England convincingly defeated favorites and archrivals Australia by seven wickets in the ICC World Twenty20 finals played at Barbados on Sunday. This was England’s first world cup win in any format of the game. Twenty20 is the shortest and the most entertaining version of the game.
England wins its first Cricket World Cup
England convincingly defeated favorites and archrivals Australia by seven wickets in the ICC World Twenty20 finals played at Barbados on Sunday. This was England’s first world cup win in any format of the game. Twenty20 is the shortest and the most entertaining version of the game.
“This is our first World Cup we’ve ever won and the boys deserve it,” said Paul Collingwood, England’s team captain, according to an Associated Press interview. “We’ve put a lot of hard work and effort in and the boys are absolutely thrilled we came out today and put that performance in.”
Star batsman Kevin Pietersen was named man of the tournament after scoring 248 runs, including 47 in the final.
“This trophy goes to all the lads,” Pietersen said. “They support each other and share each other’s success. The more you play, the more you win and the more it becomes a habit, like the great Australians.”
Australia could only manage to score 147 in the allotted 20 overs and England chased it down with seven wickets to spare.
Australian captain Michael Clark said after the game, “I don’t think we scored enough runs. You’ve got to give credit to England, they outplayed us today. We’ve played really well throughout the whole tournament. We’re obviously disappointed in the final to not get the result but I think we should hold our heads high.”
Australia had staged a stunning comeback in the semifinals against Pakistan. Batting second, they chased down a mammoth 191 runs. In the other semifinal, England convincingly beat Sri Lanka to march into the f
inals.
Portland State’s Rec Club Council recently added cricket to its arsenal of rec clubs last month. Cricket, often referred to as the gentlemen’s game, is the second most played game in the world after soccer. It is popular in pockets of the globe ranging from Australia and New Zealand to England and the Caribbean.
The Cricket Club is open to all Portland State students and a club fee of $10 is required to utilize the club accessories, gear and training facilities.
