One year ago today England won the Cricket World Cup 'by the barest of margins,' and it's worth taking a look back at Ian Smith's incredible commentary.
Ben Stokes' performance is very memorable from the World Cup final between England and New Zealand last summer and Jofra Archer will always be remembered for his Super Over performance but both men were outshone.
In the commentary box New Zealander Smith, who played 98 times for his country in ODIs, was having an absolutely brilliant stint. His screams of 'England have won by the barest of margins, the barest of all margins,' are already legendary but the whole sequence is fantastic.
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The way he puts the microphone down when the Super Over is confirmed is magic, he's clearly feeling every moment of what is happening and he also needs a break for a second from all the twists and turns.
As the home side and World number one team in the 50 over format, England were favourites going into last summer's tournament and they beat South Africa very easily in the opener.
They had a shock defeat to Pakistan before getting back on track with wins against Bangladesh, West Indies and Afghanistan, before losses to Sri Lanka and Australia put their qualification for the semi-finals in some doubt.
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Eoin Morgan's side responded by beating India and New Zealand to book their semi-final spot against Australia, battering their old rivals in the knockout stages to reach their fourth ever 50 over World Cup final.
In the final, New Zealand set the tournament hosts 241 to win and then had Morgan's team in trouble at 86/4. Stokes and Buttler put on 110 runs for the next wicket and looked to be heading for the win.
They lost four wickets for 31 runs as Stokes tried to keep things together. The penultimate over saw the all rounder caught on the boundary but Trent Boult stood on the boundary with the ball in hand so it was a six.
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Crazier was to come as a throw from the deep bounced off Stokes' bat and ran for an accidental four down to the boundary, and a six in all with the two they'd run.
Two singles later and we had the Super Over. Stokes and Buttler put on 15 together in the extra six balls and left it for Archer to bowl out.
The quick bowler allowed a six off one of his early balls but brought it back to leave New Zealand needing two runs off the last ball.
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They attempted to run two but the throw from Jason Roy found wicketkeeper Buttler who removed the bails and England won the cricket World Cup on countback for boundaries in the match. Or, as the technical term goes, BY THE BAREST OF MARGINS!
Featured Image Credit:Topics: New Zealand, England, Cricket World Cup, Sky Sports, World Cup, Cricket News, Ben Stokes
