Culture, Environment, Vision, Success.

Yesterday I watched the greatest 50 over cricket match I've ever witnessed as England beat New Zealand at Lords to clinch their first ever ODI World Cup.

It was a match that had everything, good bowling, good batting, some great fielding, passion, drama, more drama, even more drama, and what made it extra special was the spirit the game was played in and the respect both sides had for one another. It was a shame that there had to be a loser, but as an Englishmen who's seen a good number of English sides flatter to deceive in recent World Cups, I was glad it wasn't England.

Cricket is a sport not everyone gets, long, boring, difficult to understand, we don't have rules in cricket, we have laws, sometimes they play in coloured kit, sometimes they play in all white, some matches last 6 hours, some last 5 days, it's not to everyone's taste. But for those that are affiliated with the game, all it's little intricacies, the way the game ebbs and flows, a team sport but won and lost based on individual contributions and battles between someone with a ball and someone with a bat, that's what makes the game so special and interesting.

What England achieved yesterday was the culmination of 4 years hard work, a complete change in approach, a change in culture. Following a disastrous 2015 World Cup campaign, The ECB, driven by the vision of Andrew Strauss and Eoin Morgan, worked to create an environment that gave the team the best possible chance of, not just competing against the best teams in the world, but beating them.

What took place between the last World Cup and this one was exactly that. England went from strength to strength in the 50 over game, they beat everyone and established themselves as the top ranked ODI side in the world. What allowed that to happen was a clear and defined vision when it came to how they wanted to play, they wanted to be aggressive and play attacking cricket, everyone in the group had to buy in to that and did. Each individual was clear when it came to their role within the side and they were given the freedom to go out and express themselves, without fear of failure.

It's all well and good having a plan and a vision, but you still have to have the individuals capable of delivering and England certainly have, but the environment that's been created has played a huge part in the players being able to perform the way they have. The opening pair of Jason Roy and Johnny Bairstow set the tone with the bat, be aggressive and put pressure on the bowlers from ball one. Joe Root is an outstanding talent in all formats of the game and has an incredible ability to accumulate runs without ever looking rushed or like he's taking unnecessary risks. Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler have the perfect combination of power, creativity and shot making ability in the middle order.

Whilst the batting line up was well established quite early on in the piece, it took England a little longer to settle on the bowling attack that helped us win the World Cup. Adil Rashid has been an integral part of Englands one day side for a long time now and has been one of the most consistent one day spinners in world cricket for the last 4 years. Liam Plunkett is probably one of the most underrated players in the team, but he has consistently taken key wickets at key times for England, and that was apparent again yesterday when he got New Zealand's captain and best batsmen, Kane Williamson, out. Chris Woakes' place in the side wasn't assured going in to the tournament, but his discipline and ability to swing the new ball made him key to England's success. Mark Wood would have had far more England caps than he has, had it not been for injuries, but that's an occupational hazard when you're a fast bowler, and Mark Wood is fast! Then there's Jofra Archer, the missing piece of the puzzle, the X factor that England have been looking for. Lot's will argue that a man born and raised in Barbados should not be playing for England, but England is Archers home and the way the qualification system works means that he has as much right to play for England as anyone else. His performances over the last couple of months have made him a national hero!

The players are the ones we see winning on the pitch, but their success wouldn't be possible without the support of the coaches and the rest of the back room staff. Trevor Bayliss, the head coach, has been integral in developing this new brand of cricket that England now play. He, along with Paul Farbrace up until earlier this year, helped implement a structure that allowed Morgan and the rest of the players to deliver on the field. Knowledge and experience has been brought in from elsewhere to help the players off the pitch, be that honing their skills in the nets or focussing on the mental side of the game.

Everything England have done these past four years, every decision they made, every milestone they reached, the way they reacted to every setback, was all part of the quest to be recognised as the best one day side in the world. Yesterday that vision was realised and whilst defeat to New Zealand wouldn't have invalidated all the success Morgan's team has had in that time, there wouldn't have been the same level of satisfaction. Everyone knew how capable England were of winning the World Cup going in to the tournament, but to actually stand there at the end of it all, especially after a final like that, with all the drama, the pressure, the expectations of a nation resting on your shoulders and for them to be the team lifting the trophy at the end, that is the moment everyone involved in English one day cricket had put in so much work for.

I wanted to write this article for a couple of reasons, one, because I love cricket and yesterday was such an emotional rollercoaster I felt I needed to try and express that in some way. Secondly, I think the example set by Eoin Morgan's team and the ECB is one that should inspire us all and there are many lessons we can learn from their success. Any organisation that has a clear vision and is able to create an environment and culture built around that vision, gives itself a great chance of achieving what it's set out to. You have to select the right individuals and those individuals have to buy in to the culture and support each other, celebrate each others success and pick each other up after any failures. There needs to be trust, honesty, respect and everyone in the group should have a voice. It's not about any one person, Morgan has quite rightly been given a lot of credit for what England have achieved, but he will be the first to say non of it would have been possible without the contribution of everyone that has been involved in England's journey over the last four years.

I'm sure that this England team have inspired millions, turned non cricket fans into fans and given people some very special memories that they will cherish forever, we should be bloody proud of them!