2019 Cricket World Cup Final Explained: England vs NZ Tie, Super Over, Boundaries Count Decided
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Final (Lord's, July 14, 2019) — England vs New Zealand, the match tied twice. The regulation 50-over match tied at 241 each. The Super Over tied at 15 each. England won by boundaries count (England 26 boundaries vs NZ 17 in the full match) — the most controversial result in World Cup Final history and the rule change it prompted.
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Final (Lord's, July 14, 2019) is the most extraordinary match in cricket World Cup history — the only Final in cricket to be tied twice (regulation match and Super Over). England won their first-ever ODI World Cup on the boundaries-count rule (26 vs 17 boundaries across the full match) — a rule that had never previously been applied in a World Cup match and has since been removed from the ICC regulations. The match produced everything: a wide, a deflected 6, a run-out from the penultimate delivery, and a tie off the Super Over's final ball.
The 50-Over Match: NZ Set 241, England Tie
The regulation match: (1) New Zealand's innings: NZ batted first (Kane Williamson won the toss). NZ scored 241/8 in 50 overs — a competitive but not dominant total. Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson bowled effectively; Williamson anchored (30); Henry Nicholls (55) was the top scorer; (2) England's chase: England needed 242. Ben Stokes (top score 84 not out off 98 balls) was the cornerstone. England lost wickets — Jos Buttler (59) and Stokes held the innings together; (3) The penultimate over (over 49 — Trent Boult bowled): England needed 22 off 12. Stokes hit a six (Boult) — then the famous deflection: Stokes drove a ball that deflected off Martin Guptill's throw at the batsman's end and hit Stokes's bat — four overthrow runs were added (total of 6 runs off the ball: 2 run plus 4 overthrows). Controversy: TV replays showed the batsmen had not completed the 2nd run when the ball was released — technically only 5 runs should have been added (1 complete run plus 4 overthrows). The umpires added 6; (4) Final over: England needed 15 off 6. Boult bowled the final over. Stokes hit a six (4 balls remaining). England needed 9 off 3. Stokes hit a 2. England needed 3 off 1. Final ball: Stokes got 2 (Guptill's throw from the boundary ran to the boundary — 4 overthrows again?): NZ claimed — but there was a wide off an earlier ball... The final ball produced 2 runs. Match tied at 241 each.
The Super Over: Another Tie
The Super Over: (1) England's Super Over (batted first): Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes batted for England. Trent Boult bowled. England scored 15/1 in their Super Over (Stokes hit a six, run out off the last ball for 8); (2) NZ's Super Over: Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill batted for New Zealand. Jofra Archer bowled. NZ needed 16 to win. They scored: 15/1 — Neesham hit a six off the 5th ball. Last ball: NZ needed 2 from the final delivery with 1 wicket remaining. Guptill hit the ball to the deep — Jason Roy's throw to the keeper arrived as Guptill ran for the winning run — Guptill was run out. NZ scored 15. Super Over also tied 15-15; (3) Boundaries count decides: the ICC regulation at the time: if a Super Over is tied, the team with the most boundaries in the full match wins. England: 26 boundaries (24 fours + 2 sixes). New Zealand: 17 boundaries (17 fours + 0 sixes in... wait — NZ hit 2 sixes in the match). The exact boundary counts: England 26 (22 fours + 4 sixes), NZ 17. England won by boundaries count.
England's World Cup Journey to 2019
England's road to the 2019 World Cup title: (1) The 2015 disaster: England were eliminated from the 2015 World Cup (Australia/NZ) in the group stage — a comprehensive failure. England's ODI cricket had been stuck in a defensive, unambitious style from the early 2010s; (2) The reconstruction (2015-2019): England's limited-overs revolution under Eoin Morgan (Ireland-born, qualified for England). Morgan and new coaches transformed England's ODI approach: setting high targets (scoring 350+ as a goal, not just batting conservatively), expressing freedom from the first ball, and selecting players for their ability to attack; (3) The results: England posted multiple 350+ ODI scores in 2017-2019, including a world-record 481/6 vs Australia (2018, Trent Bridge). They became ODI world #1. The 2019 World Cup was the culmination of the 4-year rebuild; (4) The squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer (the surprise selection whose pace changed England's bowling attack midway through the tournament).
Frequently asked questions
How did England win the 2019 World Cup?
England won the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Final (Lord's, July 14, 2019) vs New Zealand on the boundaries-count rule — one of the most controversial results in cricket history. The regulation 50-over match tied at 241. The Super Over also tied at 15. The ICC's tiebreaker rule at the time: team with the most boundaries in the full match wins. England had 26 boundaries; New Zealand had 17. England were declared World Cup champions. The controversial deflected overthrow off Ben Stokes's bat (possibly incorrectly giving 6 instead of 5 runs) was debated extensively after the match. The ICC subsequently changed the Super Over tiebreaker rule to use additional Super Overs rather than boundaries count.
What is the Super Over in cricket?
A Super Over is a one-over-per-team tiebreaker used in limited-overs cricket when a match is tied after the scheduled overs. Each team selects 3 batsmen and 1 bowler. The team batting first bats one over (6 balls) — the other team then chases that total in one over. The higher-scoring team wins. If both Super Overs are tied (as happened in the 2019 World Cup Final), post-2020 ICC rules require another Super Over to be played — continuing until one team scores more than the other. The Super Over system replaced the bowl-out (penalty shootout equivalent) used previously.
What was the overthrow controversy in the 2019 World Cup Final?
In the 49th over of the 2019 World Cup Final, Ben Stokes hit a ball and the fielder's (Martin Guptill) throw deflected off Stokes's bat to the boundary — giving 4 overthrows. The umpires awarded 6 total (2 runs completed + 4 overthrows). However, TV replays showed the batsmen had not completed their 2nd run when Guptill threw the ball — under the Laws of Cricket, only 1 complete run should have counted, making the total 5 (1 run + 4 overthrows) rather than 6. The umpires' decision could not be overturned by DRS (overthrow counting is not a reviewable decision). The 1-run difference may have changed the match result — England ultimately won the match by the boundary count, not by runs, but the tie scoreline of 241 might have been 240 vs 241 without the error.