. Most observers have been impressed by Bangladesh's progress through the tournament -- beating West Indies, South Africa and Afghanistan and almost beating New Zealand. But with how the teams stack up -- India have the most varied bowling attack and the best players of spin bowling, Bangladesh's strength -- Mashrafe knew that his team would have to play even better to stand a chance against the 2011 and 1983 champions.

"Whenever we have beaten big teams, I don't think we have ever won by playing well in one department," Mashrafe said when asked if there was one area in which he would put Bangladesh ahead of India. "It has always been batting, bowling and fielding. If we can do well in all sectors, then of course we can win."

There may be one chink in India's armour and that is their top-heavy batting department. Opener Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli, at number three, have scored a lion's share of their runs and getting them early could expose a softer middle order. But Bangladesh seem ill-prepared to exploit that as well, as they have managed to take a wicket in the first 10 overs just twice in six matches. Pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin have taken 10 wickets each, but only one of those wickets, that of Chris Gayle's wicket by Saifuddin, was taken by a pacer. Mashrafe meanwhile has just one wicket from six matches.

"It has not been ideal, for sure," Mashrafe said. "You need early wickets against India, otherwise they can get a very big score. But just because it has not happened before does not mean it won't happen tomorrow [Tuesday]."

That seems to be Bangladesh's way forward -- they have to find something that they have not yet found in the tournament.

England were mistakenly awarded an extra run during their nail-biting World Cup win over New Zealand at Lord’s, a member of the sport’s chief rules committee told media on Monday.

A freak fielding deflection off Ben Stokes’ bat that raced to the boundary saw the team awarded six runs with three balls to go in the final over on Sunday.

Scores were tied at the end of regular play and the resulting Super Over shootout, with England then handed their first-ever World Cup victory for their superior boundary count.

But former umpire Simon Taufel told Fox Sports Australia that umpires had made a  “clear mistake”, as the batsmen had not crossed for their second run.

“They should have been awarded five runs, not six,” he said, adding that England’s Adil Rashid should have faced the second-last ball instead of Stokes as a result.

Taufel, a five-time winner of the International Cricket Council’s Umpire of the Year award, now sits on the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) laws sub-committee, the worldwide custodian of cricket’s sometimes obscure rules of play.

The Australian defended the match umpires, who he said had to make a complicated judgement, and said it would be  “unfair” to say the decision altered the outcome of the tournament.

“Unfortunately that sort of thing happens from time to time. It’s a part of the game that we play,” Taufel said.

“I don’t wish to nitpick, just hope it never happens in such moments ever again.” England, who have often cited a humiliating defeat by New Zealand at the 2015 World Cup as the catalyst for their climb to the top of the one-day international rankings, finally have a World Cup win to go with their three losing appearances in the 1979, 1987 and 1992 finals.

By contrast, defeat is devastating for New Zealand, who were also looking to win the trophy for the first time after being well beaten by Australia in the 2015 showpiece.

Aaron Finch: Australia

If former Australia skipper Steven Smith and former deputy David Warner had not been handed a one-year ban in March last year following the infamous ‘sandpaper-gate scandal’ during a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town earlier that month, Australia could have had a different leader in this World Cup. Aaron Finch, who was not even the immediate successor -- only after Tim Paine’s five-match winless stint as captain was Finch called upon to take charge -- has already ensured that Australia were the first team to book a place in the semifinal, with two group matches in hand no less. Smashing two hundreds and three fifties, Finch is second on the top run getters’ list with 496 runs to his name. Inspired by a 116-ball 100 from Finch, Australia strolled past archrivals England in their most recent encounter to take their place atop the points table. If anyone seems to be in total control, it is undoubtedly Finch, who could also reach the finish line ahead of the pack.

Kane Williamson: New Zealand

Calm, collected and lethal at the same time, Kane Williamson steered New Zealand to a very commanding position in the World Cup. Up until a six-wicket defeat against Pakistan on Wednesday, the Kiwis remained unbeaten in their first six games. However, had it not been for Williamson, things could easily have been worse for the Black Caps. Chasing a modest 241 for six posted by South Africa, New Zealand faltered to four for 80 in the 19th over. And when Williamson got down on one knee and smashed an outside off a slower delivery from Andile Phehlukwayo over mid-wicket in the final over to bring up his ton, the 28-year old took off his helmet and made a simple gesture with his bat towards the pavilion while everyone had anticipated an animated jubilation for ensuring an eventual four-wicket win that would come off the next delivery with a boundary. Williamson’s calm nature indicated that he knew it was long from over and that he would keep on rescuing his team, just like he did in the next game with a 154-ball 148 against West Indies.

