Eoin Morgan declared England can be "regarded as one of the great sides" after T20 World Cup glory at the MCG on Sunday.
Former limited-overs England captain Morgan skippered his side to Cricket World Cup 50-over success in 2019, before falling short in the semi-finals of the T20 edition of the world competition in 2021.
The 36-year-old stepped down from his role in June, allowing Jos Buttler to take charge of the white-ball sides, and England triumphed in their captain's first tournament at the helm.
A five-wicket victory with six balls remaining over Pakistan in the final means England are now dual white-ball world champions, with Morgan suggesting Buttler's side have cemented their place in history.
"This team deserves it," Morgan said on Sky Sports. "They've been through the mill in the group stages and they've produced close to their very best against India in the semi-final.
"Jos Buttler said, 'We don't want to be known as a team just for our style of play'. We were known like that in 50 overs then won the 50-over World Cup in 2019.
"In T20 they've now won something tangible to be regarded as one of the great sides. They were excellent."
Ben Stokes, as has been the case across multiple formats in recent years, proved to be the hero with an unbeaten 52, seeing England over the line after they were reeling at 45-3 chasing 138.
From Headingley in the Ashes in 2019, to his Lord's heroics in the Cricket World Cup final earlier that year, Morgan heralded Stokes as the man for the big occasion.
"Ben is just such a special player," Morgan added. "In big games he continues to stand up for his country when his country needs him. That is such an incredible skill to have.
"When something has the potential to go awry, Ben is the guy that thinks coolly and calmly under pressure and makes brilliant decisions. He's done it so many times now.
"At certain stages of my captaincy I did take it [Stokes' role] for granted because he continued to be able to produce under pressure all the time.
"He always wants to be in the game and is that player who continually nags you to get in the high-pressure moments. It's a complete luxury to have a guy like Ben Stokes at your disposal."
While Stokes became just the third player to score 50-plus runs in both an ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup final (also Gautam Gambhir and Kumar Sangakkara), Sam Curran played an important role.
Left-arm seamer Curran picked up 1-12 from his four overs, marking his 13th scalp of the tournament – the second-most by a pacer in any single edition of the tournament (Dirk Nannes - 14 wickets in 2010).
"It [Curran's World Cup performance] is extraordinary," Morgan continued. "He really has been a find in all parts of the game. Jos Buttler has brought him on in the powerplay, used him through the middle and the biggest plus has been his death bowling.
"He has really stood up and bowled with a huge amount of skill and clarity. To produce in a World Cup final is extraordinary from someone that young. When his team needed him, Sam Curran did it today."
Bolt joined by multiple sports stars for first look at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador Usain Bolt got a first look at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium from the best seats in the house, along with cricket legends and New York sports icons.
The Jamaican sprint legend was joined in this special preview by USA cricketers Corey Anderson and Monak Patel along with cricket legend Sir Curtly Ambrose (West Indies), Shoaib Malik (Pakistan), and Liam Plunkett (England). Also present during this landmark event was a star-studded line-up of New York sports stars, including John Starks (NBA / New York Knicks), Elena Delle Donne (WNBA/USA), Bartolo Colon (MLB/New York Yankees-Mets), Victor Cruz (NFL/New York Giants), and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Fencing/USA).
To commemorate the occasion, the stars all signed a giant cricket bat, which will be present at the venue for all eight ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 matches hosted there between June 3-12. The event marks the official final countdown to the first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in New York, with Sri Lanka and South Africa set to clash in the venue's first match on June 3.
Bolt was confident the venue would provide an exciting and energetic cricket experience.
“Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, I’m very excited to be part of the T20 World Cup coming to the USA for the first time, co-hosting with the West Indies. Getting one of the sport’s biggest events into the USA is a big milestone and can provide a launching pad leading towards cricket’s inclusion in the LA Olympics in 2028," he said.
“The new stadium is going to be a fantastic place to watch from. It’s very enclosed and you feel very close to the action. I can imagine it will be full of energy when cricket fans get to Nassau County International Stadium next month," Bolt noted.
Brett Jones, CEO of T20 USA Inc. called the event a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA.
