The England Men’s team made history today by winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in dramatic fashion at Lord’s Cricket Ground, the home of cricket.
After a nail-biting finish, Captain Eoin Morgan and the team lifted the trophy for the first time ever in a truly joyous moment after beating New Zealand in the Final.
On this momentous day for the country, ecstatic fans of all ages celebrated the victory from Lord’s and the fan zone in Trafalgar Square, as well as in homes, cricket clubs and communities across the country.
In a stand-out year for cricket, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup has connected with one million kids. The achievement is a result of the plan to use the World Cup to engage with young people up and down country – a key aim of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) strategy to grow the game.
The tournament has helped bring cricket to thousands of schools across the country, engaging over 700,000 kids and 12,000 teachers through cricket. ECB’s multi-million-pound investment into clubs through the World Cup Small Grants Scheme has also helped over 3,000 clubs open their doors and celebrate with their communities.
The World Cup has attracted new and diverse audiences, with over four million people from 157 countries applying for tickets. In total over 800,000 tickets were sold and over 210,000 people bought a ticket to attend a match for the first time. Over 12,000 kids received tickets to experience the magic of the tournament first-hand through the ICC Cricket World Cup’s Schools Programme. 150,000 tickets were sold to girls and women and 320,000 to fans from south Asian communities.
Building on this success, ECB has a plan to grow the game in this country – Inspiring Generations. Across the next five years, over £770 million will be invested into all aspects of the sport, from women’s cricket and the domestic game, through to improving accessibility and diversity at a grassroots level.
Commenting on the victory, ECB Managing Director of Men’s Cricket, Ashley Giles said:
“I couldn’t be prouder of the team’s achievements in what was one of the greatest cricket matches of all time. What an amazing feeling for the boys who have worked so unbelievably hard to get to this point. It’s important that we enjoy the moment and be proud as the team look to inspire yet again during the Specsavers Ashes.
“Massive congratulations to Eoin, Trevor, the team and everyone involved in making this dream a reality. This day will go down in history and no doubt inspire a generation of boys and girls to fall in love with this exceptional sport.”
Also commenting, Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer said:
“It’s an absolutely monumental day for cricket in this country. Eoin, Trevor and the whole team truly deserve this victory. I’m proud to be able to say that our men’s and women’s teams are now both World Cup champions – that’s a historic achievement.
“Hosting the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup has provided the prefect springboard to launch our plan to grow cricket, Inspiring Generations. This will see us invest more money than ever before in the game – over £770 million. We will double participation in primary schools and transform the women’s and girls’ game – creating a clear pathway from All Stars Cricket to our elite teams. We will also capitalise on the huge level of interest we’ve seen across the World Cup from South Asian fans via our South Asian Action Plan.”