Virat Kohli: India

For a team where all the players seem to know their particular roles and have been delivering consistently for a considerable amount of time, often the skipper does not have to come up with something extraordinary as just playing his role becomes enough. India skipper Virat Kohli has not yet pulled off something extraordinary for his troops, who are yet to be defeated. While his four fifties in five games is an average display considering his own abilities, India’s stern grip at the top-three shows that Kohli is yet to take a wrong step in the flagship event.

Eoin Morgan- England

England skipper Eoin Morgan must be scratching his head and trying to figure out how they have landed in a situation where the hosts are now required to win the remainder of their two matches against India and New Zealand. While Morgan’s best display -- a match winning 71 off 148 -- came against a weak Afghanistan side, his worst was reserved for classic rivals Australia at Lord’s as the English skipper could only manage four off seven in their 64-run thumping.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza: Bangladesh

44 overs, 279 runs and just a solitary wicket -- not very captain-like figures from Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, whose prime task as a frontline pacer is to scalp wickets and contain runs. Considering individual performances, it has not been a dream World Cup for Mashrafe as he had more contributions off the field, such as during the post or pre match conferences, than he had contributed on the field. However, to see Bangladesh among the top-five teams with seven points from as many games, it must be said that the skipper is doing something right to guide his team to that position.

Sarfaraz Ahmed: Pakistan

Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed has so far been discussed for almost only embarrassing or wrong reasons. While images and videos of him yawning during Pakistan’s high-voltage game against India had been the topic of banter throughout social media, his visible unwillingness to take the strike and put the finishing touch on the game against Australia, where Wahab Riaz’s heroics was only complemented by Sarfaraz’s hilarious run-out, was widely criticised by journalists and cricket experts the world over. However, it is not the first time that Pakistan have bounced back from such situations. In fact, the results of this World Cup have been identical to those of the 1992 edition -- when Pakistan went on to lift the trophy. And while Pakistan fans would love to see it happen all over again, skipper Sarfaraz, who’s highest till now is an unconvincing 55 against England, would need to transform into a pragmatic leader if he is to walk the path of the great Imran Khan, who captained Pakistan in 1992.

Dimuth Karunaratne: Sri Lanka

Even after becoming only the second batsmen to have carried his bat through an innings in the World Cup, Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne could not avert a 10-wicket thumping in their World Cup opener against New Zealand in Cardiff. Karunaratne again saw his team stutter after he had fallen for a valiant 97 -- his career best ODI score -- against mighty Australia in chase of a mammoth 334 for seven. However, Sri Lanka still have their semifinal hopes alive, courtesy of a magnificent 20-run win over England. Karunaratne, who has a comparatively inexperienced team, needs to not only play well but also inspire his troops to achieve what no one expected.

Jason Holder: West Indies

Jason Holder could have guided West Indies to a magnificent win over Australia -- a game that the Caribbean lost by just 15 runs. West Indies required 37 runs from 25 deliveries with three wickets in hand when Holder decided to pull a Mitchell Starc bouncer on the leg stump line but reacted late only to see it ricochet off his gloves and be taken by the keeper. However, it was the best match for Holder in the ongoing World Cup as he scored 51 off 57 before returning economical figures of one for 28 in seven overs. While Holder remained expensive -- conceding 42 runs for three wickets in five overs -- in a dominating seven-wicket victory over Pakistan, Holder is yet to be the captain they need.

Faf du Plessis-South Africa

South Africa were the second most consistent team in this World Cup so far after Afghanistan as Faf du Plessis’ men lost five of their seven games with the game against West Indies being washed out and a nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan. While du Plessis could point out factors such as Dale Steyn’s injury and Lungi Ngidi’s unavailability for the same reason in crucial matches, the skipper himself failed at crunch moments. His decision was also questioned when he opted to bat on a relatively slow track in Southampton against a spin-heavy India. Du Plessis’s two fifties in the tournament, which came against Bangladesh (62) and Pakistan (63), were all for lost causes, indicating the impact he had for a team who have already exited the tournament.

Gulbadin Naib-Afghanistan

“We are already drowned darling, but we’ll take you with us.” were the words of Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib ahead of their 62-run thrashing at the hands of Bangladesh. As it stands, that was the highest level of threat he posed in the tournament. Naib’s highest score in the tournament -- a 75-ball 47 against Bangladesh -- never looked threatening. And while Naib could be credited giving India a good scare in a nail biting encounter, the only thing that the Afghans can do now is focus on their captain’s words and make it difficult for Pakistan and West Indies.