Eoin Morgan believes an England victory in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 final over New Zealand could be an iconic moment for cricket across the country.
England will face off against the Black Caps at Lord’s in their first World Cup final in 27 years and, like their opponents, have never lifted the trophy.
While Morgan remains wary of getting ahead of himself, he reflected on the potential impact a victory could have on the English game, while addressing the press on match eve.
“I haven’t allowed myself to think about lifting the trophy,” Morgan said. “Cricket and sport, in particular, is very fickle. If you ever get ahead, it always seems to bite you in the backside, so for us to win it, I think around the country it would be awesome, great for the game.
“It would be quite iconic in certainly young kids’ memory if they are watching it at home and we manage to lift the trophy, it would be awesome.”
Morgan spoke of what the game means to him and his side, with whom he has enjoyed resounding success in ODI cricket since their group-stage exit at the 2015 World Cup.
“It means a huge amount to me and everybody in the changing room. 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.
“I think it presents another opportunity for both teams and the ICC to sell the game on a huge platform. Two very strong sides, hopefully, produce a really good game of cricket. It’s on terrestrial television around the country and obviously various outlets online. It presents a huge opportunity for us to sell this great game.”
On the match itself, Morgan said that a run-fest is unlikely. Both England and New Zealand have played once at Lord’s this tournament, and both succumbed to defeats at the hands of Australia, failing to chase down targets below 300.
“I think in general, throughout the tournament, the scores have been a lot lower than they have previously here in the last three or four years,” Morgan said. “Us adjusting to that has been harder work than it normally is.
“Lord’s isn’t ever a high-scoring ground, so I’d say tomorrow isn’t going to be a high-scoring ground. It will be a bit of a battle.”