“Today was a fantastic celebration, showcasing a truly out of this world stadium. Having Usain and a host of New York sports stars and Olympic legends to experience it was fantastic and a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA," Jones said.
“Having Curtly Ambrose, Liam Plunkett, Shoaib Malik, Corey Anderson and Monak Patel here and seeing their response to the stadium and the playing surface was also pretty special. It gives us a real sense of what the fans can expect next month," he added.
The 34,000-seater temporary stadium is the first of its kind in international cricket, and is also believed to be the largest ever constructed in the United States.
Featured at the unveiling were extensive hospitality and media pavilions on the north and south ends of the venue, which join the east and west general admission stands. Among the new additions are the Cabana seats in the North pavilion along with the Corner Club seats with a private party area.
The stadium is one of the three venues in the USA for the upcoming mega-event. Florida and Texas will also host matches from the event.
The USA are co-hosts for the event alongside the West Indies, where 39 matches will be played across six venues. The Final will be held on 29 June in Barbados.
No spark from Rovman Powell as Curran pilots Punjab Kings over Rajasthan Royals
Sam Curran starred as Punjab Kings moved off the bottom of the Indian Premier League table with a five-wicket victory over second-place Rajasthan Royals.
The Kings successfully chased a target of 145 as Curran finished with an unbeaten 63, including two maximums in the final four balls, to get them over the finish line.
The Royals struggled to find their rhythm until Riyan Parag (48) and Ravichandran Ashwin (28) stepped up to drag them into contention, but the Kings stifled their recovery near the end of the first innings. West Indies captain Rovman Powell (four) was among those that failed to spark at the backend of the Royals innings.
Curran (2-24), Harshal Patel (2-28) and Rahul Chahar (2-26) all played a part in limiting RR to 144-9, though the Kings then looked like they might fall short in the chase.
Sam Curran starred for Punjab Kings.
Punjab captain Curran carried them forward after a slow start, and though Jitesh Sharma was caught for 22 to offer the Royals hope in the 16th over, impact player Ashutosh Sharma contributed an unbeaten 17 in support of Curran, whose big hitting got the job done with an over remaining.
Data Debrief: Patel comes up clutch
Having posted figures of 2-28 on Wednesday, Patel now has 63 wickets in the death overs (16th-20th) in the IPL, the outright fifth-most wickets in this phase in competition history after Dwayne Bravo (102), Lasith Malinga (90), Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (85) and Jasprit Bumrah (80).
His late dismissals of Parag and Donovan Ferreira kept the Royals' score down, then Curran's joint-highest IPL knock ensured the Kings registered a fourth consecutive away victory.
Scheffler not looking too far ahead with PGA Championship looming
Scottie Scheffler admits he does not allow himself to look too far ahead as he prepares to launch his bid for a first PGA Championship title.
The world number one, who finished tied-second behind champion Brooks Koepka at Oak Hill last year, is the player in form and favourite to go one better 12 months on and claim his third major.
The reigning Masters champion is aiming to become only the third golfer since the turn of the century to win the opening two majors in a calendar year, after Tiger Woods (2002) and Jordan Spieth (2015).
Scheffler arrives at Valhalla having won four of his last five tournaments, and is 161 under par across his 10 PGA Tour events in 2024 - shooting 60s in 30 of the 39 rounds he has played.
One of only two players to finish inside the top 10 in each of the last three majors - along with Cameron Smith - big things are expected of the 28-year-old, but he highlighted the importance of staying grounded.
"I don't really try to look that far ahead," he said. "If I listen to the narratives around myself, if it was two months ago, it would probably look significantly different than it does now.
"I'm sure that wasn't a conversation you were all having two months ago and, all of a sudden, now it's like: 'Oh, he's going to win this many tournaments, or do that and do this'.
"I don't really pay attention to it, I don't really care about it. I'm trying to do the best I can out there each and every week, and as far as anything else, I'm not really too concerned with it.
"I may win a lot of major championships, I may be stuck at two the rest of my career. It doesn't really concern me at the moment. I'm just trying to prepare as best as possible for this week."
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