‘Culmination of 4 years of hard work’

England have transformed into a team that is unrecognisable from the one that limped out of the 2015 World Cup after a loss to Bangladesh. After beating Australia on Thursday to book a place in their fourth World Cup final, skipper Eoin Morgan talked about moving away from the general cynicism that surrounded long-suffering English sports teams and finding enjoyment in their cricket. On the eve of the final, enjoyment rather than the pressure of playing a home final was what came through in Morgan’s press conference.

“I certainly feel pretty relaxed,” Morgan said when asked how it felt to prepare for a final at the revered Lord’s Cricket Ground, where he also plays county games for Middlesex. “It is nice to be home.

“We’re going to enjoy the game regardless. We’re going to try and take in as much as we can, it’s a World Cup Final, and we’re not going to shy away from that. We’re going to try and take in as much as we can. As long as anything [the fanfare] doesn’t affect performance, we’re going to try and take it in.”

That they have not been cowed by pressure has been evident in their march to the World Cup final. After a bright start, their campaign fell off the rails with successive losses to Sri Lanka and Australia, and they had to win their last two league matches -- against India and today’s opponents New Zealand -- to be sure of a semifinal place, and they managed that comfortably.

“I think it [having to win every game] has helped us because it has lent itself to actually being more positive and aggressive and a bit smarter about how we play. It’s sort of been the last-chance saloon since Durham [the game against New Zealand on July 3], which has been nice in a way.

“It’s a culmination of four years of hard work, dedication, a lot of planning and it presents a huge opportunity to go on and try and win a World Cup.”