Essex trio Giles Ecclestone, Charlie Knightley, Mohammed Fayyaz and the England over-50s squad were victorious in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final on Monday evening at the famous Newlands Cricket Stadium against tournament hosts South Africa.
After a delayed start to proceedings, South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first which allowed Essex’s own Giles Ecclestone to open up and give England the upper hand early on. An opportunity which he took with both hands as he went on to score a magnificent 120 off 103 balls with bat in hand. England never lost momentum throughout the innings and managed to post a strong 267/8 from their 40 overs.
The South Africa side started their reply poorly with two quick wickets falling early on. From there the Proteas’ chase never got going, falling behind the required run rate and with 10 overs to go needed to score at 13 runs per over.
Fayaaz performed well with ball ending with figures of 1/35 off his 8 overs.
England ran out winners by 65 runs in the fading light and in front of a strong crowd at Newlands and became well deserved World Cup Winners after losing just one game throughout the tournament.
Congratulations to Giles, Charlie and Mohammed and the whole England squad on their fantastic achievement!
