World Cup 2019 -- England a great team but ultimate judgement on Sunday: Steve Waugh

Tags: Cricket World Cup 2019, England, New Zealand, Steve Waugh

Published on: Jul 13, 2019

Australia's 1999 World Cup-winning captain believes that England have it in them to become one of the greatest ODI teams by defeating New Zealand in the final at Lord's on Sunday. England made it to the summit clash by overpowering defending champions Australia while the Kiwis got the better of a much fancied India.

"It's one of the best one-day teams I've seen and would compete against anyone from previous eras but ultimately they will be judged on Sunday," Waugh was quoted as saying in an AFP report.

"If they win that they may go down as one of the great one-day sides. If they lose then I guess they're just back to being one of the other teams that didn't quite make it. They have the potential to be a great one-day team," Waugh asserted.

Life will come a full circle for the English team if they indeed manage to go all the way. They were dumped out in the very first round in the 2015 edition and their turnaround since has been sensational. Waugh feels the in-form opener Jason Roy and pacer Jofra Archer will be the two key men for England if they are to lift the trophy for the maiden time.

"Jason Roy is the form player of the tournament right now and looks in incredible form. I think Archer has given England that X factor so those two guys are form payers but I wouldn't be surprised if Ben Stokes steps up to the plate in the final and produces something special," explained Waugh.

Waugh is also happy that 2019 will see a new world champion emerge. Neither England nor New Zealand have won the World Cup yet. While England faltered in three finals, the last one being in 1992, the Kiwis will be featuring in their second consecutive World Cup final.

"I think it would be really important for someone like New Zealand. It's a great rugby country, it's probably the greatest sporting team in the world, the All Blacks. Cricket is always hard for them to get a bit of a foothold so to make the final and potentially win would be game-changing for New Zealand," Waugh added in the AFP report.

"If either side wins it's going to be great for their country. I know what it's like to win a World Cup. It's exciting and the people get behind it and feel they're a part of it so it's a great celebration," he concluded.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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