NZ stroll past Afghanistan

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

Bangladesh's World Cup campaign is now precariously poised. After losing their second and third matches against England and New Zealand, they had pinned their hopes on the match against Sri Lanka in Bristol on Tuesday to get their World Cup campaign back on track. But incessant rain washed out that match and Bangladesh are now left needing to win at least four out of their last five games. While the next game is also against a lower-ranked opposition in West Indies in Taunton on June 17, the conditions may be against Bangladesh's favour.

As the team made their way to the sleepy southern English town yesterday, Australia were on their way to piling up a total in excess of 350, but the Pakistan pacers -- with Mohammad Amir picking up a five-for -- got them all out for 307.

None of those aspects -- Australia's big hitting and Pakistan's pace success -- would help Bangladesh against West Indies. The Cooper Associates County Ground is one of the smaller international venues. With the West Indies boasting the likes of Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis and Andre Russell to take advantage of the small boundaries, Bangladesh's bowlers would have to be at their best to contain them.

"One of their most explosive players is Andre Russell, and he's a formidable opponent. He's one of the best hitters in the game, by far, and on his day, he can be very, very difficult to bowl at," Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes had said after the game was abandoned on Tuesday. "So he can take a game away from you, but they have others, like all these international teams.

"But we're very pleased with the way we play the white ball, and we know we've got some good players ourselves, so we won't be worrying too much about who we're playing against, and we'll be hopeful that they are going to worry about some of our players."

The coach was less worried about the other aspect with which the West Indies may choose to attack the Tigers. Bouncers have become a common ploy in this World Cup, especially when bowlers with genuine pace are operating.

"We've got certain ways of dealing with that. I'm very, very happy with the way we play the white ball, particularly when it's short. I think you've seen [that] against South Africa, that didn't worry us. We've played against the West Indies bowlers, recently, as well, out in Ireland. Certainly Oshane Thomas, as well, when we played against him in Bangladesh just before Christmas. So we are well aware of what they have got and we know what's coming and we've got some plans to try and deal with that."

With the match five days away and the weather set to clear, and also the two days of rest for Bangladesh's players, there will be ample time for the team to reset for the challenge.

So far, Bangladesh have featured in five World Cups with the 1999 edition being the Tigers' first ever appearance at the quadrennial mega event. From being happy to simply participate in a World Cup to having the ambition to knockout whichever opposition they face, Bangladesh have undergone huge changes in mentality over the years and grown as a team. With the 2019 World Cup soon to get underway, the The Daily Star's Nabid Yeasin outlined the highlights of the five editions that the Tigers' have featured in below.

1999: The entire nation's dreams came true when Aminul Islam stepped onto the County Ground in Chelmsford for the coin toss alongside Stephen Fleming of New Zealand in what was Bangladesh's maiden World Cup match. Given that Bangladesh were happy to just participate in the tournament, the two wins they secured not only provided a huge confidence boost but also pushed forward the country's cricketing journey. In that edition, Bangladesh registered their first ever World Cup win against Scotland, who have never been considered as a powerhouse of the sport. The Tigers then shocked the world when they convincingly defeated a full strength Pakistan by 62 runs to end their campaign on a high note. It was also Bangladesh's first win against a Test playing nation, which made things easier when the side requested Test status later on.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Ashraful led the Tigers’ victory over India in Trinidad in 2007 Photo: star file

2003: Till date, the 2003 World Cup remains to be the Tigers' most abysmal campaign. So much so in fact that even the players who were a part of the squad fail to recall any good memories of that edition. Perhaps though the words of Habibul Bashar, for whom it was the first time featuring at the World Cup, provides a glimpse of how much the Tiger's suffered. "Whenever I think about that World Cup, I can only recall bad memories," said Bashar, who is currently a national selector. While the big margin defeats against Sri Lanka (10 wickets), South Africa (10 wickets) and New Zealand (seven wickets) could somehow be acceptable given Bangladesh's strength at the time, the 60-run defeat against Canada and the 32-run loss against Kenya showed that changes needed to be made to the team.

While Rubel Hossain spearheaderd their 2015 victory over England in Adelaide. Photo: star file

2007: It could be said that the 'fearless' version of the Tigers first appeared when Habibul Bashar led Bangladesh to a five-wicket win over India at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad. According to players and experts alike, the Tigers' displayed their best ever cricket at the 2007 edition. In that match, Bangladesh became a team that no longer relied on the opposition's mistakes but rather created their own chances when an 18-year-old Tamim Iqbal went down the track to hit Zaheer Khan -- one of the most feared and experienced pacers at the time -- for a huge six over midwicket. To knock India out in the group stage and make their way to the Super Eight for the first time, following a victory over the mighty South Africa by 67 runs no less, Bangladesh had turned into a force to be reckoned with.

2011: With Bangladesh co-hosting the tournament, the 2011 World Cup was expected to see the Tigers create some memories they could cherish for a long time. However, it was not to be as the they ended up making some memories they would really rather forget. Bangladesh were bundled out for 58 -- their lowest ever total in a World Cup -- against West Indies and capitulated for 78 runs -- their second lowest at the tournament -- against South Africa soon after. Although the Tigers did secure a two-wicket victory over England, the feat could not mask all the disappointments of that edition of the World Cup.

2015: When Rubel Hossain knocked the stumps off England right-arm quick James Anderson at the Adelaide Oval, Bangladesh had not only just registered a 15-run victory but also knocked the Three Lions out of the tournament as they marched towards their first ever quarterfinal in the World Cup. Result-wise, that edition of the World Cup remains to be the best one for the Tigers so far. Bangladesh had started that edition by defeating Afghanistan, who were playing in their first World Cup, by a whopping 105 runs. However, while a 109-run defeat against India in the quarterfinal was not what fans expected after such a brilliant tournament, Bangladesh had to remain content with such an end.